City of Davenport, IA GENERAL PROVISIONS

[Ord. 2012-332 (part); Ord. 95-437 § 1 (part)]

For the purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall be construed to have the meaning set forth in this section unless it is apparent from the context that a different meaning is intended.

ALARM AGENT – Means any person engaged in or employed by an alarm business, either directly or indirectly, whose duties include any of the following activities: selling, maintaining, leasing, servicing, inspecting, repairing, altering, replacing, moving, or installing an alarm system on any building, place, or premises.

ALARM BUSINESS – Means the business of selling, leasing, maintaining, inspecting, servicing, repairing, replacing, altering, moving, or installing an alarm system.

ALARM SYSTEM – Means an assembly of equipment or devices arranged to send a signal to a remote receiving station to make known the occurrence of a robbery or an attempted robbery or an unauthorized intrusion requiring urgent attention and to which the police are expected to respond and includes both automatic and manually operated systems. Alarm systems shall include automatic holdup alarm systems, burglar alarm systems, holdup alarm systems, manual holdup alarm systems. This term also includes an assembly of equipment or devices, or a single device, which monitors temperature, humidity, or other conditions, arranged to send a signal to a remote receiving station to make known the occurrence of a fire or fire-related condition requiring urgent attention and to which the fire department is expected to respond and includes both automatic and manually operated systems. Fire alarms are included in this definition of alarm systems.

ALARM USER – Means the person, firm, partnership, corporation, company, association, or other organization of any kind which has an alarm system to protect its premises, regardless of whether it owns or leases the alarm system.

Each premises having a separate connection to a central station system, a modified central station, or a telephone answering service shall be considered a separate alarm system user for purposes of calculating false alarms subject to the following: in the event a building or group of buildings is connected to or part of a single integrated alarm system, the entire building or group of buildings shall be considered to have a single alarm system for purposes of calculating false alarms; but if the building or group of buildings is not so connected, then each individual alarm system shall be treated as a separate premises. However, any building or group of buildings which contains multiple leaseholds or condominium agreements shall be considered to be a single alarm system as to the common areas of the building or group of buildings which are not covered by leasehold or condominium ownership for other than common usage. All other premises not specifically mentioned shall, as to each separate ownership, lease, or other interest owning, maintaining, or using an alarm system, be considered to have a separate alarm system for purposes of calculating false alarms.

AUTOMATIC PROTECTION DEVICE – Means an instrument which automatically sends a pre-recorded voice alarm actuated by a physical force or condition characteristic of a fire, other casualty, or unauthorized intrusion, over regular telephone lines.

BURGLAR ALARM SYSTEM – Means a method of detecting and signaling the presence, entry, or attempted entry of an intruder into a protected premises.

CENTRAL STATION SYSTEM – Means a system or group of systems, usually operated for customers by a person, in which the signals and messages of automatic protection devices and alarm systems are transmitted to, recorded in, and supervised from a central location which has trained operators and guards on duty at all times who shall take appropriate action upon receipt of a signal or message including the relaying of messages to the emergency communications center.

CHIEF – Means, in the case of a fire alarm system, the chief of the fire department, and, in the case of a burglar or hold-up alarm system, the chief of the police department.

CITY – Means the City of Davenport, Iowa, or such officers or employees as may be designated by this chapter to have specific duties in relation to this chapter.

10.

DIRECT LINE – Means a telephone line leading directly to the emergency communications center that is for use only to report emergency messages and signals on a person-to-person basis.

11.

FALSE FIRE ALARM – Means the activation of a fire alarm system through technical failure, malfunction, improper installation, or the negligence of the owner or lessee of an alarm system or of his or her employees or agents. False fire alarm does not include the activation of an alarm system which is caused by storms, tornadoes, or other violent weather conditions. False fire alarm does not include alarm activation caused by heat, smoke or steam in the absence of fire. False fire alarm does not include alarm system activations or failures caused by water, gas, electrical, telephone or other transmission devices not under the control of an alarm user or his or her employees or agents, the willful act of any person other than the alarm user or his or her agent or employee, and does not include alarm activations or failures due to conditions clearly beyond the control of the alarm user or his or her agents or employees.

12.

FALSE POLICE ALARM – Means the activation of an alarm system through technical failure, malfunction, improper installation, or the negligence of the owner or lessee of an alarm system or of his or her employees or agents. False police alarm does not include the activation of an alarm system which is caused by storms, tornadoes, or other violent weather conditions. False police alarm also does not include the activation or failure of an alarm system caused by transmission lines not under the control of an alarm user or alarm agent, the willful act of any person other than the alarm user or his or her employees or agents or the alarm agent, and does not include activations or failures due to conditions clearly beyond the control of the alarm agent or alarm user. False police alarm does include the activation or use of an alarm system for purposes other than warning or notification of an unauthorized intrusion, or robbery or attempted robbery, or other emergency situations.

13.

FIRE CHIEF – Means the chief of the fire department of the City, or the chiefs authorized representative.

14.

FIRE DEPARTMENT – Means the fire department of the City.

15.

HOLDUP ALARM SYSTEM – Means a method of signaling a robbery or attempted robbery or unauthorized intrusion of a premises in which the signal transmission is initiated by the direct action of a person.

16.

INDICATOR – Means the instrumentation on a monitor panel at the receiving terminal of a signal line which produces both visual and audible alarm signals when activated by a signaling device at an identifiable location or origin.

17.

KEY (to a telephone line) – Means to use a telephone line for transmitting a message, either by direct connection or by a mechanism not so connected, that utilizes the microphone of a standard telephone to do so.

18.

MODIFIED CENTRAL STATION – Means a central station operated for the customers of an alarm business by a person which provides at all time the service of monitoring and relaying messages for customers to the emergency communication center in connection with automatic protection devices and alarm systems, but which does not meet the requirements nor provide all the services of a central station. This definition includes "monitoring stations."

19.

PERSON – Means any individual, partnership, corporation, association, or other organization, but does not include the City.

20.

POLICE CHIEF – Means the chief of the police department or the chiefs authorized representative.

21.

POLICE DEPARTMENT – Means the police department of the City.

22.

PROTECTED PREMISES – Means that part of a building or real estate to which protection is afforded by an alarm system.

23.

PRIMARY TRUNKLINE – Means a telephone line leading directly into the emergency communications center that is for the purpose of handling emergency calls on a person-to-person basis, and which line is identified as a public safety response line such as "911" or by a specific listing among any police department numbers in any telephone directory issued by any telephone directory publisher serving the City and surrounding area.

24.

SECONDARY TRUNKLINE – Means a telephone line leading into the police or fire department or City hall that is identified by a specific listing among the telephone numbers in any telephone directory issued by any telephone directory publisher serving the City and surrounding area that is for handling administrative and other non-emergency calls on a person-to-person basis.

25.

SIGNALING DEVICE – Means an instrument that, upon detection of physical force or condition characteristic of an emergency, will activate a signal line in such a way as to cause both visual and audible signals to be registered by indicators on a monitor panel at the receiving terminal of the signal line in a central location.

26.

SIGNAL LINE – Means a line not connected to any standard telephone equipment which leads into an indicator panel in either a central station system or a modified central station and which is designated to transmit an alarm signal readily identifiable as to location or origin.

27.

TELEPHONE ANSWERING SERVICE – Means a business operating a telephone answering activity that includes the service whereby trained employees on duty at all times receive pre-recorded voice messages from automatic protection devices and who have the duty to relay immediately by live voice any such emergency message to the police or fire department.

28.

THIS CHAPTER – Includes any regulations adopted pursuant to the provisions of Section 5.06.200 and the standards, rules, and regulations established by the chief for direct alarm systems.