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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2.d. Update Alarm OrdinanceEXECUTIVE SUMMARY City Council Special Work Session: October 20, 2015 AGENDA ITEM: Update Alarm Ordinance AGENDA SECTION: Discussion PREPARED BY: Mitchell Scott, Police Chief AGENDA NO. 2.d. ATTACHMENTS: None. APPROVED BY: RECOMMENDED ACTION: Discussion only. ISSUE The currently the alarm ordinance criminalizes false alarms if the resident or business fails to comply with the ordinance. Residents and business owners may apply for a permit; however every residence and business currently has their own yearly calendar with regards to false alarms. This makes it very difficult to manage. BACKGROUND Our current alarm ordinance requires residents or business owners to purchase a permit after they have had four (4) false alarms in a twelve (12) month period. The resident or business owner may purchase an alarm user permit which allows for three (3) additional false alarms for a period of twelve (12) months. If the resident or business owner fails to purchase a permit and if a they have future false alarms under the current city ordinance the resident or business owner will be issued a citation for the violation and every false alarm thereafter for failure to purchase a permit which results in a misdemeanor. DISCUSSION The current alarm ordinance is extremely difficult to manage. When compared to surrounding municipalities the City of Rosemount is the only city that has adopted this format. Staff believes the City of Rosemount should decriminalize the alarm ordinance and adopt an ordinance that is comparable to our surrounding municipalities. RECOMMENDED ACTION The staff recommends the alarm ordinance should be change to eliminate permits completely. It is also recommended the false alarm period be changed to reflect the calendar year not on an individual basis. The new ordinance would allow residents or business owner three (3) false alarms; every false alarm thereafter a fee would be imposed upon the owner. The proposed fee of $100.00 would be imposed for the fourth (4) false alarms and every false alarm thereafter during the calendar year. The property owner and alarm user shall be personally liable for any fee imposed under this section. Payment of fees under this section shall be made to the city within 30 days after mailing the invoice. Payments not made within 30 days are delinquent. All unpaid fees and penalties, together with interest, shall become a lien against the property on which the automatic alarm is located, and shall be certified by the City Clerk to the County Treasurer-Auditor each year as a special assessment in accordance with the statutes of the state. ddj Chapter 8 ALARM SYSTEMS 7-8-1: PURPOSE: 7-8-2: DEFINITIONS: 7-8-3: PERMIT REQUIRED: 7-8-3: NOTIFICATION; MULTIPILE FALSE ALARMS: 7-8-4: PERMIT FEES: 7-8-4: FEES: 7-8-5: APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS: 7-8-5: EXCEPTIONS: 7-8-6: CRIMINAL PENALTIES: 7-8-6: RESTRICTIONS: 7-8-1: PURPOSE: The purpose of this chapter is to preserve and protect the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of Rosemount from the nuisance and negligent operation of alarm systems while providing the highest level of service to alarm users. (Ord. XV.9, 1-21-1997) 7-8-2: DEFINITIONS: For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply: ALARM USER: A person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company or organization of any kind in control of any building, structure, or facility in the city of Rosemount in which an alarm system is maintained. ALARM SYSTEM: Any assembly of equipment or devices, either mechanically or electronically operated, which signals either audibly or in any other manner so as to be seen, heard, or otherwise detected outside the protected area serviced by the alarm system, that a robbery, burglary, medical emergency, fire, act of vandalism or unauthorized entry has occurred, and which is intended, or may reasonably be expected, to summon a response from police or fire personnel. An automobile alarm device shall not be considered to be an alarm system under the terms of this chapter. AUTOMATIC ALARM SYSTEM: Any device or system which is designed to be used for the detection of an unauthorized person in any structure, for alerting others of the commission of an unlawful act, or for the detection of smoke, fire, heat, carbon monoxide, or other hazardous condition within a structure, and which emits a sound or transmits a signal or message when activated. An automobile alarm device shall not be considered to be an alarm system under the terms of this chapter. AUTOMATIC NOTIFICATION DEVICE: An automatic alarm which automatically sends to another location, a message or signal indicating the existence of an emergency situation. CALENDAR YEAR: The period of January 1 through December 31 of each year. CENTRAL STATION SYSTEM: Alarm system that functions through a constantly attended location (central station) operated by an alarm company. Alarm signals from the protected property are received in the central station and are then re-transmitted by trained personnel to the city’s Police or Fire Department’s alarm communications center for dispatch. ALARM USER PERMIT: A permit that an alarm user is required to obtain when the user exceeds four (4) false alarms in a twelve (12) month period. This alarm user permit allows for three (3) false police or fire alarms for a period of twelve (12) months and is exclusive of other alarm requirements. FALSE ALARM: An alarm signal that elicits a response by police or fire personnel when a situation requiring a response does not, in fact, exist and that is caused by the activation of the alarm system through mechanical failure, alarm malfunction, improper installation or the inadvertence of the owner or lessee of an alarm system or of his or her employees or agents. A false alarm does not include an alarm caused by utility line mishaps, violent conditions of nature or other conditions determined to be beyond the control of the alarm manufacturer, installer or user. (Ord. 2011-07, 6-21-2011) 7-8-3: PERMIT REQUIRED: No alarm system user shall be allowed to continue to operate an alarm system on any premises after the system has had more than four (4) false alarms in any twelve (12) month period without obtaining an alarm user permit. The police chief or the fire chief, or the designee of either, shall give notice that the alarm user must secure a permit. Upon exhausting the number of false alarms allowed by a permit, an alarm user must purchase another permit if there have been four (4) or more false alarms at the premises during the preceding twelve (12) month period. An alarm user must continue to maintain alarm users permits in effect for a premises as long as there have been more than four (4) false alarms during the preceding twelve (12) month period. No alarm user is required to acquire a permit to operate an alarm system if there have been four (4) or fewer false alarms from the alarm system on that premises in the preceding twelve (12) month period. (Ord. 2011-07, 6-21- 2011) 7-8-3: NOTIFICATION; MULTIPLE FALSE ALARMS: When any automatic alarm has emitted three false alarms in any calendar year, the city’s Police Department or Fire Department, as applicable, shall notify the alarm user and property owner (if not the alarm user) of the three false alarms and the false alarm fee regulations set forth herein. 7-8-4: PERMIT FEES: The fees for the alarm user permit shall be set by city council resolution. (Ord. XV.9, 1-21-1997) 7-8-4: FEES: (A) A fee shall be imposed upon the alarm user of any automatic alarm, and the property owner of the premises on which the automatic alarm is located, for the fourth false alarm and each false alarm thereafter within a calendar year. The number of false alarms shall be counted and the fee imposed separately for responses by each the Police Department and the Fire Department. The fee shall be in the amount duly adopted by the council resolution. (B) The fee shall be imposed regardless of whether the city’s Police Department or Fire Department receives the alarm by direct connection or through any intermediary such as central station. No fee is imposed under this section when notification to either department is made directly by a person not as a result of or in response to an activated automatic alarm. (C) The property owner and alarm user shall be personally liable for any fee imposed under this section. Payment of fees under this section shall be made to the city within 30 days after mailing the invoice. Payments not made within 30 days are delinquent. All unpaid fees and penalties, together with interest, shall become a lien against the property on which the automatic alarm is located, and shall be certified by the City Clerk to the County Treasurer-Auditor each year as a special assessment in accordance with the statutes of the state. 7-8-5: APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS: Applications for an alarm user permit shall be made in writing to the city on such forms as designated by the city clerk and shall contain the following information: A. The name, address and telephone number of the applicant; B. The name, address and telephone number of the property owner if different from the applicant; C. The property address of the location where the alarm system will be installed and maintained; D. The type of alarm system being installed; E. The names and telephone numbers of persons who have the ability to control the alarm system on a twenty four (24) hour a day availability; F. A declaration that the alarm system does not utilize an automatic dialing device programmed to dial the police or fire department directly. (Ord. 2011-07, 6-21-2011) 7-8-5: EXCEPTION: A newly installed automatic alarm shall be exempt from the provisions of this subchapter for a period of 30 days from the date of installation in order to allow for proper testing and troubleshooting of the system. 7-8-6: CRIMINAL PENALTIES: Any alarm user that violates any part of this chapter or knowingly fails to obtain an alarm user permit shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, shall be punishable as provided in title 1, chapter 4 of this code. (Ord. XII.21, 6-15-2004) 7-8-6: RESTRICTIONS: No person shall install or use, monitor, and possess an automatic alarm that utilizes taped or prerecorded messages that are delivered or otherwise transmitted directly to the Police or Fire Department or the city’s dispatch center, including automatic transmission of the emergency number 911.