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HomeMy WebLinkAboutORD 95-14 ORDINANCE NO. 95 % ENTITLED AN ORDINANCE ENACTING REGULATIONS OF ALARM SYSTEMS, INCLUDING PERMITTING REQUIREMENTS,FALSE ALARM FEES,GROUNDS FOR DENIAL OR REVOCATION;PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR REPEAL AND PROVIDING A PENALTY. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF BEAUMONT Section 1. THAT Chapter 23-,, Article II be amended to read as follows: ARTICLE H. BURGLARY AND ROBBERY ALARMS Sec. 2A-11. Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning. ALARM NOTIFICATION means a notification intended to summon the police, which is designed either to be initiated purposely by a person or by an alarm system that responds to a stimulus characteristic of unauthorized intrusion. (Recorded messages to any police or fire station are prohibited by law.) ALARM SrM means the specific property served by an alarm system that is under the control of one owner, tenant or lessor. ALARM SYSTEM means any electrical,mechanical,or electronic device or assembly of equipment that emits, transmits, or relays a signal intended to summon, or that would reasonably be expected to summon,by direct or indirect means,the aid of the police services of the city. For purposes of this article, the following types of alarm systems are exempted: 1) An alarm system installed on a motor vehicle, unless the vehicle is permanently located at a site; 2) An alarm system designed to alert only the inhabitants of the premises which does not have a local alarm; 1 3) An alarm system installed upon premises occupied by the United States Government, or the State Government when they occupy property owned by the State; 4) Any alarm system designed solely to detect or give notice of fire or smoke; and 5) Any communication device not designed solely for alarm notification. CHIEF OF POLICE means the Chief of Police of the city or the designated representative of the Chief of Police. CITY MANAGER means the City Manager or the designated representative of the City Manager. FALSE ALARM NOTIFICATION means an alarm notification to the Police Department, when the responding officer or a subsequent investigation, finds no evidence of unauthorized intrusion, an attempted unauthorized intrusion, robbery, attempted robbery or other illegal activity for which the alarm was intended to report. MASTER ALARM PERMIT means a permit issued to the owner or property manager of a residential apartment complex which provides an alarm system operated in one or more of the individual residential units. The fees for a Master Alarm Permit shall be the same as those for an alarm permit. PERSON means an individual, corporation, partnership, or association, organization or any legal entity. Sec. 2A-12 Requirements. (A) An alarm system may not be operated without a permit issued by the Chief of Police. (B) A separate permit is required for each alarm site. (C) The permit holder shall keep the alarm permit at the alarm site and shall produce such permit for inspection upon the request of any member of the police department. (D) If the permit holder does not advise the Police Department that they have relinquished control of the alarm site, and cancel their permit; the permit holder is responsible for outstanding fees associated with that permit. 2 Sec. 2A-13 Permit Application. (A) An application for a permit shall be made by a person who owns, leases, resides at, or manages the alarm site. (B) The application and the required fee shall be submitted to the City on a form provided by the City. Any false statement made by an applicant on the application may be prosecuted as a violation of Section 37.10 of the Texas Penal Code, Tampering with Governmental Record, a third degree felony. (C) An alarm permit is issued to an individual or corporate entity and is nontransferable and nonrefundable. (D) The date of issuance will be the date the application is processed, unless false alarm calls have been responded to by the Police Department. In this case, date of issuance will be the date of the first call. (E) A permit shall issue for all or any portion of the period between June 1 and May 31 of any year. Sec. 2.k-14 Revocation of Permit. The Chief of Police shall revoke an alarm permit if he determines that: (A) There was a false statement made in the application for a permit. (B) If any false oral statement was made by applicant in connection with the permit application. (C) The permit holder has violated the provisions of this chapter. (D) The permit holder has failed to make payment of fees assessed under this chapter. (E) The permit holder does not maintain the alarm system in a manner that minimizes false alarm notifications or ensures proper operation of the alarm system. 3 Sec. 2A-15 Grounds for Denial of Permit. A permit may be denied for: (A) Any false statement on the application, or (B) Any false statement by applicant in connection with the application. (C) An applicant has failed to pay a service fee assessed hereunder, or has had an alarm site revoked, and the violation causing the revocation has not been corrected. Sec. ?A-16 Renewal; Term. An application to renew a permit must be submitted one month prior to the end of the term of a permit. The term of the renewal is one year. Sec. 2A-17 Appeal from Denial or Revocation of Permit. (A) If the Chief of Police refuses to issue a permit or revokes a permit, the Chief shall notify the applicant or holder by certified mail, return receipt requested stating the reasons for the denial or revocation. The applicant or holder may appeal the decision by filing a notice of appeal with the Chief of Police. This notice setting forth the reasons for appeal must be received within 10 calendar days of the date of receipt of the notice of revocation or denial. The receipt of the notice of appeal will stay the revocation of the permit. If the notice of appeal is not timely, the revocation or denial is final. (B) The City Manager will designate a hearing officer to hear the appeal. At the hearing the formal rules of evidence shall not apply. The hearing officer shall make his decision on the basis of a preponderance of the evidence presented. The hearing officer must render a decision within 60 days after the appeal is filed. The hearing officer may affirm, reverse, or modify the action of the Chief. The decision of the hearing officer is final. 4 Sec. 2A-18 Reinstatement of Permit. (A) A permit may be reinstated by the Chief of Police when the revoked permit holder pays the application fee and shows: 1. That the unpaid fees required by of this chapter have been paid. 2. That the alarm system is operating in accordance with the requirements of this chapter. Sec. 2A-19 Apartment Complexes. (A) The owner or property manager of an apartment complex which provides alarm services shall obtain a master alarm permit if any alarm system is operated in any residential unit on the premises. (B) A tenant of an apartment complex shall obtain a permit before operating or causing the operation of an alarm system in his residential unit. (C) The permit of the tenant supersedes the master permit of the apartment complex, and the tenant is responsible for payment of fees for false alarm notifications emitted from the alarm system in the tenant's unit. The master alarm permit holder is responsible for payment of service fees for false alarm notifications emitted from unoccupied units or where no permit has been obtained by the tenant. (D) The owner or property manager of an apartment complex shall obtain a separate alarm permit for any alarm system operated in a nonresidential area of the apartment complex, including, but not limited to, common tenant areas and office, storage and equipment areas. Sec. 2A-20 Policies and Procedures. (A) The Chief of Police shall institute policies and procedures to implement this Chapter. (B) The Chief of Police shall publish Standards of Operation for Alarm Systems. Each permit holder will be provided copies of these standards and all changes thereto. 5 Sec. 2A-21 Police Response. (A) The response, if any, made to a signal from a permitted alarm system shall be subject to the policies and procedures of the police department and will be in accordance with the priorities set for police response. (B) The issuance of a permit authorizing the use of an alarm system is not intended to nor shall it create a contract, either express or implied, nor does it create a duty or guarantee of response by the Police Department. Any and all liability and consequential damages resulting from the failure to respond to a notification is hereby disclaimed and governmental immunity as provided by law is retained. Sec. 2.3.--22 Operation, Maintenance of Alarm Systems (A) A permit holder shall: 1. Maintain the premises containing an alarm system in a manner that ensures proper operation of the alarm system; 2. Maintain the alarm system in a manner that will minimize false alarm notifications. 3. Respond or cause a representative to respond within one hour when notified by the city to repair or inactivate a malfunctioning alarm system, to provide access to the premises, or to provide security for the premises; 4. Not manually activate an alarm system for any reason other than occurrence of an event that the alarm system was intended to report. (B) A permit holder of a local alarm shall adjust the mechanism or cause the mechanism to be adjusted so that an alarm signal will sound for no longer than 15 minutes after being activated. Sec. A-23 Violations. No person shall operate, cause to be operated or allow the operation of an alarm system: (A) without a permit issued under the provisions of this chapter, 6 (B) without being in compliance with the procedures and provisions of this chapter, or (C) that automatically dials the 911 - Emergency Communications System. Sec. 2h-24 Fees. (A) Fees under this chapter shall be as follows: Application Fee $ 15.00 Renewal Fee $ 15.00 Reinstatement Fee $ 15.00 False Notification Fee - Burglary $ 40.00 each Robbery $ 80.00 each Late Payment Fee $ 5.00 Response to Alarms Without Permit $200.00 (B) The late payment fee will be due for fees not paid within the time limit set on the bill. (C) The permit holder of record shall pay all fees incurred under such permit including false alarm fees. Sec. 2h-25 False Notifications. (A) The holder of an alarm permit shall pay a service fee for each false alarm notification indicating that a burglary has occurred that is in excess of six false burglary alarms within any 12-month period. (B) The holder of an alarm permit shall pay a service fee for each false alarm notification indicating that a robbery has occurred that is in excess of two false robbery alarms within any 12-month period. (C) The City of Beaumont may not consider an alarm to be false unless a response is made by the Police Department within thirty minutes of the alarm notification and the department determines from an inspection of the interior or exterior of the premises that the alarm was false. - 7 (D) For any alarm notification for which a service fee is assessed, the Chief of Police has the authority to investigate the circumstances of the alarm, and may waive the payment of the fee. (E) Those persons assessed a fee for response to an alarm without a permit may have the fee waived by obtaining an alarm system permit within five (5) days of the date of the document notifying the person of the false alarm. Sec. 2A-25 Violation, Penalty. (A) The failure to comply with the provisions of this chapter is a Class "C" misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $500 but not less than $75 upon first conviction, and not less than $100 upon second and subsequent convictions. A person who violates a provision of this chapter is guilty of a separate offense for each day or portion of a day during which the violation is committed or continued. (B) Any person who operates, causes to be operated, or allows to be operated an alarm system without a valid permit shall be charged a fee for each response by the city to each notification of activation. This is in addition to any criminal penalty imposed for violation of this chapter. (C) For the purposes of this chapter a conviction is a finding of guilty or the defendant's placement on deferred disposition, deferred adjudication, or probation by a court of competent jurisdiction. Section 2. This Ordinance will become effective on May 1, 1995 and all permits must be obtained prior to June 1, 1995. Section 3. 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 8 severable. Section 4. That all ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith are repealed to the extent of the conflict only. PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL of the City of Beaumont on this the day of 1995. - Mayor - 9