For the purpose of this chapter, the following words and phrases
shall be construed as applying to activity within the city as further
set forth in this section unless it is apparent from the context that
a different meaning is intended:
means any person in possession of a state-approved alarm
company agent identification card containing said agent's photograph
and physical description and employed by maintaining, moving, repairing,
replacing servicing, responding to, or causing others to respond to
an alarm system in or on any building, structure or facility. This
definition shall not apply to local safety officers as defined in
Government Code Section 20019.4.
means any state-approved alarm company business carried on
by any individual, partnership, corporation, or other entity of leasing,
installing any alarm system or causing to be leased, maintained, serviced,
repaired, altered, replaced, moved or installed any alarm system in
or on any building, structure or facility.
means any mechanical or electrical device which is designed
or used for either the detection of fire or intrusion into a building,
structure or facility or both, which detection causes a local audible
alarm or transmission of a signal or message, or which is used to
evoke police or fire response and devices which are designed so as
not to be audible, visible, or perceptible outside of the protected
building, structure or facility are not included within this definition.
Also not included in this definition are auxiliary devices installed
by a telephone company to protect its system from damage or disruption
by use of an alarm system, alarm systems affixed to vehicles, and
smoke detectors.
means a person who perfects an appeal pursuant to Section 5.07.050.
means the sound generated by a device designed for the detection
of fire in or intrusion into a building, structure or facility.
means the city of Rancho Mirage.
means a calendar day.
means the activation of an alarm system responded to by any
public agency through mechanical failure or malfunction, or accidental
tripping, misoperation, or misuse by the lessee or owner of the alarm
system of his or her employee or agent. Mechanical failure or malfunction
caused by negligent maintenance of the system is also included in
this definition.
Upon failure of the police department or fire department
to find any evidence of intrusion, fire, or other need or cause for
activating an alarm system, a conclusive presumption of false alarm
will be made. False alarms shall not include alarms caused by malfunction
of telephone line circuits, or external causes beyond the control
of the owner or lessee of the alarm system.
means a person, firm, corporation, association, partnership,
individual, organization or company.
detector means a device which senses visible or invisible
particles of combustion and is designed to emit upon activation a
sound sufficient only to provide warning to the occupants of the building,
structure, or facility in which such device is situated.
(Ord. 337, 1985)
No person shall be employed or operate as an alarm agent without
having first obtained a California State-approved alarm company agent
identification card. In addition to the state alarm agent card, each
agent shall have visible a photo I.D. card issued by a licensed alarm
company. This card will identify the employee and the employing company.
Said card shall also contain such statistical information in regard
to said agent as would currently be required upon a motor vehicle
driver's license issued by the state of California.
(Ord. 337, 1985)
No person shall lease, maintain, service, repair, alter, replace,
move, install, or use any alarm system which directly dials any telephone
number of the police department and or sheriff's offices or fire department.
(Ord. 337, 1985)
A.
If at any time it shall come to the attention of the chief of police that the owner or lessee of an alarm system has violated any provisions of this chapter, rules, or regulations made pursuant to this ordinance, including, but not limited to, false alarms which exceed the numbers permitted pursuant to Section 5.07.060, the chief of police may serve such owner or lessee with a written order of suspension, which shall state the reason(s) for such suspension. The said order shall be effective immediately if personally served, or seventy-two hours after the same has been deposited by certified mail in any branch of the United States Post Office, addressed to the owner or lessee of such alarm system at his address as set forth on the current tax assessors role and shall contain the following notice:
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Any person who willfully continues in violation of any provision
of the City's Alarm Ordinance, will be guilty of a misdemeanor and
will be subject to criminal prosecution.
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If you dispute this order of suspension you may, within 15 days
of the date of mailing this order, appeal to the City Manager in accordance
with the provisions of Section 5.07,050 of this Ordinance, a copy
of which is attached for your reference.
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B.
Immediately
upon such an order becoming effective, such owner or lessee shall
immediately discontinue the use of any alarm system.
C.
Upon
failure of the owner or lessee of an alarm system to pay the false
alarm prevention payment provided for in Section 5.07,060, to cause
the alarm system or alarm systems to be properly repaired, or to be
properly used and operated or to perfect an appeal to the city manager,
as provided for in Section 5.07,050, such owner or lessee shall immediately
discontinue the use of any system. The alarm system or systems shall
not thereafter be used until such payment has been made, such repair
has been effected, or such owner or lessee satisfies the chief of
police that such system or systems shall be properly used in the future,
and the chief of police shall authorize in writing use of such system
or system.
(Ord. 337, 1985)
A.
If he
disputes any action of the chief of police, the appellant may appeal
to the city manager by filing with the city clerk a statement addressed
to the city manager setting forth the facts and circumstances regarding
the action of the chief of police. The city clerk shall notify the
appellant in writing of the time and place set for hearing of the
appeal. The city manager or his designated representative, ten days
from the date on which such appeal has been filed with the city clerk,
shall hear the appellant and the chief of police and shall consider
all relevant evidence and shall determine the merits of the appeal.
The city manager may affirm, overrule or modify the decision of the
chief of police, and that decision shall be final.
B.
The
right to appeal to the city manager from an action of the chief of
police shall terminate fifteen days following the deposit of a certified
letter in any branch of the United States Post Office addressed to
the owner or lessee of an alarm system at his above mentioned mailing
address or personal service of said letter, advising the appellant
of the order of suspension.
(Ord. 337, 1985)
A.
When
an audible alarm, message or signal is received by the Rancho Mirage
police and/or sheriff's department or fire departments that evidences
a failure to comply with any of the requirements of this ordinance
the chief of police is authorized to demand that the owner or lessee
of the alarm system initiating such audible alarm, message or signal
or his representative disconnect the alarm system until it is made
to comply with the requirements of this chapter.
B.
Any
person who uses an alarm system for the protection of his real or
personal property or person or has an alarm system connected to the
police alarm system or a fire alarm system which has caused any signal,
message or alarm to be transmitted to the fire department or police
department, either by direct communication from an alarm agent or
an alarm business, or by a person responding to an audible alarm,
and which is proven to be a false alarm, shall pay a false alarm prevention
payment to the city as follows: A service charge of twenty-five dollars
shall be charged for each false alarm in excess of:
C.
Upon
receipt of satisfactory evidence of correction of a faulty system,
or installation of a new system, the chief of police shall initiate
a new thirty-day period for purposes of counting false alarms as defined
in this section. For example, if evidence of correction is received,
the person may have another false alarm during the original or new
thirty-day period without payment to the city of the service charge.
However, said person may not exceed the limits of two, false alarms
during the respective ninety-day period notwithstanding such evidence
of correction.
D.
If an alarm business fails to respond to a false alarm repair request by taking corrective action within a reasonable time, a service charge of twenty-five dollars shall be charged that alarm business for each false alarm thereafter. The alarm business shall maintain records of such corrective action verified by the signature of the person described in subsection B of this section.
(Ord. 337, 1985)
Fire alarm systems shall be listed by the State Fire Marshal.
The city reserves the right to inspect all systems installed within
the city.
(Ord. 337, 1985)
The owner or lessee of an alarm system or systems shall provide
the chief of police with his current mailing address and the names,
addresses and phone numbers of two persons to call in the event of
an emergency. In the event his own mailing address or the names, addresses
and phone numbers of such persons change, the owner or lessee shall
supply the changes to the chief of police within five days of the
change.
(Ord. 337, 1985)
All alarm systems, excluding fire alarms, shall include a device
which will limit the generation of the audible sound of the system
to not longer than thirty minutes after activation.
(Ord. 337, 1985)
All burglary detection alarm systems, excluding such alarm systems
that are activated with a key device or which generate an audible
alarm, shall include a device which will provide a thirty-second delay
before the original alarm transmission and immediately upon being
activated shall emit a signal in such a manner as to be perceptible
to a person lawfully entering, leaving or occupying the premises.
Such a device is intended to provide an opportunity for the person
having lawful control of the alarm system to terminate its operation
after activation but prior to the transmission of a false alarm.
(Ord. 337, 1985)
An alarm system shall be supplied with an interruptible power
supply in such a manner that the failure or interruption of the normal
utility electric service will not activate the alarm system. The back-up
power supply must be capable of at least four hours of continuous
operation.
(Ord. 337, 1985)
A.
An owner
or lessee of an alarm system shall notify his central receiving station
or answering service prior to any service, test, repair, maintenance,
adjustment, alteration or installation of his alarm system which might
activate a false alarm and result in a police/fire department response.
Any alarm system activated where such prior notice has been given
shall not constitute a false alarm.
B.
After
any false alarm caused by any malfunction of an alarm system, the
owner or lessee shall cause the alarm system to be repaired so as
to eliminate such malfunction before reactivating the alarm system.
(Ord. 337, 1985)
A.
After
the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter, it is
unlawful to install or modify an alarm system which upon activation
emits a sound similar to sirens used on emergency vehicles or for
civil defense purposes.
B.
It is
unlawful to transmit an alarm indicating that an emergency exists
without being specific as to the type of emergency, such as robbery,
burglary, or fire.
(Ord. 337, 1985)
Fees prescribed in this chapter shall be in addition to any
other lawful fees imposed by the city for doing or conducting business
with the city.
(Ord. 337, 1985)
The city is under no obligation or duty to any owner or lessee
of an alarm system or any other person by reason of any provision
of this chapter or by reason of the exercise of any privilege pursuant
to this chapter. Nor shall this chapter impose any liability, obligation
or duty upon the city in regards to, but not limited to, defects in
a police or fire alarm system, any delay in transmission of an alarm
message to any emergency unit, or damage caused by nonresponse or
in responding to any alarm by any city office, employee or agent.
(Ord. 337, 1985)
Any person who willfully violates any provision of this chapter
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. Each such person shall be guilty
of a separate offense for each and every day during any portion of
which any violation of any provision of this chapter is committed,
continued or permitted by such person.
(Ord. 337, 1985)
If any provision of this chapter is for any reason held to be
invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of a court of competent
jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining
portions of this chapter, and the city council declares that each
provision is severable and that it would have adopted each provision
which is not found to be invalid irrespective of the fact that any
one or more provisions are declared invalid or nonconstitutional.
(Ord. 337 , 1985)
For the purpose of this chapter, whenever the singular of masculine
is used, the name shall be deemed to include the plural, feminine
or body corporate as necessary.
(Ord. 337, 1985)
