[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Altoona as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 7-28-1987 by Ord. No. 4990]
For the purpose of this article, the following terms, phrases, words and their derivations shall have the meanings given herein. When not inconsistent with the context, words used in the plural number shall include the singular number and words used in the singular number shall include the plural number.
ALARM AGENT
Any individual, corporation or other entity located within the City of Altoona or who conducts business within the City of Altoona when said business involves duties, including altering, installing, maintaining, repairing, replacing, selling, servicing, responding to or monitoring an alarm system.
ALARM BUSINESS
Any person or persons or other entity engaged in the sale and installation, maintenance, alteration, repair, replacement or servicing of alarm systems or who respond to or monitors such alarm systems.
ALARM SYSTEM OR DEVICE
Any equipment or device designed to detect and signal an unauthorized intrusion into a premises or to signal an attempted robbery or holdup at protected premises or which is designed to detect a fire or any emergency that alerts a municipal organization of its own commission or occurrence and when activated gives a signal, either visual, audible, or both, or transmits or causes to be transmitted any signal.
AUDIBLE ALARM
Any device, bell, horn or siren which is attached to the interior or exterior of a building and emits a warning signal audible outside the building and designed to attract attention when activated by a criminal act or other emergency requiring police or emergency vehicles to respond.
AUTOMATIC TELEPHONE TAPE DIALER TIE-IN
An electrically operated arrangement connected to an alarm system composed of sensory apparatus and related hardware which automatically transmits a voice and/or digital alarm direct to the City of Altoona Police Department or City of Altoona Fire Department utilizing a designated trunk line.
CITY
The City of Altoona.
DEDICATED LEASED LINE TIE-IN OPTION
A leased line arrangement interconnecting an alarm system to the Communications Center of the Police and Fire Departments for the purpose of signaling alarms.
DESIGNATED TRUNK LINE
A telephone line servicing the Communications Center of the Police and Fire Departments.
FALSE ALARM
Any signal activated by an alarm system, any audible alarm or any other kind of direct or indirect signal given the police or municipal Communications Center to which police or firemen respond which is not the result of a burglary, fire, robbery or similar emergency. This shall not include an alarm activated by an act of God.
FIRE DEPARTMENT
The City of Altoona Fire Department.
INTERMEDIARY
A central station protective system or an answering service. Intermediary shall not include individuals other than central station protective systems or answering services as defined herein who accept recorded messages from alarm systems at their homes without consideration or such individuals are neither trained operators nor are acting in a compensated or official capacity. They shall include monitoring systems maintained by the alarm industry or alarm businesses.
POLICE COMMUNICATIONS CENTER
The Police Communications Room or other rooms which house the communications equipment into which alarms or communications are transmitted for response by police, firemen or other emergency services.
POLICE DEPARTMENT
The City of Altoona Police Department.
A. 
The City of Altoona may choose to establish a designated trunk line or separate phone line keyed to the (police) Communications Center. The purpose of this separate phone line or designated trunk line will be to handle all alarm transmissions. Upon proper notice to permit holders of the identification of this designated trunk line, all automatic telephone tape dialer devices that transmit recorded messages directly to the Police or Fire Departments shall, within 90 days of notice, be keyed or arranged to transmit these messages to the designated trunk line only.
B. 
Any person who has an automatic telephone tape dialer protection device in the City of Altoona may arrange to have such device keyed to an intermediary monitoring station to relay emergency messages to the Police or Fire Department.
(1) 
The relay of messages as outlined above shall be on a person-to-person basis.
C. 
If said automatic telephone tape dialers are programmed to automatically telephone designated numbers upon activation, all said devices shall be programmed so that the first (priority) telephone call shall be forwarded to the City of Altoona Police Department on their designated telephone line. If said automatic telephone tape dialers are equipped and programmed to, upon activation, make two or more telephone calls contemporaneously, then one of said contemporaneous calls shall be the City of Altoona Police Department.
D. 
Any alarm business or company which does business within the City of Altoona who maintains an intermediary answering service or monitoring station which can receive signals from an alarm device located within the City of Altoona shall provide to the City of Altoona's Communications Center, within 30 days after the effective date of this article, the address, business affiliation and telephone number of all intermediary answering services or monitoring stations whose responsibilities include receiving messages or signals from an alarm device located within the City of Altoona and, further, whom transmit messages unto the Communications Center of the City of Altoona.
A. 
It shall be unlawful for a property owner, lessee of property, or a person otherwise occupying a premises within the City of Altoona to put an alarm device into operation on his/her premises or to allow an alarm device into operation on his/her premises without first obtaining an alarm device permit from the City of Altoona Police Department. It shall also be unlawful for a property owner, lessee of property or a person otherwise occupying a premises outside the City of Altoona to put an alarm device which terminates at the City of Altoona Police Department into operation on his/her premises or to allow such an alarm device to be put into operation on his/her premises without first obtaining an alarm device permit from the City of Altoona Police Department. A separate permit shall be required for each separate location where an alarm system is present.
(1) 
A waiver of the above provision can be granted, upon showing of just cause, by the City of Altoona Police Department.
B. 
In order to apply for an alarm device permit, a person must submit an application to the City of Altoona Police Department stating the following:
(1) 
His/her name.
(2) 
His/her home and business address and telephone number of each.
(3) 
The location at which the alarm device will be installed and operated.
(4) 
The names, addresses and telephone numbers of at least two individuals who have keys to the premises at which the alarm device is located and who are authorized to enter the premises at any time, but who do not reside at the location of the alarm device.
(5) 
If the alarm device is to be leased or rented from, or is to be serviced pursuant to a service agreement by a person or company other than the person or company making application for an alarm device permit, the name, address and telephone number of that person or company.
C. 
A person applying for an alarm device permit shall submit an annual fee in an amount established by resolution of the City Council, along with his/her application to cover the cost of issuing each permit.
[Amended 1-24-1996 by Ord. No. 5384; 4-10-2002 by Ord. No. 5498[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
D. 
The City of Altoona Police Department shall, within 10 weekdays from receipt of an application for an alarm device permit, either grant an alarm device permit to the applicant or notify the applicant, in writing, that his/her application has been denied and the reason or reasons why it has been denied.
E. 
Notwithstanding the language contained in Subsection A of this section, it shall not be unlawful for a person to continue to operate an alarm device on his/her premises without an alarm device permit for a period of 90 days after the effective date of this article, provided that said alarm device was in operation on the effective date of this article.
F. 
The City of Altoona Police Department shall have the power to revoke an alarm device permit for violations as outlined in this article. An alarm device permit shall be revoked by notifying the permit holder, in writing, that his/her alarm device permit has been revoked and the reason or reasons why it has been revoked. Such written notice shall be:
(1) 
Delivered personally to the permit holder, in which case the revocation shall be effective immediately upon delivery; or
(2) 
Mailed to the permit holder at his/her last known address by regular mail, postage prepaid, in which case the revocation shall be effective three days after mailing.
G. 
An alarm device permit may only be revoked for the following reasons:
(1) 
Failure of an alarm device to conform with the operational standards set forth in § 171-4 of this article.
(2) 
Failure of a permit holder to pay a false alarm charge assessed to him/her by the City of Altoona Police Department under the provisions of § 171-6 of this article within 30 days of the mailing to him/her of a notice of the assessment of a false alarm charge.
(3) 
The occurrence of more than 10 false alarms from an alarm device during any calendar year.
(4) 
The occurrence of an intentional and malicious false alarm caused by the permit holder or by an individual over the age of 15 who resides on the premises where the alarm device is located.
H. 
A person who has had his/her alarm device permit revoked under Subsections F and G of this section may reapply for an alarm device permit 45 days after the effective date of such revocation; provided, however, that if a person's alarm device permit was revoked for nonpayment of a false alarm charge or for nonpayment of a permit fee, or both, the City of Altoona Finance Department shall deny said application unless such charge or fee, or both, have been paid. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a person who has had his/her alarm device permit twice revoked on the basis of an occurrence of an intentional false alarm may not reapply for an alarm device permit for one year from the effective date of the second revocation.[2]
[2]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
A. 
If an alarm device is designed to cause a bell, siren or sound-making device to be activated on or near the premises on which the alarm device is installed at the time it gives an alarm, said alarm device shall be designed to deactivate the bell, siren or other sound-making device after 10 minutes of operation. Further, an audible alarm shall be designed so that it can be reasonably heard throughout the entire location of the premises.
B. 
All alarm devices shall meet the applicable standards of the Underwriters Laboratories and/or the National Fire Protection Association, and/or other recognized industry standards. The applicant for a permit may be required to submit evidence of the reliability and suitability of the alarm device.
C. 
The sensory mechanism used in connection with an alarm device must be adjusted to suppress false indications of fire or intrusion, so that the alarm device will not be activated by impulses due to transient pressure change in water pipes, short flashes of light, wind noises, such as the rattling or vibrating of doors or windows, vehicular noises adjacent to the premises, or other forces unrelated to genuine alarm situations.
D. 
The alarm device must be maintained by the permit holder in good repair to assure reliability of operation.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
A. 
A permit holder shall pay to the City of Altoona a charge for each false alarm emanating from his/her alarm device during any calendar year as follows:
(1) 
First to third false alarm: warning letter each time.
(2) 
Fourth false alarm and each additional false alarm: $50 each.
B. 
When a false alarm occurs, the City of Altoona Police Department, within 10 days from the date of each false alarm, shall notify the permit holder of the alarm device from which the false alarm emanated that a false alarm charge is due and the amount thereof, if any. Such notice shall be in writing and mailed to the permit holder at his/her last known address by regular mail, postage prepaid. Failure of the City of Altoona Police Department to mail notice of assessment of a false alarm charge within 10 days from the occurrence of a false alarm shall preclude the City of Altoona from assessing a false alarm charge for said false alarm.
C. 
Upon notification of assessment of a false alarm, the permit holder shall have five days to contact the City of Altoona Police Department and offer an explanation or defense as to the allegation of false alarm. Within five days after said defense is presented in writing or in person, the City of Altoona Police Department shall notify the permit holder of its final decision.
D. 
A false alarm charge shall be due and payable at the office of the City of Altoona Finance Department 30 days from the date of the mailing of the notice of assessment of the false alarm charge or 30 days after notification following a meeting as described in Subsection C above.
E. 
Failure of a permit holder to pay a false alarm charge on or before the due date shall subject such permit holder to revocation of his/her alarm device permit under § 171-3F and G of this article.
F. 
After four false alarms within any twelve-month period, a permit holder shall, upon request, provide, in writing, what efforts have been made to prevent the occurrence of further false alarms. If the permit holder fails to adequately assure the City, to the City's reasonable satisfaction, that proper measures are being conducted by a qualified person to correct the deficiency or deficiencies within the alarm system which deficiency is the source of the false alarm or other problem as designated by the City, the City may, at its discretion, revoke the subject permit.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original § 7, Installation listing, which immediately followed this subsection, was repealed at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
The issuance of any permit shall not constitute acceptance by the City of Altoona of any liability to maintain any equipment, to answer alarms or for anything in connection therewith.
Whenever, under the provisions of this article, the City of Altoona Police Department is empowered to make a decision with respect to the installation, operation or maintenance of any alarm device, or with respect to the denial or revocation of any permit relating thereto, any applicant for a permit or permit holder aggrieved by said decision may, within 10 days following said decision, file a written appeal therefrom with the City Manager of the City of Altoona, whereupon the City Manager shall promptly conduct a hearing and affirm, modify or reverse the decision appealed from. The decision of the City Manager shall be final.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
For all offenses and violations not otherwise specified, the penalty shall be a summary offense punishable by a fine not less than $100 nor more than $1,000 or a prison term not to exceed 90 days, or both.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).