(a) Definitions. As used in this section:
(1) "Alarm permit" means a permit issued by the Chief of Police or the Fire Chief to any owner or other person in control of a building, property or part thereof, located in the City, to install and maintain an alarm system.
(2) "Alarm system" means any assembly of equipment and devices which signals, so as to be seen or heard outside the protected building or space, the presence of fire, smoke, robbery, burglary, vandalism or unauthorized intrusion.
(3) "Interconnected alarm system" means an alarm system which directly or indirectly, automatically or manually, uses a telephone line to transmit an alarm or message upon activation of the alarm system to the fire or police department or to an alarm monitoring company.
(4) "Local alarm system" means an alarm system that, when activated, only sounds a horn, bell, buzzer or other type of audible or visible alarm that is designed to be audible or visible beyond the premises being served, but which does not result in the transmission of a signal to any other location.
(5) "Alarm permit holder" means a person who or which has a permit issued to him, her or it by the Chief of Police or the Fire Chief.
(6) "Appropriate Chief" means the Circleville Chief of Police or the Circleville Fire Chief.
(7) "Automatic dialing device" means a device which is interconnected to a telephone line and programmed to select a predetermined telephone number and transmit by voice, message or code signal an emergency message indicating a need for emergency response.
(8) "False alarm" means an alarm signal or message initiated and transmitted either automatically or manually through an alarm system, to the City, eliciting a response by police or fire personnel when fire, smoke, robbery, burglary, vandalism or unauthorized intrusion does not, in fact, exist, but does not include an alarm signal caused by hurricanes, tornadoes or other catastrophic acts of God not reasonably subject to control by the alarm manufacturer, installer or alarm permit holder.
(b) Alarm Permits.
(1) Any residence or building or part thereof located within the City may be equipped with an alarm system for the purpose of detecting and signaling the presence of a fire or unauthorized intrusion.
(2) Before an alarm system is installed in a residence or building, the owner must apply for a permit from either the Chief of Police or the Fire Chief. The appropriate Chief shall prescribe the form of the apaplication and request such information as is necessary to evaluate and act upon the permit application. The information contained in an alarm permit application shall be securely maintained and restricted to inspection only by the Chief of Police, the Fire Chief or their designated representatives.
(Ord. 05-46-94. Passed 5-3-94.)
(3) An alarm permit fee of twenty dollars ($20.00) shall be charged annually for a permit issued under this section. An alarm permit shall be deemed renewed when the annual alarm permit is remitted to the City and the system has been approved by the appropriate Chief.
(Ord. 01-03-2014. Passed 1-7-14.)
(4) Any person who or which currently has an alarm system installed in his, her or its residence or place of business shall apply for an alarm permit within thirty days of the effective date of this section.
(5) When there has occurred any material change in the information previously submitted with respect to such alarm system, it shall be the duty of the owner, occupant or permit holder of a building served by an alarm system, within ten days after a change in information previously submitted to the City, to file an application supplement containing accurate current information with respect to the data required by the respective Chief.
(c) Automatic Dialing Devices.
(1) The City may subscribe to one or more telephone lines for burglar alarms, or for fire alarm purposes, or for similar purposes, and when any line is designated as provided for above, persons may, upon proper application and compliance with applicable laws, be granted a permit to install a device which automatically selects the designated telephone line for the purpose of playing a recorded message or otherwise reporting an intrusion or other emergency. The permit fee shall be established by the Director of Public Safety in such amount as to reimburse the City for the cost of any telephone lines dedicated to automatic dialing devices. Such fee shall be revised at the beginning of every fiscal year to reflect the most recent cost experience.
(2) No person shall use or cause to be used any telephone device or telephone attachment that automatically selects any telephone line allocated by the telephone company to the City or any of its departments or divisions, except a telephone line which is specifically designated by the Department of Public Safety for such purpose. Such designated telephone line or lines shall terminate at the Municipal Services Center Communications Center.
(d) Equipment Maintenance and Inspection of Alarm Systems.
(1) All equipment used in installations for which a permit is required shall meet the applicable standards of Underwriters' Laboratories of the United States and of Canada, Factory Mutual or the Natioanl Fire Protection Association or other recognized industry standard. The applicant may be required to submit evidence of the reliability and suitability of the equipment to be installed.
(2) The Chief of Police and the Fire Chief or their designated representatives shall have the authority, at reasonable times, and upon oral notice to enter upon any premises within the City, to inspect only the installation and operation of an alarm system, the purpose of which is to report an emergency to the Police Department or the Fire Department. If the premises to be inspected is a private dwelling, such inspection shall only be done between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., and only if the notice is in written form addressed to the permit holder and presented to a responsible adult. Under this section, such residences are only subject to the above inspection after five false alarms have originated from them. The written notice shall cite the specific false alarm history of that permit. Failure to allow reasonable inspection of such alarm system may be grounds for revocation of the alarm permit.
(3) The Chief of Police or the Fire Chief may require that repairs or adjustments be made whenever he or she has determined that such are necessary to assure proper operation. Failure to make such repairs or adjustments may be grounds for revocation of the alarm permit.
(e) Permit Suspension, Revocation and Appeals Procedure for Permits.
(1) Before a permit is issued under this section may be suspended or revoked for any reason except as prescribed in subsection (h)(7) hereof, a hearing must be held before the appropriate Chief. A notice setting forth the time, place and nature of the hearing shall be sent to the alarm permit holder not less than seven days prior to such hearing.
(2) After such hearing, the appropriate Chief shall either dismiss the case or shall forward a recommendation of revocation or suspension to the Director of Public Safety. Within ten days after receiving the recommendation, the Director shall approve or disapprove the recommendation and notify the permit holder accordingly.
(f) Liability of City. The issuance of any permit in conjunction with this section shall not constitute acceptance by the City of any liability to maintain any equipment, to answer alarms or to do anything in connection therewith.
(g) Exemptions. This section is not applicable to home smoke detectors not intended to be heard outside the dwelling unit, nor to local alarm systems or audible alarms affixed to automobiles, boats, boat trailers, house trailers, recreation vehicles or other motor vehicles.
(h) Violations.
(1) No person shall operate an alarm system without first obtaining a permit as required by this section, or, after having a permit revoked or suspended and after exhausting the right of appeal, fail to disconnect the alarm system from the automatic dialing device which interconnects with the Department of Public Safety.
(2) No alarm permit holder shall allow more than five chargeable false alarms to be transmitted to the Police or Fire Communications Center during the immediately preceding one-year period. An alarm will be classified as false if the responding police or fire personnel see no evidence of fire, smoke, robbery, burglary vandalism or unauthorized intrusion. If the permit holder proves that the alarm was caused by an event not reasonably foreseeable and which could not have been prevented by the proper adjustment or presetting of the sensor threshold, the alarm will be designated a nonchargeable false alarm.
(3) No alarm permit holder shall provide false information of a substantive nature on any application for permit or renewal.
(4) No alarm permit holder shall fail to pay any fees for false alarms within forty-five days of the invoicing date.
(5) No alarm permit holder shall repeatedly or flagrantly fail to comply with alarm response procedures of the City Police or Fire Departments.
(6) After five officially chargeable false alarms in any permit year, the Chief of Police or Fire Chief shall review the alarm holder's permit and recommend to the Director of Public Safety continuance of the permit, revocation of the permit for a maximum of six months, or issuance of false alarm fees for all such chargeable false alarms in excess of five during any permit year as set forth in this section. The Chief of Police or the Fire Chief may order the disconnection of any alarm system upon forwarding a recommendation of suspension or revocation of an alarm permit to the Director of Public Safety pending his or her review. No permit holder shall fail to disconnect his or her alarm system upon order of the appropriate Chief as set forth herein.
(7) No alarm permit holder shall knowingly allow his or her alarm system to be used by any person to create a false alarm. In addition to the penalty prescribed in subsection (j) hereof, the alarm permit held by such permit holder may be suspended or revoked by the issuing Chief summarily and without appeal.
(i) Fees for False Alarms.
(1) A service fee of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) shall be charged to the alarm user for every chargeable false alarm in excess of five per permit year which illicits a response by Police or Fire personnel in accordance with their standard operating procedures. This service fee will be invoiced monthly through the office of the Safety Director and are due within thirty days after invoicing. A service fee may be waived by the Safety Director for good cause shown. Failure to pay service fees within forty-five days of the invoicing date may be grounds for revocation of the alarm permit as set forth in subsection (h) hereof.
(j) Penalties.
(1) Whoever violates or fails to comply with any of the provisions of this section, for which no penalty is otherwise provided, is guilty of a minor misdemeanor and shall be fined not more than one hundred dollars ($100.00) for each offense.
(2) Whoever violates subsection (h)(7) hereof is guilty of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree and shall be fined not more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) or imprisoned not more than thirty days, or both, for each offense.
(3) A separate offense shall be deemed committed each day during or on which a violation or noncompliance occurs or continues.
(Ord. 05-46-94. Passed 5-3-94.)