[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Commission of the City of Royal Oak 8-3-1987 by Ord. No. 87-2. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Disorderly conduct — See Ch. 278.
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Alarm System Control Ordinance."
It is the purpose of this chapter to regulate emergency alarms and to prevent the disruption and interference with the telephone communication system of the Royal Oak Police and Fire Departments by allowing alarm systems which, when activated, connect with the communication center of the Royal Oak Police and Fire Departments by means of the Departments' telephone system. It is also the purpose of this chapter to prevent audible and/or visible alarms from becoming a nuisance, by requiring persons with audible or visible alarms to provide the Royal Oak Police Department with information as specified in § 180-5 of this chapter, which will assist the Department in deactivating such false alarms. In addition, it is the purpose of this chapter to allow the City to recover a portion of the costs to the City of responding to excessive false alarms as provided for in § 180-6 of this chapter.
The following definitions apply in this chapter:
ALARM SYSTEM
An assembly of equipment and devices, or a single device, arranged to signal the presence of a hazard or situation requiring urgent attention and to which Police or Fire Departments are expected to respond.
AUTOMATIC TELEPHONE ALARM SYSTEM
A device, or combination thereof, that will, upon activation, either mechanically, electronically, or by other means initiate the automatic calling, dialing or connection to any telephone number assigned to the Royal Oak Police or Fire Department by a public telephone company for the purpose of delivering a recorded message.
FALSE ALARM
Any alarm condition which is registered at the Police Department, Fire Department or elsewhere through mechanical failure, malfunction, improper installation, or the negligence of the owner or user of an alarm system or of his employee or agent. Also included is any alarm condition registered at the Police Department, Fire Department or elsewhere not resulting from criminal activity for which the alarm was intended, or in case of a fire alarm, any alarm condition which is registered at the Fire Department or elsewhere not resulting from a fire or potential fire condition.
PERSON
Refers to any individual, joint venture, partnership, firm, corporation or proprietorship.
No person shall install, use, maintain or operate an automatic telephone alarm system as defined herein.
A. 
No person shall maintain an alarm system which, when activated, causes an audible and/or visible signal, which signal can be heard or seen outside the premises protected by said alarm system, and which signal is disturbing to the peace and quiet of the surrounding area, unless that person has first provided the Director of Public Safety of the City of Royal Oak with his name, telephone number and address of the premises where the alarm system is located, and also the names and telephone numbers of at least three other persons who can be reached at any time, day or night, and who, within a thirty-minute response time, will open the premises in which the alarm system is located and deactivate the audible and/or visible signal.
B. 
No person shall maintain an alarm system which emits a sound and/or visual signal for a period longer than 15 minutes from the time of the initial signaling of the devices.
Notwithstanding any penalties provided for in the event of a conviction for a violation of this chapter, in order to defray the cost of responding to false alarms, the owner or lessee of an alarm system experiencing more than three false alarms, as described above, within one calendar year, shall pay to the City of Royal Oak a false alarm fee for each separate occurrence, and the amount of that fee shall be that which is established by resolution of the Royal Oak City Commission. After receiving the third false alarm, the police shall notify the owner or lessee of the premises in writing of this chapter and the amount of the fee at that time charged for subsequent occurrences during that calendar year.
A fee shall not be charged in the following cases:
A. 
Three false alarms in calendar year.
B. 
Alarm conditions being activated by persons working on the alarm system with prior notification to the City of Royal Oak Police Department or Fire Department.
C. 
Alarm conditions activated by severe weather or other violent conditions beyond the control of the owner or lessee of the alarm system.
Any person violating or neglecting or refusing to comply with § 180-4 or 180-5 of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by imposition of a fine not to exceed $500, or by imprisonment not to exceed 90 days, or both, in the discretion of the court.