HomeMy WebLinkAboutORD 84-128 ORDINANCE NO.
ENTITLED AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 2-1/2
OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF
BEAUMONT TO PROVIDE FOR THE PAYMENT OF FEES
BY ALARM USERS FOR EXCESS ALARMS; PROVIDING
FOR SEVERABILITY ; PROVIDING FOR REPEAL AND
PROVIDING A PENALTY.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF BEAUMONT:
Section 1 . `
That Chapter 2-1/2 , of the Code of Ordinances of the
City of Beaumont is hereby amended to read as follows:
Section 2 1/2-11. Definitions.
As used in this chapter, the following words
and phrases shall have the meanings
respectively ascribed to them by this
section:
Alarm system shall mean any device designed
and manufactured for the detection of an
unauthorized entry on premises or for alerting
others of the commission of an unlawful act,
or both, and which, when actuated, transmits a
signal or message remotely to an answering
service or other similar monitoring station,
but shall not include privately owned alarms
operated and monitored solely by the owner
thereof or his designee.
Alarm business shall mean any person, firm,
corporation, or other entity in the business
of leasing, maintaining, servicing, repairing,
altering, replacing, moving, or installing,
any alarm system or causing to be maintained,
serviced, repaired, altered, replaced, moved,
or installed any alarm system in or on any
building, place or premises.
Alarm agent shall mean any person who is
employed by an alarm business, either directly
or indirectly , including the owner, or in the
case of a corporation, the officers whose
duties include any of the following: Selling,
maintaining, leasing, servicing, repairing,
A
altering, replacing, moving, or installing on
any building, place or premises any alarm
system.
Alarm user shall mean any person, firm,
corporation or other entity which owns,
possesses, or leases an alarm system.
Excess alarms signaling a burglary or
unauthorized entry shall mean those alarms in
excess of three ( 3 ) signaled from the same
user' s premises by the same alarm system
within any calendar quarter; but not including
( 1 ) such alarms signaled within the first
fifteen ( 15) days after an original
installation of said system or a major
component thereof , and ( 2 ) those alarms in
which an unauthorized entry has been verified
by the alarm user or alarm agent before the
police are summoned to the premises.
Excess alarms signaling a robbery or the
commission of an unlawful act shall mean those
alarms in excess of two ( 2 ) signaled from
the same user' s premises by the same alarm
system within any calendar quarter, but not
including ( 1 ) such alarms signaled within the
first five ( 5 ) days after an original
installation of said system or a major
component thereof , and ( 2 ) those alarms in
which a robbery or attempted robbery has
occurred.
Person shall mean any individual,
partnership, corporation, or other entity.
Calendar quarter shall mean either January
through March, April through June, July
through September, or October through December
of any calendar year.
Section 2 1/2-12. Reporting Servicing Information
Each alarm business shall maintain a current
information card with the police department
containing its name, address and telephone
number, a list of its alarm users, a name and
address for each alarm user, and the name,
address and telephone number of a person or
persons who can render service to its
equipment at any hour of the day or night.
Each alarm business or alarm agent shall
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immediately inform the chief_ of police of any
and all changes in the information on file
with the police department.
Section 2 1/2-13. Prohibitions
( a) It shall be unlawful for any person to
intentionally or knowingly activate or cause
to be activated any alarm system for the
ultimate purpose of summoning police except in
the event of what is reasonably believed to be
an unlawful act and/or an unauthorized entry
on premises which the alarm system is designed
to detect. Whenever an alarm system has been
designed and commonly understood to alert
others of the commission of a particular
crime, it shall be unlawful for anyone to
activate such alarm system for the purpose of
summoning police except in the event of what
is reasonably believed to be such particular
crime.
(b) It shall be unlawful for any alarm
business to use, operate, maintain, or repair
an alarm system which, upon activation, emits
a sound similar to sirens in use on emergency
vehicles or currently used by civil defense
authorities for disaster alert purposes, after
f if teen ( 15) days' notice to such business
that such alarm system has been disapproved by
the chief of police.
(c) It shall be unlawful for an alarm user
to become more than sixty ( 60) days delinquent
in the payment of any service charges due and
payable under section 2 1/2-14 hereof. Each
day of such delinquency shall constitute a
separate offense.
(d) It shall be unlawful for any person
owning, possessing, or operating an audible
alarm system, which, when actuated, sounds a
bell, whistle, siren, horn, or other similar
sound, to permit or allow said alarm to emit
such sound for a period in excess of twenty
( 20) continuous minutes.
Section 2 1/2-14. Service Charges
Each alarm user shall pay to the City of
Beaumont a penalty for excess alarms from the
same user' s premises to which police respond,
according to the following schedule;
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U_j: /2�
i
Excess Alarm Signaling Excess Alarms Signaling
a Burglary a Robbery
4th Alarm - $ 25 3rd Alarm - $ 25
5th Alarm - 35 4th Alarm - 35
6th Alarm - 45 5th Alarm - 45
7th Alarm - 55 6th Alarm - 55
8th Alarm - 65 7th Alarm - 65
9th Alarm - 75 8th Alarm - 75
10th Alarm - 85 9th Alarm - 85
11th Alarm - 95 10th Alarm - 95
12th or more- 105 11th or more- 105
Section 2.
That if any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase
of this ordinance, or the application of same to a particular set
of persons or circumstances, should for any reason be held to be
invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the remaining portions of
this ordinance, and to such end the various portions and provisions
of this ordinance are declared to be severable.
Section 3.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith
are repealed to the extent of the conflict only.
Section 4 .
Any person who violates any provision of this ordinance
shall, upon conviction, be punished as provided in Section 1-8 of
the Code of Ordinances of Beaumont, Texas.
PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL of the City of Beaumont this the
day of 2""' i 1984.
W7O
Mayor -
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