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
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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