[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:
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.
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.
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.
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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
Three false alarms in calendar year.
B.Â
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.Â
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.
