(a) The term “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 Police and/or Fire Department are expected to respond.
(b) No person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company or organization of any kind shall cause the response of police, fire or other emergency equipment or personnel as signaled by the activation of an alarm system due to mechanical failure, malfunction, improper installation, or any other reason other than the existence of a legitimate police/fire or other emergency matter. This section does not apply to alarms activated by hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes or other similar acts of God.
(c) All alarm systems shall be registered with the Police Department and Fire Department by the owner or lessee of such alarm system, except that any alarm system tied into a twenty-four hour central station may be registered by the operator of the twenty-four hour central station. Registration shall be made on a form prescribed by the Chief of Police or Fire Chief, which shall include the name of the owner or the lessee of the system, place of employment, list of persons to call in case of activation of the alarm system, and any and all hazardous conditions about the premises where the alarm system is located. All alarm systems existing as of the date of this section shall be registered within sixty days from the effective date of this section. Any alarm system installed after the effective date of this section shall be registered within thirty days of the date of the installation of the alarm system.
(d) Any owner or lessee of an alarm system who violates subsection (b) hereof three or more times within any thirty-day period or fails to register an alarm system in accordance with subsection (c) hereof is guilty of a minor misdemeanor. The owner or lessee of an alarm system who violates subsection (b) hereof two or more times within any thirty-day period shall receive a written warning from the Chief of Police. It is the expressed intention of Council that a violation of subsections (b) or (c) hereof is a strict liability offense.
(Ord. 8-89. Passed 1-23-89.)