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48-80 ORDINANCE NO. 48-80 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DELRAY BEACH ENACTING A NEW CHAPTER 31 "FIRE AND BURGLAR ALARMS", REQUIRING ALARM BUSINESSES AND AGENTS THEREOF TO OBTAIN PERMITS, ESTABLISHING STANDARDS FOR THE SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION OF PERMITS AND FOR THE MAINTENANCE OF ALARM SYSTEMS, PROHIBITING ALARM SYSTEMS THAT WOULD USE A TELE- PHONE ATTACHMENT, PROVIDING THAT PERSONS WORKING AS ALA~ AGENTS HAVE PROOF OF A PERMIT AND IDENTIFICATION WITH THEM AT ALL TIMES THEY ARE SO EMPLOYED, REQUIRING THAT ALARM BUSINESSES SHALL HAVE AVAILABLE 24 HOURS A DAY AT LEAST ONE SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE, OR FOR ALARM SYSTEMS HAVING OPERATIONAL AUTOMATIC CUT-OFF OR RESET FEATURE, ESTABLISHING AN ALA~ USER SERVICE FEE FOR EXCESSIVE ALARMS AND PROHIBITING ACTIVATION OF AN ALARM SYSTEM; PROVIDING A SAVING CLAUSE; PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, there are numerous alarm systems in use in the City of Delray Beach; and, ~ WHEREAS, there has been in the recent past a proliferation of false alarms; and, WHEREAS, the response of Fire and Police personnel to such false alarms prevents and inhibits the performance by these personnel of other needed services; and, WHEREAS, the activation of false alarms also is an unneccessary annoyance to people living in the vicinity of such alarms; and, WHEREAS, to reduce the number of false alarms the City Council deems it to be in the best interest of the City to enact the provisions of this ordinance, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DELRAY BEACH, FLORIDA, AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. Definitions. Alarm - The sound or signal of an alarm system. Alarm Agent - Any person who is employed by an alarm business, either directly or indirectly, whose duties include any of the following; selling, leasing, maintaining, servicing, repairing, altering, replacing, moving or installing any alarm system. Alarm Business - The business by any individual, partnership, corporation or other entity of selling, leasing, maintaining, servicing, repairing, altering, replacing, moving or installing any alarm system or causing to be sold, leased, maintained, serviced, repaired, altered, replaced, moved or installed any alarm system in or on any building, structure or facility. Alarm System - Any device designed for the detection of smoke, fire, unauthorized entry or for alerting others of the commission of an unlawful act, or of the need of medical assistance, which when activated emits a sound or transmits a signal beyond the premises. Alarm User - Any individual, partnership, corporation or other entity in control of premises where an alarm system is located. Excessive Alarms - Any one of the following: (a) a single con- tinuous false alarm of at least 1 hours duration or (b) a combination of two or more false alarms that aggregate in total time at least 2 hours in any calendar day or (c) a false alarm or alarms regardless of duration, that cause the Police or Fire Department to receive notice thereof from any source and as a result an emergency vehicle is dispatched to the alarm source on more than one occasion in any calendar day or more than 3 occasions in any calendar month. False Alarm - An alarm for which a governmental agency has made an inspection of the premises within a reasonable time after the acti- vation of an alarm and finds no apparent reason for the alarm except a possible alarm malfunction, or an activation falsely indicating that an emergency exists. Registered Alarm System - An alarm system for which its alarm user has filed with the City Manager or his designee of the City, and has maintained, currently in effect, a signed statement in a form that may be specified by the City Manager or his designee naming an alarm business holding a valid permit to so engage in the City, with which the alarm user has made arrangements that upon notice from public authority of the City the alarm business is authorized and directed to deactivate any alarm of the alarm system controlled by the alarm user. Section 2. Permits: Statements for Registered Alarm Systems. a) Alarm Business - It shall be unlawful to engage in the alarm business without first having obtained a permit therefor pursuant to the provisions of this Chapter. b) Alarm Agent - It shall be unlawful to act as an alarm agent without first having obtained a permit 'therefor pursuant to the provisions of this Chapter, unless the alarm agent is currently employed by an alarm business holding a valid cur- rent permit pursuant to this Ordinance, and proof of such permit is carried by the alarm agent pursuant to Section 9. c) Statements for Registered Alarm Systems - It shall be unlawful for any alarm user to give any false information in a state- ment for a registered alarm system, or to fail to notify in writing the City Manager or his designee with which the state- ment has been filed that the facts stated therein are no longer true. Section 3. Exemption. The provisions of this Chapter shall not be applicable to alarm systems affixed to vehicles, mobile conveyances or equipment. Section 4. Application and Permit Fees: Posting of Notice. The application for the permits required by this Chapter shall be on a form prescribed by the City Manager or his designee, consistent with the provisions of this ordinance and shall be filed with the City Manager or his designee. Each application shall be accompanied with the fee as indicated below. The permit fees shall be payable on an annual basis not later than October 1 of each fiscal year. The permit fees shall not be prorated based upon when, during the fiscal year, the application is filed or the fee is paid. A. Alarm Business Permit - $5.00 B. Alarm Agent Permit - $5.00 In regard to each registered alarm system or any other alarm system that is serviced by an alarm business, the alarm user shall cause to be posted near the alarm on the exterior of the building for ground level view the name, address and telephone number of the alarm business. Section 5. Applications - Investigations. The Police Department shall conduct an investigation of each applicant for an alarm business or alarm agent permit. The permit shall be issued within a reasonable time after completion of the investigation unless it has been determined that: (1) the applicant (or if the appli- cation.involves a corporation, or other entity, any of the officers or directors; or in regard to a partnership application, any of the partners) - 2 - Ord. No. 48-80 or its alarm agent has entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to, or been found guilty of, or been convicted of, a felony or misdemeanor in- volving; robbery, burglary, theft, embezzlement, fraud, receiving or possessing stolen property, or (2) the applicant has given materially false or misleading information on his application, or (3) unless the applicant does not have a current valid occupational license and/or cur- rent competency certificate. If an applicant for a permit under this Chapter has been denied the issuance of a permit, the applicant shall be given a written explana- tion specifying the grounds for such denial. Section 6. Suspension and Revocation of Permits. Alarm business and alarm agent permits issued under the provi- sions of this Chapter may be suspended or revoked by the City Manager or his designee after notice and hearin~ for the following reasons: a) Any material violation of this Chapter or the Statutes of the State of Florida. b) Conviction or a plea of nolo contendere to a felony or mis- demeanor involving robbery, burglary, theft, embezzlement fraud or receiving or possessing stolen property. c) If materially false or misleading information has been fur- nished on the application for a permit. d) Repeated failure to meet the service response requirements of Section 10. If a member of the board of directors or an officer, of a corpor- ation or other entity engaging in the alarm business; or a partner of a partnership engaged in the alarm business, is found to have engaged in conduct constituting grounds for the suspension or revocation of a permit, then the permit for the alarm business with which such person is associ- ated shall be suspended or revoked. If, however, it is an employee only who is found to have engaged in conduct constituting grounds for suspen- sion or revocation, then the employee alarm agent permit only shall be suspended or revoked. If, however, it is only an alarm agent who is found to have engaged in conduct constituting grounds for suspension or revo- cation, then only the alarm agent permit shall be suspended or revoked. Section 7. Alarm System Standards. It shall be the obligation of an alarm user to cause'the users alarm system to be maintained sufficiently to avoid excessive alarms. Th'e user of a registered alarm system shall be deemed to have complied with this Section 7. Section 8. Telephone Devices Prohibited. No person, partnership, corporation or other entity shall use or cause to be used a telephone device or telephone attachment that auto- matically selects a public telephone trunk line of the City of Delray Beach and then reproduces any prerecorded message to report a burglary or other emergency. Section 9. Alarm Agents: Permits in Possession. Every employee of an alarm business engaged in the selling, leasing, maintaining, servicing, repairing, altering, replacing, moving, or installing of alarm systems in the City of Delray Beach shall carry on their person at all times while so engaged, proof of the alarm business permit and of the employee's authority thereunder and shall display such proof to any police officer upon request. - 3 - Ord. No. 48-80 Section 10. Service Response. Each alarm business required to have a permit pursuant to this Chapter shall have available 24 hours a day at least one service repre- sentative who shall respond within one hour to emergency service calls from the Police Department or other employees of the City of Delray Beach. This service response requirement shall not apply to an alarm by an alarm system that has an operational automatic cut-off and/or reset feature. Section 11. Service Charge for Excessive Alarms. The Fire and Police Departments shall maintain, a written record of each excessive alarm of which it is notified and shall certify to the City Clerk each occasion of excessive alarms by other than a registered alarm system. For each excessive alarm so certified, the alarm user shall pay to the City a service fae of $25.00 dollars. The City Clerk shall notify the alarm user of the amount cf the service fee and that such fee is to be paid in not more than 30 days from the date of the City Clerk's notification letter. Section 12. Unlawful Activation of an Alarm. It shall be unlawful to intentionally activate an alarm system except in an emergency that causes or that threatens to cause bodily harm or damage to or loss or destruction of property, except that short periods of alarm necessary for testing an alarm system shall be lawful. Section 13. Enforcement. The remedies of the City provided in this Chapter shall be cumu- lative with each other and other remedies existing according to law. Section 14. That should any section or provision of this ordi- nance or any portion thereof, any paragraph, sentence, or word be declared by a Court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remainder hereof as a whole or part thereof other than the part declared to be invalid. Section 15. That this ordinance shall become effective ten days after passage on second and final reading. PASSED AND ADOPTED in regular session on second and final reading on this the26th day of August , 1980. M A Y O~R ATTEST: LEON M. WEEKES · / City- Clerk First Reading . August 12~ 1980 Second Reading August 26, 1980 - 4 - Ord. NO. 48-80