[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners
of the City of Margate City 7-22-1976 as Ch. A185 of the 1976 Code; amended in its entirety 10-27-1994 by Ord. No.
1994-23. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
[Added 2-18-2010 by Ord. No. 06-2010]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
An automatic protection device to detect burglary, smoke,
fire, holdup or other similar type of event.
Alarms that directly dial into the City of Margate Police/Fire
Departments and deliver a recorded or digital message.
Any alarm activation causing direct notification to the City
of Margate Police/Fire Departments, or causing an audible alarm without
such notification, which is not caused by an actual burglary, smoke,
fire, holdup, or attempted burglary. Accidental, known or unknown
conditions causing the false alarm shall not excuse the same.
Alarms that directly dial into an intermediary, also known
as a "central station," to report the activation of an alarm, whereupon
the intermediary calls the City of Margate Police/Fire Departments
to report such activation.
Automatic protection devices that utilize voice
recordings are prohibited from being keyed to any primary, secondary,
direct, leased or designated trunk lines at the Margate Police/Fire
Communication Center.
No automatic protection devices installed after
the effective date of this chapter shall be keyed to any phone line
at the Margate Police/Fire Communication Center or Departments.
A.Â
Any person who has an automatic protection device
in the City of Margate may arrange to have such device keyed to an
intermediary authorized to relay emergency messages to the Margate
Police/Fire Communication Center at the owner's or lessee's expense.
B.Â
The relay of messages to the Margate Police/Fire Communication
Center by authorized intermediaries shall be over a designated trunk
line and shall be live voice only.
C.Â
Monitoring stations shall provide the alarm customers
with an option to call the resident back after a burglar alarm activation
in an attempt to verify that the alarm was authentic. In the event
that the alarm cannot be verified, the wrong code word is given or
there is no answer after a specific number of rings, then the police
would be called to respond. The intent here is to relieve the police
from responding to an accidental/fake-type alarm.
A.Â
Businesses, homeowners or lessees may have an alarm
system that utilizes a device, bell, horn or siren attached to the
interior or exterior of a building which emits a warning signal audible
outside the building and is designed to attract attention when activated
by a criminal act or other emergency requiring Police and/or Fire
Department personnel to respond.
B.Â
Any person hearing such an alarm and calling in a
report to the Police/Fire Communication Center is exempt from any
prohibition against using a primary, secondary or direct phone line
to the Police Department.
[Amended 2-18-2010 by Ord. No. 06-2010]
Owners or lessees having an audible alarm system
must have a working timing mechanism that will disengage the audible
alarm after a maximum period of 15 minutes. Audible alarm systems
without a working timing mechanism shall be unlawful in the City of
Margate and must be disconnected by the owner or lessee. In the event
a timing mechanism is not functioning properly, the Chief of Police
or his designee is authorized to disconnect the defective audible
alarm system if the audible alarm system is disturbing the public
peace.
A.Â
When messages or alarms evidencing failure to comply
with the operational requirements set forth are received by the Police
or Fire Departments and the Chief of Police has concluded that the
automatic protection or alarm system sending such messages or alarms
should be disconnected in order to relieve that particular department
of the burden of responding to false alarms, he is authorized to demand
that the owner or lessee or his representative disconnect the device
until it is made to comply with the operational requirements. If disconnection
of the defective device is not accomplished promptly and the Chief
of the Police Department concerned determines that the malfunctioning
device is repeatedly sending false alarm, he may then take any steps
necessary to disconnect the defective automatic protection device
alarm system.
B.Â
All components comprising such alarm devices shall
be maintained by the owner or lessee in good repair to assure maximum
reliability of operation.
A.Â
Any alarm which is activated by the homeowner, family
member, lessee, guest or workman, etc., and is determined to have
been either intentional or due to carelessness or neglect, when, in
fact, no burglary, fire or emergency is present, is considered, for
the purpose of this section, to be a false alarm.
B.Â
It shall be unlawful for any person or persons to
knowingly give or cause to be given any false alarm of a fire or other
alarms to the police.
C.Â
Any person,
corporation, partnership or other entity that owns or controls an
alarm system in the City of Margate that causes three false alarms
in any one calendar year shall be deemed in violation of this chapter
for each false alarm thereafter.
[Added 2-18-2010 by Ord. No. 06-2010]
[Amended 2-18-2010 by Ord. No. 06-2010]
A.Â
False alarms. Any person, corporation, partnership or entity violating § 63-14, False alarms, shall be assessed an over-limit fee of $50 for a first over-limit false alarm (fourth false alarm in one calendar year); for a second over-limit false alarm (fifth false alarm in one calendar year) the assessment shall be $100; for a third or subsequent over-limit false alarm (sixth or more false alarm in one calendar year) the assessment shall be $200. All over-limit assessment fees shall be billed to the homeowner and shall be due and payable in 30 days. Said assessment fees shall be subject to collection in the same manner as collection of water and sewer charges.
B.Â
All other violations. Any person, corporation, partnership
or entity violating any other provision of this chapter shall, upon
conviction, be subject to a fine of not more than $1,000 or by imprisonment
for a term not to exceed 90 days, or any combination thereof.
