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SEBASTIAN POLICE DEPARTMENT
CITY OF SEBASTIAN
ORDINANCE
NO. O-99-15
AN ORDINANCE
OF THE CITY OF SEBASTIAN, INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, FLORIDA, AMENDING CODE CHAPTER
39, ARTICLE 2, ALARM SYSTEMS; PROVIDING
FOR CONFLICTS; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS,
the City seeks to encourage Alarm Users and Alarm Businesses to properly use
and maintain the operational reliability of Alarm Systems and to reduce or eliminate
false alarm dispatch requests; and
WHEREAS,
the City desires to implement regulations to govern systems intended to summon
police response, require permits,
establish fees, provide for penalties
for violations, establish a system of administration, and set conditions for
suspension or loss of permits;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEBASTIAN,
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, FLORIDA, as follows:
Section 1.
That section 39-26 of the Code of Ordinances, City of Sebastian, Florida is hereby amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 39-26. Definitions.
The
following words, terms and phrases, when used in this Article, shall have the
meaning ascribed to them in this section except where the context clearly indicates
a different meaning:
A. Alarm
Administrator means a Person or Persons designated by the City Manager to
administer, control and review alarm applications, permits and Alarm Dispatch
Requests.
B. Alarm
Business means the business, by an individual, partnership, corporation
or other entity meeting the requirements of Fla. Stat. Chapter 489, of maintaining,
servicing, repairing, altering, replacing, moving, installing or Monitoring
an Alarm System in an Alarm Site.
C. Alarm
Dispatch Request means a notification to the police by the Alarm Business
that an alarm, either manual or automatic, has been activated at a particular
Alarm Site.
D. Alarm
Review Board: The city’s Code Enforcement Board will serve as an Alarm
Review Board and perform the functions of that Board.
E. Alarm
Site means a single premises or location served by an Alarm System or systems.
Each tenancy, if served by a separate Alarm System in a multi-tenant building
or complex shall be considered a separate Alarm Site.
F. Alarm
System means a device or series of devices, including, but not limited to,
systems interconnected with radio frequency signals, which are designed to discourage
crime, by emitting or transmitting a remote or local audible, visual or electronic
signal indicating an alarm condition. Alarm System does not include:
1. an alarm installed on a vehicle
unless the vehicle is
permanently located at a site; or
2. an alarm designed to alert only
the inhabitants of a
premises that does not have a sounding device
which can be heard on the exterior of the Alarm
Site.
G. Alarm
User means any Person, firm, partnership, corporation or other entity who
(which) uses an alarm system at its alarm site.
H. Chief
means the Chief of Police of the City or an authorized representative.
I. Conversion
means the transaction or process by which one Alarm Business begins Monitoring
of an Alarm System previously monitored by another Alarm Business.
J. Duress
Alarm means a silent alarm signal generated by the manual activation of
a device intended to signal a crisis situation requiring police response.
K. False
Alarm Dispatch means an Alarm Dispatch Request to the police department,
when the responding officer finds no evidence of a criminal offense or attempted
criminal offense after having completed a timely investigation of the Alarm
Site. An Alarm Dispatch Request
which is canceled by the alarm business or the alarm user prior to the time
the responding officer reaches the alarm site shall not be considered a false
alarm dispatch.
L. False
Alarm User Awareness Class means a class operated by either the Police Department
or Sheriff’s Office for the purpose of educating alarm users about the
problems created by false alarm dispatches and in the responsible use of their
alarm system.
M. Holdup
Alarm means a silent alarm signal generated by the manual activation of
a device intended to signal a robbery in progress.
N. Keypad
means a device that allows control of an alarm system by the manual entering
of a coded sequence of numbers or letters.
O. Monitoring
means the process by which an alarm business receives signals from alarm
systems and relays an alarm dispatch request to the city for the purpose of
summoning police response to the alarm site.
P. One
Plus Duress Alarm means the manual activation of a silent alarm signal by
entering at a Keypad a code that adds one to the last digit of the normal arm/disarm
code (Normal code = 1234 One Plus Duress Code = 1235) .
Q. Person
means an individual, corporation, partnership, association, organization or
similar entity.
R. Takeover
means the transaction or process by which an alarm user takes over control of
an existing alarm system which was previously controlled by another alarm user.
S. Verify
means an attempt, by the alarm business, or its representative, to contact the
alarm site by telephonic or other electronic means, whether or not actual contact
with a person is made, before requesting a police dispatch, in an attempt to
avoid an unnecessary alarm dispatch request.
Section 2.
That section 39-27 of the Code
of Ordinances, City of Sebastian, Florida is hereby amended to read as follows:
Sec. 39-27. Permit
requirement.
A. No Alarm User shall operate,
or cause to be operated, an Alarm System at its Alarm Site without a valid alarm
permit issued by the Alarm Administrator.
A separate permit is required for each Alarm Site.
A special classification shall be required for an alarm system equipped
for duress alarm.
B. The application fee for a permit
for a residential or commercial alarm site is $10.00; no refund of a permit
fee will be made. This permit fee
must be submitted to the Alarm Administrator within fifteen (15) days after
the alarm installation or alarm takeover.
Failure by the alarm company to provide information to the user that
registration by the user is required will result in a $90.00 fine to that alarm
company.
C. Upon receipt of a completed application
form and the permit fee, the Alarm Administrator shall issue an alarm permit
to an applicant unless the applicant has:
1. failed to pay a fine assessed
under Section 39-38 or,
2. had an alarm permit for the alarm
site suspended or revoked, and the violation causing the suspension or revocation
has not been corrected.
D. Each permit application, either
new construction or existing structure, must include the following information:
1. the name, address, and telephone
numbers of the person
who will be the permit holder and be responsible for the
proper maintenance and operation of the alarm system and payment of fees
assessed under this article;
2. the classification of the alarm
site as either residential,
commercial or apartment;
3. for each alarm system located
at the alarm site, the
purpose of the alarm system, i.e., burglary, holdup, duress, or other;
4. signed certification from the
alarm user and the Alarm
Business stating:
a. the date of installation, conversion
or takeover of
the alarm system, whichever is applicable;
b. the name, address, and phone
number of the alarm
business performing the alarm system installation,
conversion or alarm system takeover and
responsible for providing repair service to the alarm
system;
c. the name, address, and phone
number of the alarm
business monitoring the alarm system if different
from the installing alarm business;
d. that a set of written operating
instructions for the
alarm system, including written guidelines on how to
avoid false alarms, have been left with the applicant;
and
e. that the alarm business has trained
the applicant in
proper use of the alarm system, including
instructions on how to avoid false alarms.
5. classification of the alarm site
as being equipped or non-
equipped for duress alarm.
E. Any false statement of a material
matter made by an applicant for the purpose of obtaining an alarm permit shall
be sufficient cause for refusal to issue a permit and shall fall under Section
39-43, Violations, and subject to fine.
F. Alarm users are responsible for
informing the Alarm Administrator of any changes that alter any information
listed on the permit application within thirty (30) calendar days of such change(s).
G. All fees
owed by an applicant must be paid before a permit may be issued or renewed.
H. An alarm
permit cannot be transferred to another person and no portion of the permit
fees are refundable.
I. Information
contained in permit applications shall be held in confidence by all employees
or representatives of the city with access to such information.
J. Existing
valid alarm permits issued prior to the effective date of this section shall
remain valid through June 30, 2000. The Alarm User under such existing permits
shall be entitled to issuance of a new annual permit in accordance with these
provisions, without payment of the alarm application fee, upon submittal of
a new permit application.
Section 3.
That section 39-28 of the Code of Ordinances, City of Sebastian, Florida is hereby amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 39-28. Individual apartment alarms.
A. If an alarm system installed
by an individual tenant in an apartment complex unit is monitored, the tenant
must provide the name of a representative of the apartment owner or property
manager who can grant access to the apartment to the alarm business which is
providing the monitoring service.
B. A tenant of an apartment complex
shall also obtain an alarm permit from the Alarm Administrator before operating
or causing the operation of an alarm system in the tenant's residential unit.
The annual fee for this permit or the renewal of this permit shall be
the same as the fee for a residential or commercial alarm site.
C. For purposes of enforcing this
article against an individual residential unit, the tenant is responsible for
false alarm dispatches emitted from the alarm system in the tenant's residential
unit.
Section 4.
That section 39-29 of the Code of Ordinances, City of Sebastian, Florida is hereby amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 39-29. Complex-wide apartment alarms.
A. If the owner or property manager
of an apartment complex provides Alarm Systems in each residential unit as an
amenity, then the owner or property
manager of the apartment complex shall obtain a master alarm permit from the
Alarm Administrator. The initial fee for this permit shall be $100.00 and $10.00
per each residential unit. All
this, whether occupied or not, shall be included in calculating the required
fee. This fee will be charged in lieu of the $10.00 per residential permit.
B. For purposes of assessing fines
and enforcing this article, the master alarm permit holder is responsible for
payment of fines for false alarm dispatches emitted from the alarm systems in
residential units.
C. The owner or property manager
of an apartment complex shall obtain a separate alarm permit for any alarm system
operated in a nonresidential area of the apartment complex, including, but not
limited to, common tenant areas and office, storage and equipment areas.
An annual fee for such a permit shall be the same as the fee for a residential
alarm site.
Section 5.
That section 39-30 of the Code
of Ordinances, City of Sebastian, Florida is hereby amended to read as follows:
Sec. 39-30.
Permit duration and renewal.
A permit shall expire one year from the date of issuance,
and must be renewed annually by submitting an updated application and a permit
renewal fee to the Alarm Administrator.
There shall be no fee for renewal of an active and valid permit renewal
fee if there has been no false alarm at the Alarm Site during the previous twelve
months; otherwise the renewal fee shall be ten
($10) dollars. The Alarm Administrator will endeavor to notify each Alarm
User of the need to renew thirty (30) days prior to the expiration of their
permit, however, it is the responsibility of the alarm user to submit an application
prior to the permit expiration date. Failure to renew will be classified as use of a non-permitted
alarm system, and citations and penalties shall be assessed and, if notice of
renewal was sent, there shall be no waiver of said penalty.
Section 6.
That section 39-31 of the Code of Ordinances, City of Sebastian, Florida is hereby amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 39-31. System
operation and maintenance.
A. An Alarm User shall:
1. maintain the premises and the
alarm system in a manner that will minimize or eliminate false alarm dispatches,
and
2. make every reasonable effort
to respond or cause a
representative to respond to the alarm system's location
within one hour when notified by the city to deactivate a
malfunctioning alarm system, to provide access to the
premises, or to provide security for the premises, and
3. not manually activate an alarm
for any reason other than
an occurrence of an event that the Alarm System was
intended to report.
4. provide a “swinger shut
down” option for active zones
within the premises.
B. An alarm user shall adjust the
mechanism or cause the mechanism to be adjusted so that an alarm signal audible
on the exterior of an alarm site will sound for no longer than fifteen
(15) minutes after being activated.
C. An alarm user shall have a properly
licensed alarm business inspect his alarm system after two (2) false alarm dispatches
in a one year period. After a third
(3rd) false alarm dispatch, the alarm user must have a properly licensed alarm
business modify the alarm system to be more false alarm resistant and/or provide
additional user training, as appropriate.
The alarm user shall provide the Alarm Administrator with a corrective
action report signed by the qualifying agent for the alarm company; a copy will
be forwarded to the police department.
Section 7.
That section 39-32 of the Code of Ordinances, City of Sebastian, Florida is hereby amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 39-32. Monitoring.
A. An alarm
business performing monitoring services shall:
1. operate in full compliance with
Florida Statutes;
2. report alarm signals by using
telephone numbers
designated by the Alarm Administrator;
3. attempt to Verify every alarm
signal, except a duress or
hold up alarm activation before requesting a police
response to an alarm signal;
4. communicate alarm dispatch requests
to the city in a
manner and form approved by
the Alarm Administrator;
5. communicate verified cancellations
of alarm dispatch
requests to the city in a manner approved by the Alarm
Administrator;
6. ensure that all users of alarm
systems equipped with
duress alarm are given adequate training as to the proper
use of the duress alarm.
B. The Alarm Administrator shall:
1. designate a manner, form and
telephone numbers for the
communication of alarm dispatch requests;
2 develop a
procedure to accept verified cancellation of
alarm dispatch requests.
C. A second
request to respond to the same premises within a 24 hour period, except for
response to a duress or hold up alarm activation, will require the response
of a key holder. It is the duty of the alarm monitoring company to contact the
key holder before this second dispatch request is made. If a key holder cannot
be contacted, the police department will not be requested to respond.
Section
8. That
section 39-33 of the Code of Ordinances,
City of Sebastian, Florida is hereby amended to read as follows:
Sec. 39-33. Duties
of alarm businesses.
A. After January 1, 2000, alarm
businesses shall not program alarm systems so that they are capable of sending
one plus duress alarms. Alarm businesses
may continue to report one plus duress alarms received from alarm systems programmed
with this feature prior to January 1, 2000. However, after January 1, 2000,
when performing a takeover or conversion, an alarm business must remove the
one plus duress alarm capability from the alarm system being taken over or converted.
B. After January 1, 2000, alarm
businesses shall not install a devices for activating a hold-up alarm which
is a single action non recessed button.
C. Any alarm
company service technician that fails to place a system on “test”
and causes a false alarm dispatch, shall be assessed a $100.00 fine; a copy
of the fine and notification from the Alarm Administrator shall be sent to the
alarm company owner/manager.
Section
9. That
section 39-34 of the Code of Ordinances,
City of Sebastian, Florida is hereby amended to read as follows:
Sec. 39-34 Operating
instructions.
An alarm user shall maintain at each alarm site,
a set of written operating instructions for each alarm system.
Section
10. That section
39-35 of the Code of Ordinances, City
of Sebastian, Florida is hereby amended to read as follows:
Sec. 39-35. Dispatch
records.
A. The officer responding to an
Alarm Dispatch Request shall record such information as necessary to permit
the Alarm Administrator to maintain records, including, but not limited, to
the following information:
1. identification
of the permit number for the Alarm Site;
2. identification
of the Alarm Site;
3. arrival time
at the Alarm Site and dispatch received time;
4. date, and
time;
5. weather conditions;
6. area and/or
sub-area of premise involved;
7. name of Alarm
User's representative on premises, if any;
8. identification
of the responsible Alarm Business, and/or;
9. unable to
locate the address.
B. The responding police officer
shall indicate on the dispatch record whether the dispatch was caused by a criminal
offense, an attempted criminal offense, or was a false alarm dispatch.
A copy will be provided by the police department to the respective alarm
company for informational purposes.
C. In the case of an assumed false
alarm dispatch, the responding police officer shall leave notice at the alarm
site that the police department has responded to a false alarm dispatch.
The notice shall include the following information:
1. the date and time of police response
to the false alarm
dispatch;
2. the identification number of
the responding police officer,
and;
3. a statement urging the alarm
user to ensure that the alarm
system is properly operated, inspected, and serviced in
order to avoid fines per the ordinance.
D. Alarm businesses
which perform monitoring services must maintain for a period of at least one
(1) year following request for police dispatch to an alarm site, records relating
to the dispatch. Records must include
the name, address and phone number of the alarm user, the alarm system zone(s)
or point(s) activated, the time of request for police dispatch and evidence
that an attempt to verify was made to the alarm site prior to the request for
police dispatch. The Alarm Administrator
may request copies of such records for individually named alarm users.
Section
11. That section
39-36 of the Code of Ordinances, City
of Sebastian, Florida is hereby amended to read as follows:
Sec. 39-36. Performance
review.
If there is reason to believe that an Alarm System
is not being used or maintained in a manner that ensures proper operation and
suppresses false alarms, the Alarm Administrator may require a conference with
an alarm user and the alarm business responsible for the repair of the alarm
system to review the circumstances of each false alarm.
Section
12. That section
39-37 of the Code of Ordinances, City
of Sebastian, Florida is hereby amended to read as follows:
Sec. 39-37. User’s awareness class.
The Administrator shall oversee the creation and implementation of a false alarm user awareness class. The two hour program shall inform alarm users of the problems created by false ala
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