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O1149 . II e.. &N ORDINANCE NO. 1149 (City Council Series) A..T>;j' ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA REGULATING ALARM SYSTEHS AND CHARGING SERVICE FEES FOR FALSE ALARMS. THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Chapter lOA is added to Article III of the Santa Monica Municipal Code to read as follows: Section 3960. Definitions. For the purpose of this chapter, certain words and phrases used here~n are defined as follows: (a) "Alarm agent" shall mean any person who is employed by an alarm business, either d1rectly or indlrectly, whose duties include any of the following: sell1ng, maintaining, leasing, servicing, repairing, altering, replacing, moving, or installing on any bU11ding, place, or prem1ses any alarm system. (b) "Alarm business" shall mean any person engaged in selling, leasing, maintaining, servicing, repairing, altering, replac1ng, monitoring, moving, or installing any alarm system or causing to be sold, maintalned, serviced, repaired, altered, replaced, monltored, moved, or installed an alarm system ln or on any build~ng, place, or premises. . "Alarm ',e system" shall mean any device designed for the detection of an unauthor1zed entry on premises or for alerting others of the commission of an unlawful act, which, when actuated, emits a visible or audible signal beyond the business premises or residential unit or d107elling protected by such device, or trans~its a siqnal or messaqe to another location. (d) "Audible alarm" shall mean a device desiqned for the detection of an unauthorized entry on oremises and Wh1Ch, when actuated, generates an audible sound beyond the bus1ness prem~ses or residential unit or dwelling orotected by such nevice, and which device 1S not monitored by an alarm business. (e) "False alarm" shall Mean an activated alarm or alarm signal from any alarm system which is resoonded to by the Police Department ~ut for which no emergency situation exists or where there is no evidence to indicate that there was an emergency situation as deterrnj ned b~T the respondinq officer. "False alarm" shall not include those alarms actuated by extraordinary meteoroloqical, atmospher1c, or other conditions or means as determined by the Police Chief. (f) "Fiscal year" shall mean the per1.od from and includ1nQ July 1 of any year to an0 includ1ng June 30 of the following year. (q) nperson" shall mean anv individual, or entity, as def~ned ~n Section 1314 of this Code. (h) nproprietor alarm" shall mean an alarm which is not monitored or serviced bv an alarm business. (i) "Subscriber" shall mean a oerson contracting with an alarm business for the leasinq, servicing, or maintaininq -2- . su~ of an-alarm system. "-- - (J) "Visihle" shall mean capable of beinq seen or perce~ved by the naked eye. Sect10n 3961. Requirements and Exemptions, (a) False alarm reports re~ir~d. A report shall be filed w1th the Police Chief for each alarm transmitted to the Police Department, which report shall contain the name, address, and telephone number of the subscriher, in addition to whether or not the alarm was a "false alarm" as defined in Section 3960(e) of this Code. (b) Audi~le alarm re~uir~ents. (1) Every person owning or maintaininq an audible alarm shall Dost a notice containinq the name and telephone number of the persons to be notified to render repairs or services during any hour of the day or night the burglar alar~ is activated. Such notice shall be posted near the alarm in such a position so as to be leqlble from the ground-level adjacent to the buildinq. In addition to the post~ng requirements referred to in this subsection, the occupant of the premises unon which an aud~ble alarm is 1nstalled shall notify the Police Department of the name and telephone number at which he ~ay be reached at any time of the day or night. (2) The owner of any audible alarm or subscr1ber to an alarm service shall be responsible for deactivatina any alarm within one hour after not~fication or after reasonable efforts have been made to not1fy the owner or alarm business -3- It an alarm system. e-e of (j) "Visihle" shall mean capable of being seen or perceived by the naked eye. Section 3961. Requirements and Exemptions. (a) F~lse alarm re~orts required. A re~ort shall be filed with the Police Chief for each alarm transmitted to the Police Department, which report shall contain the name, address, and telephone number of the subscriber, ln addition to whether or not the alarm was a '~false alarm" as defined in Section 3960 (e) OT this Code. (b) Audible alar~ reauirements. (l) Every person owning or maintaininq an audible alarm shall nost a notice containing the name and telephone number of the persons to be notified to render repairs or services during any hour of the day or night the burglar alarm is activated. Such notice shall be posted near the alarm in such a position so as to he legible fyom the ground-level adjacent to the building. In addition to the post~ng requirements referred to in this subsection, the occupant of the premises uPon which an audible alarm is installed shall notify the Police Department of the name and telephone number at which he ~ay be reached at any time of the day or night. (2) The owner of any audible alarm or subscriber to an alarm service shall be responsible for deactivat1nq any alarm w1thin one hour after notification or after reasonable efforts have been made to notify the owner or alarm business -3- It .-. that such alarm has been activated and is ringing. The ringing of any alarm for a per~od in excess of one hour after such notificatlon or efforts of notification have been made is hereby declared to be a public nuisance and subject to misdemeanor prosecution or summary abatement. (3) Every audible alarm installed after April 24, 1980, shall have a timing device which automatically shuts off the alarm within fifteen (15) minutes after it is activated. (4) In addition to the provisions of (1) and (2) above, every audible alarm without such tim1ng device and lnstalled priorto Aprll 24,1980, shall be required to have such a device installed if an activated aud~ble alarm is not deactivated within one hour after notification to or after reasonable efforts to notify the owner or alarm business thereof. Violations of the provis10ns of subsections (l) through (4), inclusive, of this Section shall be punishable as misdemeanors pursuant to the provis1ons of Sectlon 1200 of th~s Code. (c) Alarm agents: Permits in possession. Every person engaged in the business of making, repairing, servicing, altering, replaclng, removing, or instal11ng a burglar alarm system shall carryon his person at all times while so engaged a valid alarm agent permit as issued by the State of California and shall display said per.mit to any police officer upon request. (d) Exemption. The provisions of this Chapter shall not apply to audible alarms affixed to motor ve~icles. -4- ~ .. Section 3963. Prohibition. (a) Pre-recorded messages. No person shall use or cause to be used any telephone deVlce or telephone attachment that automatically selects any pUblic telephone trunk line of the City other than that line designated by the Police Chief to report a burglary or emergency by prerecorded message. Section 3964. Fees. A service charge of Fifteen Dollars ($15.00) shall be pald to the City by each subscr1ber of an alarm system or property owner or lessor who has caused such an alarm to be installed for a second response made to the location of a false alarm by the Police Department during the same fiscal year. A service charge of Thirty Dollars ($30.00) shall be similarly paid to the City upon the th~rd response made to the locatlon of a false alarm by the Police Department during the same fiscal year, and a service charge of Forty-Flve Dollars ($45.00) shall be similarly paid to the City upon the fourth and each subsequent response made to the locatlon of a false alarm by the Police Department during the same fiscal year. The subscriber of an alarm system or property owner or lessor who has caused an alarm to be installed shall be declared to be ma1ntaining a public nuisance in the event that more than four (4) false alarms are recorded at the same location during a single fiscal year, and shall be prosecuted pursuant to the provisions of Section l200 of this Code. -5- ~ ~ The Ch~ef of Police shall cause to be ~ssued a monthly bill for the unpaid service charges accrued during the billing period and any prior periods. Such bill shall be due and payable within fifteen (15) days after the b1l1ing date. All remedies shall be cumulative, and the use of one or more remedies by the C~ty shall not bar the use of any other remedy for the purpose of enforc1Qg the provis~ons of this chapter. The amount of any service charge shall be deemed a debt to the C1ty. An action may be commenced in the name of the City in any court of competent ju~isdict~on for the amount of any delinquent debt th1rty (30) days after it becomes due and payable. Payment of any service charge shall not prohlblt crlminal prosecutlon for the violatlon of any of the prov1sions of this chapter. SECTION 2. Any provis~on of the Santa Monica Municipal Code or appendices thereto inconsistent therewith, to the extent of such inconsistencies and no further, are hereby repealed o~ modified to that extent necessary to affect the provisions of this ordinance. SECT IO!J 3. If any sectlon, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconst1tutional by a decision of any court of any competent Jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the val1d1ty of the remaining portions of the ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this ordinance and each and every section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase not dec~ared invalid or un- -6- It -. constitut~onal w1thout regard to whether any portion of the ordinance would be subsequently declared invalid or uncons~~tut~onal. SECTION 4. The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall attest to the passage of this ordinance. The City Clerk shall cause the same to be published once in the official newspaper with1n fifteen (IS) days after its adoption. The o~dinance shall become effective after thirty (30) days from its adoption. APP AS TO FORM: ./ <!~Liff/ i / C/'-.-' L-RrCHARD L. KNJCKERI:.OCKER City Attorney ~ -7- < . " .. . ADOPTED AND APPROVED THIS 25th DAY OF I'>Iarch J 1980 I fi~ r(IOR ~ , '--- ' I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THE FOREGOING ORDINANCEJ No, 114q I WAS DULY AND REGULARLY INTRODUCED AT A MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL ON THE 11th DAY OF .'-larch , 1980; THAT THE SAID ORDINANCE WAS THEREAFTER DULY ADOPTED AT A MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL ON THE 25th DAY OF BY THE FOllOWING COUNCIL VOTE: March I 1980 AYES: COUNe I L(\1EMBERS : Yannatta Goldway~ Jennlngs, Reed~ Rhoden, Scott, van den Steenhoven, Bambrick NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCIlMEMBERS: ~one ATTEST: