HomeMy WebLinkAboutORDINANCE 0584-19800
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CITY OF KENAI
ORDINANCE NO. 564-80
AN ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF KENAI, ALASKA
AMENDING TITLE 12, HEALTH AND SAFETY, OF THE KENAI MUNICIPAL
CODE TO ADD CHAPTER 12.30, REGULATING BURGLAR AND HOLD-UP
ALARM SYSTEMS.
WHEREAS, the use of burglar and hold-up alarm systems can
have an appreciable affect on the protection of persons and
property within the City of Kenai, and
WHEREAS, unregulated use of such systems and automatic
dialing into the Kenai Communications Center - particularly
in the case of false alarms - can unnecessarily tie up lines
of communication, and
WHEREAS, it appears desirable to provide for the regulation
of the use of such systems.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
KENAI, ALASKA as follows:
Section is That the City of Kenai Code of Ordinances
is hereby amended by adding a new chapter to be numbered
12.30 which shall. read as set forth on the pages attached
hereto.
Section 2: This ordinance shall be effective on
October 1, 1980.
PASSED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY KENAI, ALASKA this 6th
day of August, 1980.
INCENT O P.EILLY, MAYOR
ATTESTS
et W e an, City Clerc
First Readings July 2, 1980
Second Reading: July 16, 1980
Effective Date: October 1, 1980
CHAPTER 12.30
BURGLAR AND HOLD-UP ALARM .SYSTEMS
Sections:
12.30.010 Short title.
12.30.020 Purpose.
12.30.030 Definitions.
12.30.040 Alarm Commission establishment.
12.30.050 Alarm Commission purpose.
12.30.060 Alarm user permits.
12.30.070 Alarm user permit application.
12.30.080 Alarm user registration form.
12..30.090 Alarm system use without permit.
12.30.100 Automatic dialing service.
12.30.110 Automatic, dialing device standards.
12.30.120 Direct connection to the com
munications center.
12.30.130 False alarms.
12.30.140 Testing of equipment.
12.30.150 Penalties for violation.
12.30.010 Short Titles This Chapter shall be known
and may be cited as Burglar and Hold-up Alarm Ordinance.
12.30.020 Purposes The purpose of this Chapter is to
provide minimum stan ards and regulations applicable to
burglar and hold-up alarm systems, alarm businesses, and
alarm users as defined in this Chapter.
12.30.030 Definitionss For the purpose of this Chapter,
the following tei:ms, phrases, words, and their derivations
shall have Lhe =.:waning given herein. When not inconsistent
with the context, words used in the present tense include
the future. The word "shall" is always mandatory and not
merely directory.
(a) "Alarm business" means any business operated by a
person for a profit which engages in the activity of altering,
installing, leasing, maintaining, repairing, replacing,
selling, servicing, or monitoring a burglar or hold-up alarm
system.
(b) "Alarm system" means an assembly of equipment and
devices (or a single device such as a solid state unit which
plugs directly into a 110 volt AC line) arranged to signal
the presence of a hazard requiring urgent attention and to
which the police are expected to respond. This is inclusive
of systems terminating at the Communications Center, as well
as those monitored elsewhere if the alarm message is to be
ultimately relayed to the Communications Center.
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(c) "Alarm user" means any person on whose premises
within the City an alarm system is maintained except for
alarm systems on motor vehicles or proprietory systems. If,
however, an alarm system on a motor vehicle is connected
with an alarm system at a premises (other than a proprietory
system) the person using such system is an alarm user.
(d) "Annunciator" means the instrumentation of an
alarm console at the receiving terminal of a signal line
which through both visual and audible means signals when an
alarm device at a particular location has been activated or
it may also indicate line trouble.
(e) "Answering service" refers to a telephone answering
service providing among it's services the service of receiving
emergency signals from alarm systems on a continuous basis,
and thereafter immediately relaying the message by line
voice to the Communications Center.
(f) "Automatic dialing device•' refars to an alarm
system which automatically sends over regular telephone
lines, by direct connection or otherwise, a pre-recorded
voice message or coded signal indicating the existence of
the emergency situation that the alarm system is designed to
detect.
(g) "Central station" means an office to which remote
alarm and supervisory signaling devices are connected, where
operators supervise the circuits, and where guards are main-
tained continuously to investigate signals.
(h) "Communications Center" means the Communication
Center of the City.
M "Direct connect" means a telephone line leading
directly from a central station to the Communications Center.
(j) "False alarm" means an alarm or signal activated
by mechanical failure, malfunction, improper installation,
or negligence of the owner or lessee of an alarm system or
of his employees or agents. It does not include an alarm
signal caused by violent conditions of nature, telephone
line trouble, or circumstances not reasonably subject to
control by the alarm business operator or user.
(k) "Interconnect" means to connect an alarm system to
a voieegrade telephone line, either directly or through a
mechanical device, for the purpose of using the telephone
line to transmit an emergency message upon activation of the
alarm system.
(1) "Modified central station" means an office to
which remote alarm and supervisory signaling devices are
connected, where operators supervise the circuits.
(m) "Person" means any person, firm, partnership,
association, company, or organization of any kind.
(n) "Police Chief" means the Chief of the Police
Department of the City, or his designated representative.
(o) "Primary trunkline" means a telephone line leading
directly into the Communications Center that is for the
purpose of handling emergency calls on a person -to -person
basis, and which is identified as such by a specific number
included among the numbers listed in the telephone directory.
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(p) "Proprietory system" means an alarm system sounding,
recording, or sounding and recording alarm and supervisory
zignals at a control center located within the protected
premises, the control center being under the supervision of
the proprietor of the protected premises. If a proprietory
system includes a signal line connected directly or by means
of an automatic dialing device to the Communications Center,
a central station, modified central station, or answering
service, it thereby becomes an alarm system as defined in
this Chapter.
(q) "Special trunkline" means a telephone line leading
into the Comm.-ur,ications Center and having the primary purpose
of handling emergency signals or messages originating either
directly or through a central location from automatic dialing
devices.
12.30.040 Alarm Commission Establishment: (a) An
Alarm Commission shall be established made up of 3 alarm
users from within the City. They hhall be appointed by the
Mayor with approval of the Council for a term of 3 years.
(b) Initial appointments to the Commission at its
inception will be made for 1, 2, and 3 year terms to provice
for staggered terms of office.
12.30.050 Alarm Commission Purpose: (a) The Alarm
Commission is established to serve as a quasi-judicial body
to hear appeals of suspension and revocation actions taken
in accordance with Section 130 of this Chapter.
(b) The Alarm Commission also serves as an advisory
body to the Council on matters covered within the scope of
this Chapter.
12.30.060 Alarm User Permits: Within 90 days after
the effective date of this Chapter, every alarm user shall
obtain an alarm user permit for each alarm system he operates
within the City from the Police Chief. This Paragraph does
not require that an alarm business obtain a permit under
this Section when it leases or provides services to alarm
system users.
12.30.070 Alarm User Permit Application: The alarm
user applying for the permit required in Section 12.30.060
shall state on a permit application furnished by and filed
with the Police Chief: his name, the address of the business
or businesses in or upon which the alarm system has been or
will be installed, his telephone number, the type of alarm
system (intermediary dialer, direct, etc.), the alarm business
or businesses selling, installing, monitoring, inspecting,
responding to, maintaining, or responding to and maintaining
the alarm system, and the name and telephone number of at
least one other person who can be reached at any time of the
day or night, and who is authorized to respond to an alarm
signal and who can open the premises in which the alarm
system is installed.
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12.30.080 Alarm User Registration Form: Alarm user
permit forms shall be sent to each registered alarm user
annually by June 30th of each year. Each alarm user is
responsible for completing the form and returning it to the
Communications Center prior to July 20th of each year.
12.30.090 Alarm System Use Without Permit: Any alarm
system user who operates an alarm system controlled by this
Chapter without first obtaining a permit as required by this
Section, or who fails to disconnect his alarm system after
having a permit revoked or suspended and after exhausting
his rights to hearing and appeal, shall be in violation of
this Chapter.
12.30.100 Automatic Dialing Device: (a) No automatic
dialing device shall be interconnected to a primary trunk
line (listed number) of the Communications Center after the
effective date of this Chapter.
(b) Within 90 days after the effective date of this
Chapter, all automatic dialing devices interconnected to
such a primary trunk line shall be disconnected therefrom.
The owner or lessee of such device shall be responsible for
having the device disconnected within the 90 day time period.
(c) Automatic dialing devices designed to transmit
signals directly to the Communications Center may be inter-
connected to a special trunk line into the Communications
Center. Before such a device is interconnected to a special
trunk line, the person performing this operation shall first
obtain instructions from the Communications Center concerning
the procedure to be followed. The Communications Center
shall designate the number to be used for this purpose.
(d) Persons owning or leasing an automatic dialing
device may have the device interconnected to a telephone
line transmitting directly to:
(1) A central station;
(2) A modified central station, or
(3) A licensed answering service.
(e) The relaying of messages by intermediate services
to the Communications Center shall be over a special trunk
line, and the number to be used for this purpose to be
designed by the Communications Center.
(f) Automatic dialing devices may also be interconnected
to one or more telephone numbers available to the owner or
lessee of the devices, or their designated representatives,
at another location.
12.30.110 Automatic Dialing Device Standards: Automatic
devices installed on any premises which are interconnected
to a special trunk line transmitting signals into the Com-
munications Center shall meet the following minimum standards:
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(a) The contents of the recorded message to be transmitted
by such a device must be intelligible and in a :ormat approved
by the Police Chief, or his designee, as appropriate for the
type of emergency being reported.
(b) Upon a single stimulus of the alarm device, an
automatic dialing device may place no more than two separate
calls to the Communications Center via the special trunk
line. There must be at least 3 minutes between the completion
of the first call and the initiation of the second, and the
second call must be clearly identified as a second call.
(c) Messages transmitted during such calls, stating
the exact location and nature of the alarm condition, shall
not exceed 15 seconds in length.
(d) The sensory apparatus and hardware comprising such
devices shall be maintained by the owner or lessee in such
physical condition that false alarms will be minimized.
(e) This section shall apply only to those automatic
dialing devices interconnected to the Communications Center.
(f) Failure to comply with any provision of Sections
12.30.060 through 12.30.110 shall result in immediate suspension
of the user permit upon order of the Police Chief. Such
suspension to be in effect until the Police Chief is satisfied
that provisions are being complied with.
12.30.120 Direct Connection to the Communications Center:
(a) Upon the favorable recommendation of the Police Chief
and the approval of the Council, alarms from business premises
and financial institutions may be connected so as to be
received in the Communications Center.
(b) The City shall have the authority to request bids
from licensed alarm companies to furnish, at no cost to the
City, a standard annunciator panel for the purpose of annunciating
alarms in the Communications Center. The bids shall state
the annual service fee each alarm subscriber shall be required
to pay the private alarm company for services rendered with
respect to such annunciator panel. Such services shall be
set forth in the form of a written contract between the
private alarm company and each subscriber. This Paragraph,
however, relates solely to annunciator panels, connections
to annunciator panels by subscribers, and fees and charges
related to the installation and maintenance of such panels.
Any subsciber who obtains authority from the Police Chief
to terminate its alarm system in the Communications Center
may contract with any licensed alarm business of its choice
for the sale, installation, maintenance, servicing, or
maintenance and servicing of the alarm system to be installed
on its premises.
(c) The alarm subscriber approved for a direct connection
to the Communications Center, or the alarm business contracting
for servicing the subscriber's alarm system, shall be responsible
for obtaining the leased telephone line between the subscriber's
premises and the alarm receiving equipment at the Communications
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Center, and for furnishing the appropriate interface equipment,
if required, in order to provide an input signal which is
compatible with the receiving equipment used to operate the
annunciator panel.
(d) The provisions contained in Sectio,is 12.30.060 and
12.30.130 concerning alarm user permits and false alarms
shall apply to subscribers having direct connect systems,
except governmental entities specifically exempted by the
Council.
12.30.130 False Alarms: (a) More than 4 false alarms
in a 6 month per od, January through June or July through
December, from any alarm system for which an alarm user
permit has been obtained may constitute grounds for revocation
of such permit, subject to the provisions of this Section.
(b) After the Communications Center has recorded 4
"false alarms" within such a 6 month period from any alarm
user permit holder, the Police Chief or his designee shall
notify the permit holder of such fact in writing, by first
class mail or personal delivery, and require that the permit
holder submit to the Police Chief, within 15 days of such
notice, a report describing efforts to discover and eliminate
the cause or causes of the false alarms. However, if the
alarm user requests an extension of time to file the report
because of absence from the City or any other reasonable
cause, the Police Chief shall extend the 15 day period for a
reasonable period. If the permit holder fails to submit
such a report within 15 days or within any such extended
period, the Police Chief may revoke the user's permit, and
under such circumstances the user shall not be entitled to a
hearing or appeal under this Section.
(c) If after submission of a report required by (b) of
this Section, the alarm system of the permit holder incurs
one or more false alarms during the same 6 month period, the
Police Chief may require by written notice, in accordance
with procedures outlined in (b) of this Section, that the
permit holder do one or both of the following:
(1) Have an alarm business inspect his system and
provide a written report to the permit holder and
Police Chief of any problems of deficiencies noted.
(2) Attend a hearing before the Police Chief and
present cause as to why his permit should not be revoked
or suspended. After the hearing the Police Chief may
issue an order of revocation or suspend the permit
until such time that he is satisfied that the cause or
causes of the false alarms have been eliminated.
Failure to comply with the requirements above as directed by
the Police Chief may result in revocation or suspension of
the alarm user permit in accordance with procedures in (b)
of this Section.
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(d) Any person whose permit has been revoked or suspended
(except under (b) above or for failure to comply.with require-
ments in (c) above) shall have the right, within 10 days
after receiving notice of revocation from the Police Chief,
to file with the City Clerk a written appeal to the Alarm
Commission, and no alarm user shall be required to discontinue
use of his alarm system prior to the expiration of such 10
day period. Such appeal shall set forth the specific grounds
upon which it is based. The Alarm Commission shall hold a
hearing on the appeal within 15 days after its receipt by
the City, and shall cause the appellant to be given at least
5 days written notice of such hearing. The appellant or his
designated representative shall have the right to present
written or oral argument, or both, in support of his appeal.
The Alarm Commission shall issue its decision within 10 days
after the hearing.
(e) The decision of the Alarm Commission will be
binding on both the City and the alarm user unless appealed
to the Council. Within 10 days after receiving notice of
the decision, the party wishing to appeal the decision of
the Alarm Commission, must file written notice with the City
Clerk for appearance before the Council of motion of appeal.
(f) If a permit holder files an appeal pursuant to
Paragraph (d) or (e) of this Section, he shall not be
required to discontinue the alarm system until a final
decision is made on his appeal.
(g) An alarm user whose permit has been revoked is not
precluded under this Section from applying for a new permit.
The Police Chief is not required to issue a new permit
unless he is satisfied that the alarm user's system has been
properly serviced and its deficiencies corrected. The
Police Chief may impose reasonable restrictions and conditions
upon issuing a new permit to an alarm user with respect to
the particular system for which the permit was revoked.
12.30.140 Testing of Equipment: No alarm system
designed to transmit emergency messages directly to the
Communications Center shall be tested or demonstrated without
first obtaining permission from the Police Chief or his
designee. Permission is not required to test or demonstrate
alarm devices not transmitting emergency messages directly
to the Communications Center unless the messages are to be
relayed to the Communications Center. Any testing or dem-
onstration of equipment without first obtaining of permission
will be considered as a false alarm for purpose of this
:. Chapter.
12.30.150 Penalties for Violation: The failure of any
person to:
(a) obtain an alarm user permit as required in Section
12.30.060 or
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(b) obey any order of the Police Chief, Alarm Commission,
or Council of suspension or revocation of an alar.;, user
permit after such person has exhausted his rights to hearings
or appeals, constitutes an offense punishable by a fine of
up to $200. Each day that such violation continues shall
constitute a separate offense.
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