It is the intent of this chapter to reduce the number of false alarms occurring within the city and the resultant waste of city resources by providing for corrective administrative action, including fees and potential disconnection and/or criminal penalties.
(Ord. 645 § 1, 1991)
In this chapter, unless a different meaning plainly is required, the definitions contained in this section shall apply:
A. 
"Alarm administrator"
means a person designated by the police chief to review alarm responses, respond to inquiries, and maintain alarm registration and false alarm dispatch databases.
B. 
"Alarm business"
means the business by any individual, partnership, corporation, or other entity of selling, leasing, maintaining, servicing, repairing, altering, replacing, moving or installing any alarm system or causing to be sold, leased, maintained, serviced, repaired, altered, replaced, moved or installed any alarm system in or on any building, structure or facility.
C. 
"Alarm system"
means any assembly of equipment, mechanical or electrical, arranged to signal the occurrence of an unauthorized or illegal entry or other activity requiring urgent attention and to which police are expected to respond.
D. 
"Alarm user"
means the person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company or organization of any kind in control of any building, structure or facility wherein an alarm system is maintained.
E. 
"Automatic dialing device"
means a device which is interconnected and is programmed to select a predetermined telephone number and transmit by voice message or code signal an emergency message indicating a need for emergency response.
F. 
"Chief of police"
includes the chief's designee.
G. 
"False alarm"
means an alarm signal, eliciting a response by police when a situation requiring a response by the police does not in fact exist. It does not include an alarm signal caused by violent conditions of nature or other extraordinary circumstance not reasonably subject to control by the alarm business operator or alarm user.
H. 
"Interconnect"
means to connect an alarm system, including an automatic dialing service, to a telephone line, either directly or through a mechanical device that utilizes a telephone, for the purpose of using the telephone line to transmit a message upon the activation of the alarm system.
I. 
"Response"
shall be deemed to have occurred when the police department begins to proceed towards the premises as a result of the activation of the alarm.
(Ord. 645 § 1, 1991; Ord. 1012 § 1, 2024)
A. 
It is unlawful for any alarm user to operate an alarm system on any premises within the city of Clyde Hill, without first having obtained an alarm system permit from the Clyde Hill police department. Each premises protected by an alarm system requires a separate permit.
B. 
All alarm users required to obtain an alarm system permit must complete an application on a form approved by the Clyde Hill police department and pay the fee as determined by this chapter or in the city's master fee resolution. All permittees must renew their alarm system permits annually together with payment of associated fees. The alarm system permit application form will require all appropriate and necessary information regarding the alarm system user and the alarm system. At a minimum, the permit must include the following:
1. 
The alarm system subscriber and user's name, addresses and telephone number(s);
2. 
Names and telephone number(s) of additional persons designated to respond in the event of alarm activation in the absence of the system subscriber or alarm user. These persons must be capable of providing access to the premises and deactivating the alarm; and
3. 
The name of the alarm business responsible for regular alarm system operation and maintenance and the company's address and telephone number.
C. 
Failure to provide all required permit information will result in automatic denial and may result in no police response to alarm activations at the alarmed premises.
(Ord. 645 § 1, 1991; Ord. 1012 § 2, 2024)
A. 
In addition to other fees set forth in this chapter, alarm system permit registration fees will be as established by the city council in its master fee resolution, but if not included in the current master fee resolution, these minimum fees will apply to each alarm system:
1. 
Initial alarm system permit registration: $25.00.
2. 
Annual alarm system permit renewal: $25.00.
Fees are payable to the city of Clyde Hill.
B. 
The police chief may impose a fee on any alarm system user that fails to register or renew the user permit. This fee will be as established by the city council in its master fee resolution, but if not included in the current master fee resolution, the minimum fee will be $75.00 for failure to obtain or renew an alarm system permit.
(Ord. 1012 § 3, 2024)
A. 
For police response to any false alarm, the city will charge and collect from the alarm system user a false alarm fee. This fee will be calculated based on the number of violations that have occurred in the preceding six months from the date of the most recent false alarm (the "rolling six-month period"). The city council will establish these fees in its master fee resolution, but if not included in the current master fee resolution, the following fees will apply:
1. 
First false alarm: No fee, warning only.
2. 
Second false alarm: $75.00.
3. 
Third false alarm: $175.00.
4. 
Four or more false alarms: $300.00 per violation.
Fees not paid within 30 calendar days of the date of violation will accrue interest at the rate of one and one-half percent per each month payments are not paid in full.
B. 
Upon a first response, the police department may provide a notice of conditions and the requirements of this chapter to the alarm user.
C. 
For a second false alarm within a rolling six-month period, the alarm user must, within five working days after receiving notice from the police chief, make a written report on prescribed forms setting forth:
1. 
The cause of the false alarms;
2. 
The corrective action taken;
3. 
Whether and when the alarm has been inspected by authorized service personnel;
4. 
Any other information the police chief may reasonably require to determine the cause of the false alarms, and any mitigating circumstances and corrective action necessary.
In addition, the police chief may direct the alarm user to have authorized service personnel inspect the alarm at the premises and take other appropriate corrective action. All costs of inspection and corrective action will be borne by the alarm user having or maintaining the alarm on the premises.
D. 
For three or more false alarms within a rolling six-month period, and if the third false alarm or any succeeding false alarm occurs as a result of failure to take necessary corrective action prescribed under subsection (C) of this section, the police chief may order the alarm user to disconnect the alarm system until the alarm system user certifies to the police chief that the prescribed corrective action has been taken and completed; provided, that no disconnection shall be ordered relative to any premises required by law to have an alarm system in operation.
(Ord. 1012 § 4, 2024)
A. 
An alarm system user may appeal the validity of a false alarm determination to the city hearing examiner. The request for an appeal must be in writing and filed with the city clerk within 15 business days of the postmark on the notice that was sent by the city. Failure to contest the false alarm determination in the required time will result in a presumption that the alarm was false.
B. 
Failure to appear at the hearing set in response to an appeal will result in the appellant being responsible for all costs incurred.
C. 
The appeal hearing will be before the hearing examiner and a written transcript or tape recording of the proceedings must be kept. The alarm system user and the city have the right to present written and oral evidence and call witnesses. If the hearing examiner determines that the activation was a valid alarm, the hearing examiner may order the false alarm designation removed from the alarm system user's record and require return of any false alarm fees paid. If the false alarm designation is determined to be valid, the designation shall be entered upon the alarm user's record and the alarm administrator may pursue collection of any penalties or fees. In either case, the hearing examiner must enter written findings setting forth the basis for the examiner's decision.
(Ord. 1012 § 5, 2024)
It is unlawful for any person to program an automatic dialing device to select any telephone line assigned to the city. It is unlawful for any person to fail to disconnect or reprogram such device within 12 hours of receipt of written notice from the chief of police to disconnect or reprogram the automatic dialing device. Any person violating this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
(Ord. 645 § 1, 1991)
Within 180 days after the effective date of the ordinance codified in this section, all alarm systems maintained on any premises in the city shall have an automatic reset device which will cause the alarm to reset after 10 minutes of continuous audible operation. Any alarm user failing to install such an automatic reset device as required in this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
(Ord. 645 § 1, 1991)