For the purposes of this article, certain words and phrases shall be construed herein as set forth in this section, unless it is apparent from the context that a different meaning is intended:
"Alarm agent"
means a person employed by an alarm business whose duties include selling on premises, altering, installing, moving, repairing, replacing, servicing, responding or monitoring an alarm system within the city, or a person who manages or supervises a person employed by an alarm business to perform any of the duties described herein. These individuals are licensed and regulated by the state and not by the city.
Exemption.
The provisions of the section do not include a person who engages in the manufacture or sale of an alarm system from a fixed location and who neither visits the location where the alarm system is to be installed, nor designs the scheme for physical location and installation of the alarm system in a specific location.
"Alarm business"
means the business by any person, other than an alarm agent, who, for any consideration, engages in business or accepts employment selling, leasing, maintaining, monitoring, servicing, repairing, altering, replacing, moving or installing any alarm system in or on any building, structure or facility, or who responds to alarm systems within the city. These individuals are licensed and regulated by the state and not by the city.
"Alarm certification"
means that portion of the alarm permit application completed by the alarm subscriber testifying that the system has been tested in normal use for a specified period of time prior to application for a permit. Signal lamps temporarily replacing bells, alarms being intercepted at a central station or answering service, or other reasonable methods may be employed to test the system.
"Alarm location"
means the protected premises containing the alarm to which the police respond.
"Alarm permit"
means that document issued by the city authorizing the operation of an alarm intended to cause the police to respond.
"Alarm subscriber"
means any individual or company who or which operates an alarm whether it be leased or purchased with or without a regular service contract.
"Alarm system"
means any mechanical or electronic device or assembly of equipment and devices which is designed or used for the detection of an unauthorized entry into a building, structure or facility, or for deterring others from the commission of an unlawful act within a building, structure or facility, or to signal the presence of a hazard requiring urgent attention and which emits a sound or transmits a signal or message when activated to which police are expected to respond. Alarm systems include, but are not limited to, direct dud telephone services, audible alarms and proprietor alarms. Devices which are not designed or used to register alarms that are audible, visible or perceptible outside of the protected building structure or facility are not included within this definition, nor are auxiliary devices installed by the telephone company to protect telephone company systems which might be damaged or disrupted by the use of an alarm system.
"Applicant"
means a person, firm or corporation who or which files an application for a new, renewed or reinstated permit as provided in this article.
"Audible alarm"
means a device designed for the detection of unauthorized entry on, or attempted entry into, a premises or stricture or for alerting others of the commission of an unlawful act, or both, and which, when activated, generates an audible sound on the premises. Internal warning devices, buzzers, etc., designed to alert people within the facility are not audible alarms.
"Audible pre-alarm"
means any warning sound that can be heard by an individual entering the alarm location legally through the normal entry/exit point. This sound is to begin immediately upon entry and precede the final alarm in order to alert occupants to turn off the alarm before it notifies the police. Abnormal entry points (rear doors, windows, etc.) and/or holdup alarms require no pre-alarm.
"City"
means the city of Buena Park.
"Day"
means calendar day.
"False alarm"
means the activation of an alarm system necessitating response by the police when an emergency does not exist.
Alarms generated by earthquakes, unusually high winds, tornadoes, hurricanes or unusual acts of nature shall not be counted as false.
"Notification of alarm"
means the act of the police alerting the alarm subscriber that there has been an alarm and police response. Notification may take the form of a completed telephone call to one of the emergency numbers of the permit, by personal notification (as when the responding officer finds the alarm subscriber at the alarm location), or by mail to the alarm location.
"Permit revocation"
means the permittee can no longer maintain an alarm which emits a sound, signal or message to which the police are expected to respond.
"Person"
means a person, firm, corporation, association, partnership, individual, organization or company.
"Police chief"
means the chief of police of the city of Buena Park or his or her designee.
"Police department"
means the police department of the city of Buena Park.
"Police response"
means any individual police officer or group of police officers arriving at the alarm location to investigate an alarm and report their findings. All such activity within a four-hour period shall be considered a single response.
"Proprietor alarm"
means an alarm which is not serviced by an alarm business.
"Public nuisance alarm"
means an alarm which has had more than six false alarms in any consecutive three hundred sixty-five-day period.
"Residence"
means the premises occupied by a person or persons as a regular place of abode and which conforms to the zoning ordinance of the city of Buena Park.
"Service fee"
means a fee paid to the city of Buena Park after an excessive number of false alarms.
"Silent alarm"
means one which reports to some remote location via telephone line, radio transmitter or other nonaudible means.
"Tape-recorded telephone dialers" and "automatic telephone dialing systems"
means devices for automatically calling and reporting an emergency to a remote telephone and are a special class of silent alarm sometimes referred to herein as a "tape dialer."
(Ord. 1260 § 3, 1991)
A. 
Applications for all permits hereunder shall be secured from the chief of police or his or her designee and shall be accompanied by the required initial and annual renewal fee established by resolution of the city council. The fee is established to cover the cost of investigating and processing the applications and permits and is not refundable.
B. 
Applications for permits require the following information:
1. 
Name and address of alarm location;
2. 
Location telephone number;
3. 
Other persons to contact who have a key to the premises;
4. 
Alarm company information;
5. 
Type of alarm installed; and
6. 
Any other information relevant to the issuance of an alarm permit as may be required by the chief of police or his or her designee.
(Ord. 1260 § 3, 1991)
In order for a permit to be issued, the applicant must comply with the following conditions:
A. 
An intrusion/burglar alarm has an audible pre-alarm that sounds for at least thirty seconds before transmitting a silent alarm. This does not apply to holdup/robbery alarms or unused entry points of a burglar alarm.
B. 
An exterior audible alarm must have an automatic shutoff feature designed to cut off the sound within fifteen minutes maximum.
C. 
The alarm subscriber is required to notify the city of any changes in the status of the alarm such as names, phone numbers or type of alarm within ten days.
D. 
A separate alarm permit is required for each premises on which an alarm system is used or installed.
(Ord. 1260 § 3, 1991)
The permit shall be maintained on the premises where the alarm system is located. Each permit shall be given a unique number. The finance department shall charge the permit application fee as provided in this article. No permit shall be issued, reinstated or renewed until all alarm system permit fees or service charges due and owing are paid.
(Ord. 1260 § 3,1991)
A. 
The United States Government, the state of California, counties and other public entities are exempt from payment of permit fees required in this article, but said entities shall otherwise be required to obtain an alarm permit and shall be subject to all other provisions of this article, excepting criminal penalties imposed, for false alarm violations of this article.
B. 
Residential subscribers sixty-five years of age or older whose alarm system serves to protect subscriber's residence, but no commercial activity, shall be exempt from the payment of the permit fee. All other provisions of this article shall apply.
(Ord. 1260 § 3, 1991)
Whenever any change will occur relating to the written information required by this article, the applicant or permittee shall give written notice thereof to the police department at least five days prior to such change.
(Ord. 1260 § 3, 1991)
A. 
Any alarm system which experiences seven or more false alarms within any consecutive three-hundred sixty-five-day period shall be subject to permit revocation as provided herein.
B. 
If the police department records seven or more false alarms within any consecutive three-hundred sixty-five-day period:
1. 
The chief of police or his or her designee shall notify the alarm user by certified mail of the city's intent to revoke the permit and shall direct that the user submit a report to the chief of police within fifteen days of receipt of the notice describing actions taken or to be taken to discover and eliminate the cause of the false alarms.
2. 
If the alarm user submits a report as directed, the chief of police or his or her designee shall determine, among other things, if the actions taken or to be taken are in compliance with the special conditions of this article. If he or she determines that the action will prevent the occurrence of false alarms, he or she shall notify the alarm user that a new permit may be obtained upon payment of the permit fee and submission of a new application form.
3. 
If no report is submitted, or if the chief of police or his or her designee determines that the actions taken or to be taken will not prevent the occurrence of false alarms, the chief of police shall give notice by certified mail to the user that the permit will be revoked without further notice on the tenth day after the date of the notice if the user does not file within that period a written request for a hearing.
4. 
If a hearing is requested, written notice of the time and place of the hearing shall be served on the user by the chief of police by certified mail at least ten days prior to the date set for the hearing, which date shall not be more than twenty-one days nor less than ten days after the filing of the request for hearing.
5. 
The hearing shall be before the city manager or his or her designee and the alarm user shall have the right to present written and oral evidence, subject to the right of cross-examination. If the city manager determines that seven or more false alarms have occurred in a consecutive three-hundred sixty-five-day period, and that the user has not taken actions which will prevent the occurrence of false alarms, the city manager shall issue written findings to that effect and an order revoking the user's permit.
6. 
An alarm user shall immediately discontinue use of the alarm system upon being notified by certified mail of the revocation of the permit.
7. 
An alarm user whose permit has been revoked may apply for a new permit as provided in Section 5.08.290. Once a permit is revoked, the chief of police may impose reasonable restrictions and conditions upon the user, before issuing a new permit, which restrictions and conditions shall be written on the permit and shall provide for summary revocation on the occurrence of seven false alarms in the permit year.
C. 
The fee to issue a permit for any alarm system where the permit has previously been revoked shall be twenty-five dollars in addition to the permit fee set by resolution of the city council to help defray the administrative and investigative costs associated with examining the premises and the proof of the repair and other corrective action submitted with said application.
D. 
When an appeal is filed, the order of revocation shall be stayed until such time as the appeal process is completed and a final decision is rendered.
(Ord. 1260 § 3, 1991)
If the police department determines that a false alarm has occurred, the police officer responding to the alarm shall leave a notice at the premises which shall include the date and time of the response and a statement that the alarm "was a false alarm," and the subscriber should take action to correct the causative problems and a warning that more than seven false alarms in any consecutive three-hundred sixty-five-day period will result in the alarm permit being revoked. Multiple activation of an alarm system within a calendar year shall count as only one false alarm for the purpose of Sections 5.08.090 and 5.08.280 through 5.08.470. However, multiple activation will require subscriber to submit, within ten days, a written confirmation that prior multiple activation causes have been corrected. A copy of this notice will be filed with the alarm owner's permit application. Once an alarm system permit has been revoked, the alarm shall be disabled so that it can no longer emit a sound, signal or message to which the police are expected to respond. Violators may be punished in accordance with Section 5.08.460 of this article.
(Ord. 1260 § 3, 1991)
A. 
A service fee shall be paid to the city by an alarm owner after an excessive number of false alarms have been received from any one source by the police department.
B. 
Fees shall be set according to the following schedule:
1. 
The first, second, and third false alarm in any consecutive period shall not be considered excessive, and no fee shall be assessed.
2. 
For the fourth false alarm, and for any further alarms which are responded to by the police department within any three hundred sixty-five day period, subscriber shall pay a service fee as established by resolution of the city council.
C. 
Unpaid service fees shall be recoverable by the city as a debt on a written contract.
(Ord. 1544 § 1, 2010)
A. 
A thirty-day adjustment period to correct mechanical problems will be allowed for any new, improved or replaced alarm system before the false alarm provisions of this article shall be applicable to such system if the permittee shows that any false alarm was the result of conditions beyond his or her control and not the result of negligence on his or her part or that of his or her employees; provided further, that the permittee can demonstrate that he or she neither knew of the defect in the alarm system, nor in the exercise of due care, should have known of such defect, and such alarm shall not be deemed a false alarm within the meaning of this article.
B. 
The alarm subscriber may contest the responding officer's determination of a false alarm by contacting the chief of police or his or her design within five days of notification of said false alarm. The chief of police or his or her designee's decision concerning whether or not an alarm is deemed to be a false alarm shall be final.
(Ord. 1260 § 3, 1991)
A. 
An audible alarm shall terminate its operation or the audible alarm shall automatically reset within fifteen minutes of its being activated.
B. 
If an audible alarm has continuously emitted an alarm signal in excess of thirty minutes within a one hour period, the police department may cause such alarm to be disconnected by a registered alarm agent, and the cost thereof shall be payable by the alarm owner.
(Ord. 1260 § 3, 1991)
No person shall use, or allow to be used, any telephonic device which is activated electronically and not intentionally by any person, which automatically dials a city or police department telephone.
(Ord.1260 § 3, 1991)
A. 
No person shall operate or use any alarm system that emits a sound similar to that of an emergency vehicle siren or a civil defense warning system.
B. 
No person shall operate or use an alarm system designed to report a violation of Penal Code Section 211 for any purpose other than reporting robberies or other crimes involving potential serious bodily injury or death.
(Ord. 1260 § 3, 1991)
The information furnished pursuant to this article shall be confidential in character and shall not be subject to public inspection, and shall be kept so that the contents thereof shall not be disclosed to persons other than those charged with the administration and enforcement of this article, except as may otherwise be provided by law.
(Ord. 1260 § 3, 1991)
A. 
The conviction of any person for violation of the provisions of this article or for failing to secure a permit as required by this article shall not relieve the person from paying the permit fee or service charges due and unpaid at the time of the conviction, nor shall payment of any permit fee or service charge prevent criminal prosecution for violation of any of the provisions of this article.
B. 
All remedies shall be cumulative and the use of one or more remedies by the city shall not bar the use of any other remedy for the purpose of enforcing the provisions of this article. The amount of any permit fee shall be deemed a debt to the city.
(Ord. 1260 § 3, 1991)
A. 
Any person who violates or wilfully fails to comply with the provisions of this article is guilty of a misdemeanor except where otherwise expressly provided, and upon conviction thereof; shall be punished by a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars, and each such person shall be guilty of a separate offense for each day during which any violation of any of the provisions of this article is committed, continued or permitted.
B. 
Any person violating any of the provisions of this article who has previously been found guilty of a misdemeanor under this article for violation of the same section within the past twelve-month period, may be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, shall be punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars, or by imprisonment for a period not to exceed six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
(Ord. 1260 § 3, 1991)
A. 
The operation of any alarm system contrary to the provisions of this article shall be, and is hereby declared to be, unlawful and a public nuisance. The city may commence an action at law or in equity in any court of competent jurisdiction against such violator to compel compliance with the provisions of this article.
B. 
The prevailing party in any action, administrative proceeding, or special proceeding to abate a nuisance pursuant to this section shall be entitled to its reasonable attorneys' fees if: (1) the city elected to seek recovery of its own attorneys' fees at the initiation of the action, administrative proceeding, or special proceeding; and (2) the award of attorneys' fees does not exceed the amount of reasonable attorneys' fees incurred by the city in the action or proceeding.
(Ord. 1260 § 3, 1991; Ord. 1518 § 4, 2008)