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O88-36AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, REGULATING BURGLAR AND FIRE ALARMS; PROVIDING FOR A SHORT TITLE; PROVIDING DEFINITIONS; PROVIDING THAT ALARM OPERATING PERMITS SHALL BE REQUIRED; PROVIDING FOR PERMIT APPLICATION; PROVIDING FOR THE TERM OF PERMITS, FEES, AND NON-TRANSFERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR THE ISSUANCE OF ALARM OPERATING PERMITS; PROVIDING FOR REQUIRED DECALS; PROVI'DING DUTIES OF PROPERTY OWNERS; PROVIDING FOR DUTIES OF PERSONS NOTIFIED; PROVIDING OPERATION REQUIREMENTS FOR ALARM SYSTEMS; PROVIDING THAT FALSE ALARMS SHALL BE PROHIBITED WITH CERTAIN EXCEPTIONS; PROVIDING THAT EXCESSIVE FALSE ALARMS SHALL BE DECLARED A PUBLIC NUISANCE~; PROVIDING FOR A FALSE ALARM SERVICE CHARGES AND COLLECTION THEREOF; PROVIDING FOR THE PROHIBITION OF INTERFERENCE OF CITY TELEPHONE TRUNK LINES;~' pRovIDING RESTRICTIONS ON AUD!IBLE PROVIDING FOR ENFORCEMENT THE CODE ENFORCEMENT BOARD; ING FOR A CONFLICTS CLAUSE; ,ING A SEVERABILITY lNG AUTHORITY TO CODIFY; AN EFFECTIVE DATE; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, THAT: Section 1. Short Title. This Ordinance shall be known and cited hereinafter as the "Burglar and Fire Alarm Ordinance." Section 2. Definitions. For the purpose of this article, whenever any of the following words or terms are used herein, they shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section: A. Alarm: Any device which is used in a building or premises for the detection of fire, unauthorized entry, burglary or any other criminal activity, and which when activated emits a sound, signal or message to alert others, whether emitted on or off the premises or to the central office of an alarm business. B. Alarm business: Any business of selling, leasing, person engaged in the monitoring, maintaining, servicing, repairing, altering, replacing, moving or installing any alarm for any building, place or premises. C. Alarm user: Any person using an alarm or occupying and controlling a premises or building, or a portion of a premises or building, served by an alarm. D. Class "A" alarms: All those alarms activated by illegal entry, in response to criminal activity or fire and includes alarms activated solely by an act of nature not contributed to by faulty design, maintenance, installation or use. E. False alarms: All activated alarms, responded to by the Police and/or Fire Department, which do not qualify as class "A" alarms, including but not limited to alarms activated through inadvertence, neglect, accident, alarm testing, and faulty installation or maintenance. An individual, partnership, association F. Person: or corporation. Section 3. No person shall Alarm operating permit required. have an alarm installed to be operational, or use an existing alarm serving a premises, or a building, or portion thereof, occupied or controlled by such person, unless an alarm operating permit in the form of a decal has been issued hereunder, and is in force, authorizing the use of such alarm. Said alarm operating permit shall constitute a regulatory license. For any alarm existing prior to the effective date of this article, an alarm operating permit application shall be made within sixty (60) days of the effective date hereof. Section 4. Application for permit. (a) Application for an alarm operating permit for the operation of an alarm system shall be made by a person having control over the property on which the alarm system is to be operated. Such application shall be made in writing to the Building Official on a form designated by the -2- City for that purpose. On such application, the applicant shall set forth: (1) The name, address and telephone number of each person in control of the property. (2) The street address of the property on which the alarm system is to be or has been installed and operated. (3) Any business name used 'for the premises on which the alarm system is to be installed and operated. (4) Whether the alarm system or systems are or are not local alarms and whether the alarm system or systems are designed to give notice of a burglary, fire, hold-up or of other type of emergency. (5) The name of the person or alarm system business who will install the alarm system. (6) The names and telephone numbers of two (2) persons or of an alarm system business which are able to and have agreed: A. To receive notification of alarm activation at any time; B. To arrive at the alarm site within one and one-half (1 1/2) hours after receiving a request from a member of the Communications Center, Police Department or Fire Department to do so; and C. To grant access to the alarm site and to deactivate the alarm system if such becomes necessary; or The name and telephone number of an alarm system business which is able and has agreed to receive calls at any time and to give the Police Department, Fire Department and/or Communications Center the names of persons listed with that company as set out in D. and E. below if: D. The person having control over the property has given the alarm system business the names and telephone numbers of two (2) persons who are able and have agreed to receive notification at any time; to come to the alarm site within one and one-half (1 1/2) hours after receiving a request from a member of the Communications Division, Police Department or Fire Department to do so; and to grant access to the alarm site and to deactivate the alarm system if necessary; E. The person having control over the property agrees that he will, whenever a person listed with the alarm company pursuant to E. above is unwilling or unable to perform the duties set out, give the alarm system business the name and telephone number of another person who is able and is willing to perform the duties so that at least two (2) persons are listed with the alarm system business at all times; and F. The person having control over the property has authorized the alarm system business to provide the names listed with that business pursuant to D. and E. above to the Police and/or Fire Department or the Communication Center whenever that Department(s) or the Communication Center has requested that information in order to obtain assistance after an alarm has been activated. (b) Immediately after receipt of the alarm operating permit application, the Building Official or his designee, shall forward a copy of the application to the Communications Division. -4- Section 5. Term of permit; fee; nontransferrable. An alarm operating permit shall have a term of one (1) year from the date of issuance, said term to begin October 1 and end September 30. Any alarm operating permit issued after October 1 will be valid through September 30 next following. Any alarm operating permit issued prior to October 1, 1988, shall be valid through September 30, 1989. A ten dollar ($10.00) fee shall be charged the alarm user by the city for each alarm operating permit issued, including successive renewal permits, to defray the cost of regulation. Any alarm operating permit issued pursuant to this article shall not be transferable or assignable and shall cover only one (1) building or premises or portion thereof. Section 6. Issuance of alarm operating permit. An alarm permit will be issued by the Building Official upon receipt of said completed application. An alarm operating permit shall be denied if: (a) The requested information is not supplied on the application. (b) Material information on the application is incorrect. (c) Any person or entity listed on the application under items (4), (5) and (6) of Section 4 of this Ordinance does not possess any required occupational or regulatory license to conduct the activities required by said items (4), (5) and (6), unless the person or entity is the alarm user. Section 7. Decal required. Each alarm operating permit holder shall be issued an alarm decal by the Building Official. Said decal shall be displayed at the main entry or a conspicuous place visible to the outside of the premises of all business or commercial establishments covered by said permit. Display of alarm -5- operating permit is optional for residential units covered by said permit. Section 8. Duties of property owner. The person in control of the property on which an alarm system is installed shall: (a) Ensure that any person listed with the City is able: (1) To receive notification at any time; (2) To come to the alarm site within one and one-half (1 1/2) hours after receiving a request from a member of the Police Department to do so; and (3) To grant access to the alarm site and to deactivate the alarm system if such becomes necessary. (b) Train all persons who may activate the alarm system in the proper operation of the alarm system. Section 9. Duty of person notified by the Communications Division, Police Department or Fire Department to provide access to premises, render assistance. Any person who is notified by any member of the Communications Division, Police Department or Fire Department of the activation of an alarm system and who is able to give access to the alarm site shall come to the alarm site within one and one-half (1 1/2) hours of the time such person is notified of such activation and shall provide the Police and/or Fire Department any necessary access or assistance. Section 10. Operation of alarm system. No person shall install, cause to be installed or permit to be installed any alarm system unless the requirements of this section are met. (a) Any alarm system which may be activated as a result of different types of emergency situations -6- shall give a unique signal to designate activation as a result of a hold-up, a burglary, a fire, or any other difference type of emergency situation so that the proper notification and proper response can be made. (b) Any local alarm system shall have a thirty-minute shutoff and must not make a sound similar to that of a siren, an emergency vehicle or a civil defense warning system. For purposes of this subsection any alarm system which emits any variable tone (as opposed to a steady pitch or a ringing sound as is made by a bell) shall be considered to be emitting a sound which is similar to that of a siren, an emergency vehicle or a civil defense warning system. (c) Any hold-up alarm shall be designed so that it may be activated only by intentional and deliberate human action; and (d) The City may set reasonable standards and procedures to be followed by any alarm system business or telephone answering service when giving notice to the Communications Division of activation of an alarm system. Such standards and procedures shall be set out in writing and made available to any alarm system business or telephone answering service requesting same. Section 11. False alarms prohibited; exceptions. No person shall intentionally activate an alarm system for any purpose other than an emergency or threat of emergency of the kind for which the alarm system was designed to give notice; provided, however, it shall be an affirmative defense to prosecution under this section that the alarm system was sounded solely for the purpose of testing the alarm and the person who tested the alarm took reasonable precautions to avoid any request being made to -7- the Police Department or Fire Department to respond to such alarm. Section 12. Excessive false alarms declared a public nuisance. The emission of more than three (3) false alarms within any twelve month period of time is excessive and constitutes a serious nuisance, and is hereby declared to be unlawful and a violation of this section. No person shall allow, permit, cause or fail to prevent the emission, for any reason, by any alarm used by such person, or any alarm serving a premises or a building occupied and controlled by such person, of more than three (3) false alarms within any twelve month period of time. Section 13. False alarm service charge; collection. For response to excessive false alarms by the Police Department or Fire Department, the alarm user shall be charged a service fee by the City of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) for the first false alarm in excess of three (3) false alarms in any twelve-month period, fifty dollars ($50.00) for the second false alarm in excess of three (3) in any twelve month period, and one hundred dollars ($100.00) for the third and each successive false alarm in excess of three (3) in any twelve month period. The Chief of Police or his/her designee, shall determine whether a false burglar alarm has occurred and the Fire Chief, or his/her designee, shall determine whether a false fire alarm has occurred and the frequency of such false alarms, and the City shall notify alarm users of amounts owed to the City and shall make demand therefor, pursuant to the provisions of this section. The City Attorney may proceed by a suit in a court of competent jurisdiction to collect said charge after demand therefor has been made by the City and the payment thereof refused by the alarm user. Section 14. Interference with City telephone trunk lines prohibited; alarm business central office required; identification required. (a) No person shall use or cause to be used any telephone or electronic device or attachment that automatically selects a public primary telephone trunk line of the Communications Center, Police Department, Fire Department or any other Department or bureau of the City, and then reproduces any prerecorded message to report any burglary, unauthorized entry or other emergency. (b) No person shall provide a private alarm service system programmed to a central alarm reception office unless it shall have the central office staffed at all times, twenty-four (24) hours a day, including holidays. (c) Any staff member of a private alarm service system reporting an alarm activation to which Police Department and/or Fire Department response is requested shall identify himself and state the name and telephone number of the alarm business by which such response is requested. Section 15. Audible alarms. All alarms which may be heard in any public place shall be equipped and maintained to automatically cut off no longer than thirty (30) minutes after being set off. Section 16. Enforcement through codes enforcement board. The Building Official may initiate action before the codes enforcement board of the city to obtain compliance with this article and payment of service charges assessed by the City pursuant to Section 13. above. The board shall have the authority to place a lien against the property served by a burglar and/or fire alarm in the amount of all assessed service charges. Section 17: That all ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith be and the same are hereby repealed. Section 18: Should any section or provision of this ordinance or portion hereof, any paragraph, sentence, or word be declared by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such decision shall not affect the remainder of this ordinance. Section 19: Authority is hereby granted to codify said ordinance. Section 20: This ordinance shall become effective immediately upon passage. FIRST READING this ~- day of ~~ , 1988. SECOND, FINAL READING and PASSAGE this /~ day of CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA Vice Mayor Com~i~~ Commissioner ATTEST: Clerk (Corporate Seal) Commissioner