HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-05ORDINANCE NO. 2011-05
REPEALING THE EXISTING SECTION 5 -3 OF THE DANVILLE MUNICIPAL
CODE AND ADDING A NEW SECTION 5 -3 RELATING TO ALARM SYSTEMS
The Danville Town Council does ordain as follows:
SECTION 1. REPEALING THE EXISTING SECTION 5 -3 OF THE DANVILLE
MUNICIPAL CODE.
The existing Section 5 -3 of the Danville Municipal Code is repealed in its entirety.
SECTION 2. ADDING A NEW SECTION 5 -3 TO THE DANVILLE MUNICIPAL
CODE.
A new Section 5 -3 is hereby added to the Danville Municipal Code to read as follows:
SECTION 5 -3
ALARM SYSTEMS
5 -3.1 Purpose and Authority. The purpose of this ordinance is to encourage alarm
users and alarm businesses to maintain the operational reliability and proper use of
alarm systems and to reduce or eliminate false alarm dispatch requests. False alarm
dispatches pose a safety hazard to police officers and the general public and divert
police officers from other useful duties. This ordinance governs systems intended to
summon a police response. It requires permits, establishes fees, provides for penalties
for violations, establishes a system of administration, and sets conditions for suspension
or loss of permits.
This ordinance is adopted pursuant to the authority provided in California Business
and Professions Code Section 7592.8.
5 -3.2 Definitions. As used in this section:
(a) Alarm Administrator means a person or persons designated by the Chief of Police to
administer, control and review alarm applications, permits and alarm dispatch requests.
(b) Alarm Business means any business operated by an individual or business entity,
which engages in selling, leasing, servicing, repairing altering, replacing, moving,
installing or monitoring an alarm system in an alarm site.
(c) Alarm Dispatch Request means a notification to the police by the alarm business that
an alarm, either manual or automatic has been activated at a particular alarm site.
(d) Alarm Site means a single premise or location served by an alarm system. Each
tenancy, if served by a separate alarm system in a multi- tenant building shall be
considered a separate alarm site.
(e) Alarm System means any assembly of equipment and devices designed to signal the
presence of a potential hazard relayed by an alarm answering service to any other
audible or silent alarm device to which the police are expected to respond. Fire and
medical alarm systems and alarm systems, which monitor temperature, humidity or
any other condition not directly related to the detection of an unauthorized intrusion
into a premise or an attempted burglary, or robbery at a premise are specifically
excluded from regulation under this Section.
(f) Alarm User means any person, firm, partnership, corporation or other entity, public
or private, that uses an alarm system at its alarm site.
(g) Chief means the Chief of Police of Danville.
(h) Duress Alarm means a silent alarm signal generated by the manual activations of a
device intended to signal a crises situation requiring police response.
(i) False Alarm means an alarm dispatch request to the police department when the
responding officer finds no evidence of a criminal offense or attempted criminal offense.
An alarm dispatch request that is canceled by the alarm business or the alarm user prior
to the time the responding officer reaches the alarm site shall not be considered a false
alarm dispatch.
0) Holdup Alarm means a silent alarm signal generated by the manual activation of a
device intended to signal a robbery in progress.
(k) Intrusion Alarm means an alarm system signaling an entry or attempted entry into
the area protected by the system.
(1) Monitoring means the process by which an alarm business receives signals from
alarm systems and relays an alarm dispatch request to the city for the purpose of
summoning police response to the alarm site.
5 -3.3 Permit Required.
(a) No alarm user shall operate, or cause to be operated, an alarm system at its alarm
site without a valid alarm permit issued by the alarm administrator. A separate permit
is required for each alarm site. The initial permit application must be submitted to the
alarm administrator within 15 days after the alarm installation.
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(b) Upon receipt of a completed application form, the alarm administrator shall issue an
alarm permit to an applicant unless the applicant has failed to pay any applicable fees
or fines assessed.
(c) Each permit application must include the name, address, and telephone numbers of
the person who will be the permit holder and be responsible for the proper maintenance
and operation of the alarm system and the name, address and telephone number of the
alarm business monitoring the alarm system. The Chief may require such other
information as necessary to accomplish the purposes of this Section. All information
furnished with an application shall be confidential.
(d) An alarm permit cannot be transferred to another person. An alarm user shall
inform the alarm administrator of any change that alters any information listed on the
permit application within 5 business days.
(e) The Town Council may establish an application fee for alarm permits as permitted
by law as part of the Town's master fee schedule.
(f) A permit shall expire one year from the date of issuance, and must be renewed
annually by submitting an updated application and if applicable a permit renewal fee to
the alarm administrator. The alarm administrator shall notify each alarm user of the
need to renew 30 days prior to the expiration of their permit. It is the responsibility of
the alarm user to submit an. application prior to the permit expiration date. Failure to
renew will be classified as use of a non - permitted alarm system and citations and
penalties may be assessed.
5 -3.4 Alarm System Maintenance and Operation.
(a) Each alarm user shall:
(1) maintain the premises and the alarm system in a manner that will minimize
or eliminate false alarm dispatches.
(2) make every reasonable effort to respond or cause a representative to respond
to the alarm system's location within one hour when notified by the Town to
provide access to the premises.
(3) not manually activate an alarm for any reason other than an occurrence of an
event the alarm system was intended to report.
(b) Each alarm user shall adjust the mechanism or cause the mechanism to be adjusted
so that an alarm signal audible on the exterior of an alarm site will sound for no longer
than twenty minutes after being activated.
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(c) Each alarm user shall post a notice containing the name and telephone number of
the alarm business to be notified to render repairs, services, or turn off the alarm when
the alarm is activated. Such notice shall be posted near the alarm in such a position as to
be legible from the ground adjacent to the building.
5 -3.5 Monitoring Procedures.
An alarm business performing monitoring services shall:
(a) not request dispatch for police response during the first week after installation of an
alarm system, but rather use that week to train the alarm user on proper use of the
alarm system.
(b) attempt to verify every alarm signal, except duress or hold up alarm activation
before requesting a police response to an alarm signal.
(c) communicate verified cancellations of alarm dispatch requests to the Town in a
manner and form determined by the alarm administrator.
d) ensure that all alarm users of alarm systems equipped with duress alarms are given
adequate training as to the proper use of the duress alarm.
(e) utilize the procedure the alarm administrator shall develop to accept verified
cancellation of alarm dispatch requests.
5 -3.6 System Performance Reviews.
If there is reason to believe that an alarm system is not being used or maintained in a
manner that ensures proper operation and suppresses false alarms, the alarm
administrator may require a conference with an alarm user and the alarm business
responsible for the repair of the alarm system to review the circumstances of each false
alarm. Such a conference will be mandatory after three false alarm dispatches in a one-
year period.
5 -3.7 Penalty.
(a) An alarm user shall be subject to warnings and fines depending on the number of
false alarm dispatches emitted from an alarm system within a calendar year based upon
the following schedule:
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Number of False
Alarm Dispatc
Action Taken
Fines
1
Warning Letter
0
2
Written Notice
$50
3
Written Notice
$150
4 and over
Written Notice
$300
(b) In addition any person operating an alarm system without a valid permit will be
subject to a $25.00 fine for each false alarm dispatch, in addition to any other fines. The
alarm administrator may waive this additional fine for a non - permitted system if the
alarm user applies for a permit within ten days after such violation.
(c) The fines provided for in subsections (a) and (b) above shall be imposed and
processed as administrative fines pursuant to Section 1 -5.5 of this Code.
(c) Alarm dispatch requests caused by actual criminal offense or with evidence of a
criminal attempt shall not be counted as a false alarm dispatch.
5 -3.8 Non - Response.
(a) After ten false alarm dispatches from an alarm system in a calendar year, the Chief
may determine that rather than imposing additional fines, the alarm system warrants a
non - response by the Town's Police Department.
(b) Non - response status may be based on one (1) or more of the following conditions in
addition to the number of false alarm dispatches:
(1) Personnel at the location of the alarm system are not properly trained;
(2) The alarm system is not properly maintained;
(3) The alarm user has failed to pay the false alarm fines imposed under Section
5 -3.7 within thirty (30) days after the fine becomes due;
(4) The alarm user has failed or refused to respond to the location of an errant
alarm;
(5) The alarm system has been activated for reasons other than probable
burglary, intrusion, or robbery; or
(6) The subscriber has failed to comply with any provision of this section.
(c) The Town's Police Department will not respond to any alarm system in non -
response status.
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5 -3.9 Non - Response Notice and Hearing Procedure.
(a) The Chief shall give written notice to any alarm user who is deemed subject to
non - response status. The notice shall set forth the basis for the proposed non - response
status, including all relevant facts. The notice shall inform the alarm user that if they do
not request a hearing with the Chief within seven (7) calendar days after the notice is
mailed, the Town's Police Department will no longer respond to the alarm system.
(b) Within seven (7) calendar days of the date of a non - response notice is mailed, the
alarm user may request a hearing with the Chief by submitting a written request. The
request shall set forth the reason(s) why the alarm should not be placed on non -
response status.
(c) The Chief, or designee, shall set a hearing date and mail written notice of the
date, time, and place thereof to the alarm user at least ten (10) days prior to the date of
such hearing.
(d) At the hearing, the alarm user or their authorized representatives may present
relevant oral and documentary evidence and cross - examine witnesses. At the
conclusion of the hearing, the Chief shall issue a written decision either upholding or
revoking the non - response status.
(e) The decision of the Chief may be appealed to the Town Council no later than ten
(10) calendar days from the date of mailing the decision. The letter of appeal must state
the grounds for appeal and must be mailed to the City Clerk no later than ten (10) days
from the date the decision is mailed.
SECTION 3. CODIFICATION. Section 2 of this ordinance shall be codified in the
Danville Municipal Code.
SECTION 4. PUBLICATION AND EFFECTIVE DATE. The City Clerk shall have a
summary of this ordinance published twice in a newspaper of general circulation, once
within five (5) days before its adoption and once within 15 (fifteen) days after adoption.
This ordinance shall become effective 30 days after adoption.
SECTION 5. SEVERABILITY. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of
this ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid, such decision shall not affect the
validity of the remaining portions of the ordinance. The Danville Town Council hereby
declares that they would have adopted the ordinance, and each section, subsection,
sentence, clause, or phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that one or more sections,
subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases was declared invalid.
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The foregoing ordinance was introduced on September 20, 2011 and approved and
adopted by the Danville Town Council at a regular meeting held on October 4, 2011, by
the following vote:
AYES: Stepper, Andersen, Arnerich, Doyle, Storer
NOES: None
ABSTAIN: None
ABSENT: None
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
CITY ATTORNEY
CLERK'S CERTIFICATE
I, Marie Sunseri, City Clerk of the Town of Danville, hereby certify that the foregoing is
a true and accurate copy of Ordinance No. 2011 -05 of said Town and that said
ordinance was published according to law.
Dated:
City Clerk of
Town of Dar
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