[R.O. 1998 § 205.010; CC 1988 §13-100; Ord. No. 1830 §1, 8-7-1995]
For the purposes of this Chapter,
the following terms shall have the meanings respectively ascribed
to them:
ALARM AGENT
Any person employed by an alarm business whose duties include
altering, installing, maintaining, moving, repairing, replacing, selling,
servicing, responding to, or causing others to respond to an alarm
device.
ALARM BUSINESS
Any business operated by a person or entity who engages in
the activity of altering, installing, leasing, maintaining, moving,
repairing, replacing, selling, servicing, or responding to an emergency
alarm system, or which causes any of these activities to take place.
ALARM SYSTEM
Any mechanical or electrical device which is designed to
be activated manually or automatically upon the detection of an unauthorized
entry, intrusion, or other emergency in or on any building, structure,
facility, or premises through the emission of a sound or transmission
of a signal or message.
ALARM USER
Any person who uses an alarm system to protect any building,
structure, facility, or premises.
AUDIBLE ALARM
A local alarm located on the building, structure, facility
or premises protected and equipped with an exterior sound-producing
device, such as a gong, buzzer, siren, bell or horn.
AUTOMATIC DIALING DEVICE
That part of an alarm system which automatically dials a
specific telephone number and transmits a prerecorded emergency message.
DIRECT-CONNECT ALARM SYSTEM
An alarm system which provides for special telephone or cable
lines that are directly connected to the Police Department and has
an outlet at the Police Department which emits a sound or transmits
a signal or message when activated.
FALSE ALARM
Any activation of an alarm system intentionally, by inadvertence,
negligence, unintentional act or malfunction of the alarm system to
which the St. Ann Police Department is asked to respond when there
is no unauthorized entry, intrusion or emergency, provided that the
following shall not be considered false alarms:
1.
Alarms intentionally caused by a
person acting under a reasonable belief that a need exists to summon
Police assistance.
2.
Alarms occurring on a repeated basis
without apparent cause but where reasonable effort in the judgment
of the Police Chief or his/her designated representative is being
made by the alarm user, alarm business, alarm agent, or other concerned
person to correct the malfunction expeditiously.
3.
Alarms followed by an immediate call
to the Police Department canceling same by giving the proper code
number prior to arrival of a Police Officer.
4.
Alarms caused by weather conditions,
such as windstorms, thunder, lightning or other similar phenomena.
5.
Alarms caused by damage, testing
or repair of the means of transmission, provided that such incidents
are promptly reported to the company providing said means of transmission.
6.
Alarms caused by the malfunction
of equipment located in the St. Ann Police Department.
7.
Alarms caused by an attempted illegal
or unauthorized entry of which there is visible or demonstrated evidence.
MEDICAL ALERT
That part of any alarm system which transmits manually or
automatically a medical alert signal.
[R.O. 1998 § 205.020; CC 1988 §13-101; Ord. No. 1830 §1, 8-7-1995]
A. Licensing. Any alarm business operating
in the City of St. Ann shall be licensed under the provisions of Chapter
720 of the St. Louis County Revised Code, as amended from time to
time, and shall file a copy of such current license or renewal license
with the office of the St. Ann City Clerk.
B. Operational Instruction. Any alarm business
or alarm agent operating in the City of St. Ann shall furnish the
alarm user with written instructions for the operation of the system
and shall provide the alarm user with training in the operation of
the system and, upon request from the alarm user, refresher training.
C. Repair Service. Any alarm business or alarm
agent operating in the City of St. Ann shall offer either directly,
or through an agency, repair service for its alarm systems to maintain
same in proper working order and shall provide its alarm user of the
correct telephone numbers to call for regular and emergency service.
D. Verification Of False Alarms. Any alarm
business or alarm agent shall be responsible for informing the alarm
user, before attaching a medical alert device to an alarm system,
that if the responding authority is not able to verify false alarms,
the alarm will be treated as an actual emergency.
[R.O. 1998 § 205.030; CC 1988 §13-102; Ord. No. 1830 §1, 8-7-1995]
A. Alarm systems shall meet or exceed the
standards set by American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and/or
Underwriter Laboratories (UL) for the application alarm system.
B. All alarm systems in residentially used
premises shall be equipped with a cutoff timer of not more than five
(5) minutes in a twelve-hour period.
C. There shall be no audible alarms in commercially
or industrially used premises.
D. Automatic dialing devices shall only be
programmed to dial a telephone number at the Police Department which
is authorized by the Chief of Police and shall not be programmed to
dial the Police Department emergency number.
E. Any direct connect alarm system shall be
connected to approved monitoring equipment at the St. Ann Police Department.
[R.O. 1998 § 205.040; CC 1988 §13-103; Ord. No. 1830 §1, 8-7-1995]
A. Registration. All alarm systems alarm users
shall provide to the Police Department registration information, as
follows:
1.
The name, address and telephone number
of the alarm user;
2.
The name, address and telephone number
of the alarm business or alarm agent;
3.
The name, address and telephone number
of the alarm business or alarm agent which the alarm user will contact
for repair service, including regular and emergency service;
4.
The name, address and telephone number
of at least one (1) other person with access to the building, structure,
facility or premises protected by the system.
B. Maintenance. The alarm user shall be responsible
for maintaining the alarm system in good repair to assure reliability
of operation.
C. Misuse. The alarm user shall be responsible
for seeing that the system is not misused.
[R.O. 1998 § 205.060; CC 1988 §13-105; Ord. No. 1830 §1, 8-7-1995]
The City of St. Ann shall not be
liable for any defects in the operation of automatic dialing devices
or signal line systems, for any failure to respond upon receipt of
an alarm from any such source, nor for the failure or neglect of any
alarm business or alarm agent. The City shall have no liability resulting
from any damage to any part of a building, structure, facility or
premises which might be forced or damaged to verify an emergency situation.
In the event that the City deems it appropriate to disconnect an alarm
system, it shall incur no liability from such action.