(A) Nuisance declared. The permitting of three or more false alarms for a residential property and two or more false alarms for a commercial property in a 365-day period shall constitute a public nuisance, punishable under this chapter.
(B) Grace period.
(1) Newly leased, rented, purchased and/or monitored alarms or alarm systems shall not be subject to provisions of the article relating to the counting and assessment of false alarms for a period of thirty (30) days from the date the alarm or alarm system becomes operational.
(2) The grace period provided in division (B)(1) of this section shall apply only if the alarm user notifies the coordinator in writing within 10 days of the completion of installation or reinstallation. The written notice shall specify the date the system was installed or reinstalled. For reinstalled alarm systems, the notice shall also describe the nature and extent of the reinstallation.
(C) Police review of false alarms.
(1) Any residential alarms system which has three or more false alarms or any commercial alarm system which has two or more false alarms within the permit year shall be subject to an assessment as provided below in division (C)(2)(e) of this section.
(2) If the police department records two or more false alarms within the permit year:
(a) The coordinator shall notify the alarm user of the fact and direct that a report be submitted to the coordinator within ten (10) days from the date of the notice. The report shall contain a description of the action taken or to be taken to discover and eliminate the cause of the false alarm, and specific defenses, if any, why the alleged false alarms should not be considered false alarms. Evidence that a false alarm was caused by an act of nature, common cause, cancellation of alarm dispatch request from the alarm company, or action of the telephone or utility company, shall constitute affirmative defenses to an assessment for a false alarm.
(b) If the report above is not timely received by the coordinator, any notified party shall be deemed to have waived the right to any further review or hearing as provided herein, and the alarm user operating the alarm system generating the false alarms will be assessed pursuant to division (C)(2)(e) of this section.
(c) If the report required by division (C)(2)(a) of this section is submitted, the coordinator shall review the corrective action taken or to be taken to discover and eliminate the cause of the false alarms and the specific defenses, if any, set forth in the report. If it is determined that the corrective action taken or to be taken will substantially reduce the likelihood of false alarms or that a valid defense to the initial determination of false alarm has been accepted, the coordinator will send a notice within thirty (30) days that no assessment will be made at that time. The notice shall specifically set forth the conclusions of the coordinator with respect to the review of the report submitted.
(d) If the coordinator determines that the action taken or to be taken will not substantially reduce the likelihood of false alarms or that a defense to the initial determination of false alarms has not been alleged or accepted, a notice shall be sent to the alarm user that the alarm user will be assessed a false alarm assessment pursuant to division (C)(2)(e) of this section. The notice of decision shall contain the specific findings and conclusions of the coordinator.
(e) An alarm user shall be assessed a fee for each false alarm, pursuant to the fee schedule set forth in Apache Junction City Code, Vol. I, Chapter 4: Fees, Article 4-7, Public Safety Fee Schedule, § 4-7-1(J), Security Alarm Permit Fees. The alarm user will not, however, be assessed any fee amounts for the first two false alarms for a residential property and the first false alarm for a commercial property.
(f) If the alarm user fails to pay the assessment within the time provided after receipt of written notification from the coordinator as provided in this section, the coordinator may summarily revoke the alarm user permit.
(g) An alarm user whose permit has been revoked shall be furnished written notification of the revocation and shall within three days after the issuance of the written notification discontinue the use of the alarm system with respect to which a permit has been revoked.
(h) An alarm user whose alarm user permit has been revoked may have it reinstated by paying all overdue assessments, submit a corrective report detailing the corrective action taken with proof of inspection for malfunctions, and pay a reinstatement fee as set forth in Apache Junction City Code, Vol. I, Chapter 4: Fees, Article 4-7, Public Safety Fee Schedule, § 4-7-1(J) , Security Alarm Permit Fees.
(i) Any non-registered alarm user shall be assessed false alarm fees pursuant to the fee schedule as set forth in Apache Junction City Code, Vol. I, Chapter 4: Fees, Article 4-7, Public Safety Fee Schedule, A.J.C.C., Vol. I, § 4-7-1(J), Security Alarm Permit Fees. For each subsequent false alarm beyond two, the police department will not respond and alarm user may be subject to criminal and/or civil charges, penalties and fees pursuant to A.J.C.C., Vol. I, § 16-1-8.
(Prior Code, § 16-1-5) (Am. Ord. 1434, passed 1-17-2017) Penalty, see Vol. I, § 16-1-8