(a) Purpose. The purpose of this chapter is to protect persons and property in the City, to prevent misuse of emergency services, and to provide minimum standards and regulations applicable to alarm business, alarm systems and alarm users as defined in this section. This chapter does not supersede or replace Section 509.07 of the Codified Ordinances entitled "Making False Alarms".
(b) Definitions. For the purpose of this chapter, the following words, terms, phrases, and their derivations shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning.
(1) "Alarm administrator" means the employee of the Fire and/or Police Department of the City whose responsibility is to coordinate the administration and documentation of alarm systems as it relates to the effective enforcement of the provisions of this chapter.
(2) "Alarm business" means the business by any individual, partnership, corporation or other entity selling, leasing, maintaining, servicing, repairing, altering, replacing, moving or installing or monitoring any alarm system or causing to be sold leased, maintained, serviced, repaired, altered, replaced, moved or installed or monitored any alarm system in or on any building, structure or facility.
(3) "Alarm malfunction" means an alarm system activation resulting from windstorm or other inclement weather condition, power outage or any electrical or mechanical failure, not resulting from improperly installed, operated, or maintained equipment.
(4) "Alarm system" means any device or system that upon activation emits, transmits, or relays a signal intended to be used to summon, or that would reasonably be expected to summon, or result in the summoning of police, fire or emergency medical service of the City. "Alarm system" does not include:
A. An alarm installed on a vehicle, boat, boat trailer, house trailer, recreation vehicle, unless the vehicle is permanently located at a site; nor
B. Alarm systems not designed or intended to alert fire or law enforcement agencies or others outside the protected building, structure, or facility, but which are designed solely to alert the inhabitants, security personnel, or others directly connected with or employed by the owner or operator of the protected building, structure or facility.
(5) "Alarm user" means the person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company, or any other entity in control of a building, structure, facility, or any portion thereof, where an alarm system is located.
(6) "Automatic dialing device" means a device which is interconnected to a telephone line and is programmed to select a predetermined telephone number and transmit by voice a message or coded signal intended to elicit a response.
(7) "Combination alarm system" means an alarm system in which fire alarm system components are used, in whole or in part, in common with a non-fire signaling system.
(8) "False alarm" means an alarm system signal or message eliciting an urgent response by the Fire and/or Police Department when no evidence of burglary, fire, medical emergency, smoke, unauthorized intrusion, vandalism, or a situation requiring such response does not exist. An alarm that was activated because of testing or repair shall not be considered as a false alarm if prior notification was given the day of testing or repair to the Fire and/or Police Department.
(9) "Fire alarm system" means a system consisting of components and circuits arranged to monitor and annunciate the status of fire alarm or supervisory signal-initiating devices and to initiate the appropriate response to those signals.
(10) "Fire protection system" means devices, equipment and systems or combinations of systems used to detect a fire, activate an alarm, extinguish or control a fire, control or manage smoke and products of a fire or any combination thereof.
(Ord. 24-14. Passed 6-9-14.)
(Ord. 24-14. Passed 6-9-14.)