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(A) An alarm permit may be revoked by recommendation of the Alarm Administrator for any of the following reasons:
(1) False representations were made upon the permit application; or
(2) The alarm system emits excessive false alarms, deeming the system an immediate safety hazard as prescribed by this chapter; or
(3) Failure to observe any of the regulations or provisions of this chapter.
(B) Notice and effective dates. A written notice of revocation, setting the reason for the action, shall be mailed by certified mail giving the permittee ten working days from the mailing date to disconnect or remove the alarm from the premises. Any person failing to disconnect the alarm system when required by this chapter shall be subject to the penalties as set forth in § 103.14.
(Ord. 921-C.S., passed 9-7-21)
(A) Revocation of an alarm system permit may be appealed to the Alarm Administrator. The permittee may submit a written statement, setting forth the reasons why the permit should not be revoked, to the Alarm Administrator not more than ten working days from the mailing date of the notice of revocation.
(B) The alarm user may continue to operate the alarm system during the appeal process, unless the Alarm Administrator recommends the disconnection of the alarm system.
(C) The decisions of the Alarm Administrator with respect to this chapter will be final and conclusive.
(Ord. 921-C.S., passed 9-7-21)
Following the revocation of the alarm permit, the permit may be reinstated upon recommendation of the Alarm Administrator when:
(A) The cause for the revocation has been corrected; and
(B) The permittee pays a permit reinstatement fee to the city. (See the City of Eureka Schedule of Fees and Service Charges "City Fee Schedule".)
(Ord. 921-C.S., passed 9-7-21)
The sending of an alarm by an alarm system monitoring company, which results in the dispatch of Police or Fire, shall subject the alarm user or property owner to a false alarm fee whenever there is no evidence of a crime or other activity that would warrant a call for Police or Fire assistance or investigation at the premises; provided however, that no false alarm fee shall be assessed if any individual who was on or near the premises, or who had viewed a video communication from the premises, called for the dispatch and confirmed a need for police or fire response.
(A) False alarm fees, including any penalties for failure to register, shall be imposed per the city's Fee Schedule.
(B) In the event that Police or Fire were dispatched to the premises, the alarm user or property owner shall be subject to a false alarm fee per the city's fee schedule. Such amount represents the cost of dispatch and initial response incurred by Fire and/or Police.
(C) Notice and hearing on penalty for false alarms.
(1) The Department shall mail by first class mail a written notice of the false alarm fee to the permitee. The notice shall state the date and time of the false alarm, and that the permittee is entitled to a hearing to respond to the notice and introduce any evidence to refute or mitigate the determination that the false alarm occurred. All false alarm fees are due and payable within 60 days of the date that the Department mails or transmits the notice, unless: (1) an appeal is filed pursuant to subsection (B) of this section, in which case the fees appealed from are due and payable within ten days after the date of the written ruling, or (2) a waiver is requested and an alarm user class is scheduled pursuant to subsection (D) of this section.
(2) A permittee wanting to contest a false alarm fee shall file a written appeal with the Alarm Administrator within 30 days after the date of the notice. A hearing shall be held by the Alarm Administrator, or the Alarm Administrator designee, not more than 20 days from the date the appeal is filed. Within 20 days after the hearing, the Department shall issue a written ruling including factual findings and the Alarm Administrator's conclusion, with supporting reasons affirming or reversing the notice. The decision of the Alarm Administrator shall be final.
(3) The Alarm Administrator may, but is not required to, delegate authority to conduct hearings under this section to the Eureka Police Department or the Fire Department.
(4) The Alarm Administrator may, with cause, at his or her discretion, waive the first false alarm fee once within a 12 month period per alarm site. A current Eureka alarm subscriber that moves to a new address within Eureka shall receive a waiver for the first alarm at the subscriber's new location if the false alarm occurs within six months of the move.
(D) It shall be the policy of Police and Fire to take positive action in reducing false alarm responses through continuous evaluation and notification of offending alarm owners/users when false alarms occur.
(Ord. 921-C.S., passed 9-7-21)
It shall be unlawful for any person to sell, install or operate any alarm system for use within the city that does not meet the minimum standards as prescribed as follows:
(A) Audible alarms.
(1) All audible alarm systems shall have a sign or notice posted on or near the system, (visible from the exterior), with the name and telephone number of the person responsible for the service and maintenance of the system. The notice shall be conspicuously posted and readable from ground level.
(2) All audible alarms, including vehicle alarms, shall be equipped with a device that will deactivate the alarm system not more than ten minutes after activation. In addition, should an alarm fail to be silenced within the time limits prescribed in this chapter, the Alarm Administrator shall have the authority to hire an alarm agent to silence the alarm. All costs and expenses incurred by the city in hiring an alarm agent to silence the alarm, costs incurred from damage to the alarm site or vehicle as a result of silencing the alarm, and costs incurred to obtain materials and security personnel to re-secure the alarm site, shall be borne by the permittee or owner.
(3) Any alarm system that has an automatic shut-off with a re-arming phase must be able to distinguish between an open and closed circuit; and, if the circuit is open, will not rearm.
(4) No audible alarm shall be installed, maintained or activated which emits the sound of a siren similar to those utilized on emergency vehicles or for civil defense disaster warnings.
(B) Alarms.
(1) No alarms shall have an automatic dialing system as defined in this chapter. This chapter does not apply to alarm devices that relay a digital coded signal to the alarm company.
(2) All alarm systems shall have a standby back-up power supply which will automatically assume operation of the alarm system should any interruption occur in the power to the system. The transfer of power from the primary source to the back-up source must occur in a manner that does not activate the alarm. Back-up power supply must be capable of at least 12 hours of operation.
(3) All silent burglar alarm systems installed after the effective date of this chapter shall have a pre-alert or pre-alarm unit allowing the user to reset the system if activated in error, before the system goes into full alarm activation. This section does not apply to banks, savings and loans and other high-risk businesses as determined by the Alarm Administrator.
(4) An alarm user shall maintain at each alarm site a set of written operating instructions for each alarm system.
(5) Homeowners shall test systems in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions and shall have every household fire alarm system having a control panel tested by a qualified service technician every three years.
(C) The Alarm Administrator reserves the right to inspect all alarm systems after giving 48 hours advance warning to the permittee to ensure that the alarm standards have been met.
(Ord. 921-C.S., passed 9-7-21)
(A) An alarm company responsible for monitoring services shall make two attempts to contact user or users of alarm system prior to requesting law enforcement response.
(1) Communicate any available information regarding specifics of the alarm event.
(2) Communicate a cancellation to the law enforcement communications center as soon as possible following a determination that response is unnecessary.
(B) It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in, conduct, or carry on any alarm/monitoring business within the city unless said person has first registered the intention to engage in such alarm business with the city, giving the city such information as it may require; and has displayed to the city a current valid city business license and a permit issued by the State of California, where state law requires such a permit or license.
(C) Any person engaging in, conducting, or carrying on any alarm/monitoring business within the city shall notify each alarm owner of the permit and false alarm process upon the request of installation of an alarm system and verify said notification in writing has been signed by the alarm user. Violation of said requirement shall be considered a violation of this chapter and subject to a fine for each occurrence. (See the City of Eureka Schedule of Fees and Service Charges.)
(Ord. 921-C.S., passed 9-7-21)
Any violation of the provisions of this chapter may be prosecuted under the provisions of § 10.99 and is subject to a fee as prescribed in the City of Eureka Schedule of Fees and Service Charges.
(Ord. 921-C.S., passed 9-7-21)
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