HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001-12-03 Ordinance 4726follows:
ORDINANCE NO. 4726
ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALO
ALTO AMENDING CHAPTER 4.39 OF THE PALO ALTO
MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO PRIVATE INTRUSION
ALARMS AND AMENDING THE MUNICIPAL FEE SCHEDULE
REGARDING ALARM REGISTRATION AND RESPONSE FEES
The Council of the City Of Palo Alto does ORDAIN as
SECTION 1. Findings and Declarations: The City Council
finds and declares that:
A. Private intrusion alarm systems which are
improperly maintained or activated divert limited police
resources;
B. The existing regulatory system for constraining
false alarms has proven to be inadequate to encourage alarm
registration and to discourage the improper maintenance and
usage of alarm systems which generate false alarmsi
C. The Council has determined that the public
interest requires an increase in the service charges for false
alarms and a decrease in the number of false alarms before
police response will be withheld.
SECTION 2. Chapter 4.39 of the Palo Alto Municipal Code
is hereby amended to read as follows:
Chapter 4.39
PRIVATE INTRUSION ALARMS
4.39.010 Findings and purpose.
(a) The city council finds and declares that:
(1) There are a substantial number of alarms of possible
criminal activity which come into the Palo Alto police
department. These alarms average in excess of four hundred per
month. It is the policy and practice of the Palo Alto police
department to respond to all alarms except those which are known
to be false and to report on all alarms genuine or false. Most
alarms are false. Most false alarms are the result of improper
maintenance or improper or careless use of an alarm system.
010926 cl 0044119 1
(2) False alarms needlessly divert limited police
resources from genuine alarms and other emergencies. Police
officers responding to false alarms are not available to carry
out other police duties. In the interest of using limited law
enforcement resources most effectively, the number of false
alarms can and must be reduced.
(3) The purpose of this chapter is to reduce the dangers
and diversions of false alarms and to encourage alarm users to
maintain their systems in good working order and to use them
properly thereby conserving police personnel time and increasing
protection for all Palo Alto citizens.
4.39.020 Definitions.
For the purposes of this chapter, certain terms used
herein are defined as follows:
(a) "Alarm business" means any person operating for any
consideration who is engaged in the installation, maintenance,
alteration or servicing of alarm systems or who responds to such
alarm systems.
(b) "Alarm system" means an assembly of equipment and
devices arranged to signal the presence of any condition upon
premises within the city of Palo Alto to which the police
department normally responds. The term "alarm system" shall
include equipment which is designed to detect an emergency, or
which is designed to be activated by a person to report an
emergency. Alarm systems include, but are not limited to, local
alarm systems, direct connection systems, central station alarm
systems and automatic telephone dialing systems. Alarm systems
shall not include audible alarms affixed to automobiles.
(c) "Alarm user" means any person who owns, leases, is
the agent of the owner or lessee of, or otherwise is in
possession or control of a premises on which an alarm system has
been installed and operates.
(d) "Audible alarm system" means an alarm system which
is capable of being heard outdoors when it is activated.
(e) "Automatic telephone dialing alarm system" means an
alarm system which utilizes a device which automatically
transmits a pre-recorded message over telephone lines to a
number in the city's communications center.
010927 cl 0044119 2
(f) "Central station alarm system" means an alarm system
which transmits the alarm signal to a facility where operators
monitor the system and retransmit the signal to the city's
communications center.
(g) "Direct connection alarm system" means an alarm
system which transmits an alarm signal directly to the city's
communications center.
(h) "False alarm" means an alarm signal resulting in a
response by the pol ice department when an emergency does not
exist. An alarm shall be presumed false if the responding
officer(s) do not locate any evidence of an intrusion or of the
commission of an unlawful act or emergency on the premises which
might have caused the alarm to sound. Alarms caused by
earthquakes I hurricanes, tornadoes, or other "violent" acts of
nature, shall not be deemed false alarms.
(i) "Local alarm system" means an alarm system which is
operated by the user who is normally responsible for its
operation. The alarm signal is annunciated only on the
premises.
(j) "Person" means and includes an individual,
partnership, unincorporated association or corporation.
(k) "Premises" means any land and building located
within the city except land or buildings owned or leased by the
federal government, State of California or any political
subdivision of the state, or by any municipal corporation or
special district.
4.39.030 Limitations on audible alar.m systems.
(a) It is unlawful to install, sell or use an alarm
system which, upon activation, emits a sound similar to a siren
in use on public emergency vehicles or for public emergency
vehicles or for public disaster warning purposes. For the
purposes of this section, any variable pitch siren as opposed to
steady pitch, shall be considered to emit a sound similar to the
sound emitted by a public emergency vehicle. This section does
not apply to sirens mounted inside a building which cannot be
heard outside the building.
(b) It is unlawful to operate an audible alarm system
which does not shut off within a maximum time of ten minutes
from the time of activation.
010927 cl 0044119 3
4.39.040 Limitation on automatic telephone dialing
devices.
It shall be unlawful for automatic telephone dialing
devices to dial any phone number used by the City of Palo Alto.
4.39.050 Back-up power supply_
Any alarm system shall be supplied with an uninterrupted
power supply in such a manner that the failure or interruption
of the normal electric utility service will not activate the
alarm system. The power supply must be capable of at least four
hours of operation.
4.39.060 Registration of alar.m
(a) It shall be unlawful to operate! or cause to be
operated! an alarm system on any premises in the City of Palo
Alto without an alarm registration. An alarm user shall
register with the police department by filling out a
registration form with his home address! and business and
residence telephone numbers. In addition, he shall provide the
police department with a list of persons responsible for the
premises protected by the alarm system. This list shall contain
at least three names, one of which may be that of the alarm
business maintaining the alarm system. The list shall be kept
current by the alarm user and shall supply home and business
telephone numbers of responsible persons. In addition, the
registration form shall contain any information deemed necessary
by the chief of police to carry out the purposes of this
chapter. A fee adopted in the municipal fee schedule shall be
charged for registration. Any information contained in this
form shall be confidential and shall not constitute a public
record. An alarm registration shall be valid for a period of
one year from the date of issuance unless sooner revoked.
(b) Upon request by the police department, the alarm
user, or a responsible party, shall proceed to the scene of the
alarm wi thin thirty minutes and render any necessary service.
Such service shall include, but not be limited to, opening the
premises so that said premises may be searched by responding
police officers.
4.39.070 Alar.m tests.
An alarm user, or alarm business, shall notify the
communications division of the police department prior to any
service! test, repair, maintenance, adjustment, or installation
of an alarm system which would normally result in a police
0\0927 cl 0044119 4
response. Any alarm activated, where such prior notice has been
given, shall not constitute a false alarm.
4.39.080 False alar.m service charges.
(a) There is imposed upon every alarm user whose alarm
system causes three or more false alarms within twelve months a
false alarm service charge. A separate charge shall be imposed
for each false alarm in excess of two as set forth in the
municipal schedule, provided that the alarm user is given
notice by first-class mail of each false alarm prior to the
occurrence of the next false alarm for which a service charge is
imposed.
(b) Service charges shall be due and payable and are
delinquent after thirty days of the mailing of a bill from the
city. Penalties for delinquency in remittance of any service
charge or any deficiency in remittance shall attach and be paid
by the person required to remit at the rate of ten percent each
month on the base false alarm charge, but such penalty shall not
be compounded.
(c) Debt to City. All fees and charges levied pursuant
to this chapter shall constitute a valid and subsisting debt in
favor of the city and against the alarm user for whom services
were rendered. If the amount remains unpaid, a civil action may
be filed with the appropriate court for the amount due together
with any penalties, any related charges and fees accrued due to
nonpayment and all fees and charges required to file and pursue
such civil action.
(d) An alarm user may appeal any alarm service charge
under this section by submitting a letter of appeal to the chief
of police explaining the basis for the appeal within fifteen
days of the mailing of the bill for that service charge. While
the appeal is pending, the bill shall not be due and payable.
An administrative hearing officer shall set a time and place for
a hearing on the appeal within fifteen days after receipt of the
letter of appeal. Failure to file a timely letter of appeal
shall be a waiver of the alarm user's right to a hearing;
however, the administrative hearing officer may set a date for a
hearing if there is cause to believe that it might encourage
substantial cooperation from the alarm user. At the time and
place set for the hearing upon the appeal, the administrative
hearing officer shall hear evidence as to whether the alarm
service charge should be imposed in whole or in part. The
burden of proof shall be upon the appellant to show that there
was no substantial evidence that the alarm service charge was
properly imposed as provided in this chapter. Within forty-
eight hours after the conclusion of the hearing, the
010927 cl0044119 5
administrative hearing officer shall render a decision on the
appeal. The decision shall be final. Notification of the
decision shall be mailed to the appellant wi thin three days of
the decision. If the appeal is denied, the notification shall
inform the alarm user of the exact date that the alarm service
charge shall become due and payable/ which date shall in no
event be sooner than five days after notice of the decision has
been mailed.
4.39.090 . Revocation of alar.m registration.
(a) After the police department has recorded more than
four false alarms on any specific premises within any twelve-
month period, and after the alarm user has been notified by
first-class mail that the false alarms have been activated, the
chief of police shall notify the alarm user by first class mail
of a pre-revocation hearing to discuss the cause of the false
alarms and to remind the alarm user that the registration will
be subj ect to revocation if two more false alarms occur wi thin
the following six months. The hearing will be within fifteen
days from the date of mailing of the notification. Following a
pre-revocation hearing, if the police department has recorded an
additional two false alarms within six months, the chief of
police shall revoke the alarm user's registration and from that
time on the police department will not respond to any alarm from
that alarm user's premises for a period of six months and until
such time as the alarm user submits a new alarm registration
application and the chief of police determines to issue an alarm
registration upon proof that adequate measures have been taken
to correct any problem causing the false alarms.
4.39.100 Appeal.
An alarm user whose alarm registration has been denied
or revoked by the chief of police, may appeal that decision.
(a) Letter of Appeal. Such alarm user must Ie a
letter of appeal with the chief of police within fifteen days of
the mailing of the letter of notification of denial or
revocation. While the appeal is pending, the alarm user shall
registration shall not be revoked, but an appeal shall not
affect the denial of an alarm registration.
(b) Setting of Hearing. If the alarm user files a
timely letter of appeal, the chief of police shall refer the
appeal to an administrative hearing officer who shall set a time
and place for a hearing on the appeal. The date set for hearing
shall be no more than fteen days after the city's receipt of
the letter of appeal. Failure to file a timely letter of appeal
010927 c1 0044119 6
shall be a waiver of the alarm user's right to a hearing;
however, the administrative hearing officer may set a date for a
hearing if there is cause to believe that it might encourage
substantial cooperation from the alarm user.
(c) Hearing. At the time and place set for the hearing
upon the appeal, the administrative hearing officer shall hear
evidence from the appellant andlor any other interested party.
The burden of proof shall be upon the appellant to show that
there was no substantial evidence to support disconnection the
denial or revocation of the alarm registration.
(6) Decision. Within ten calendar days after the
conclusion of the hearing, the administrative hearing officer
shall render a decision on the appeal. The decision shall be
final. Notification of the decision shall be mailed to the
appellant within three days of the decision. If the appeal of
an alarm registration revocation is denied, the notification
shall inform the alarm user of the exact date that revocation of
the alarm registration shall commence which shall in no event be
sooner than five days after notice of the decision has been
mailed.
4.39.110 Enforcement.
(a) The amount of any service charge imposed by
authority of this chapter shall be deemed a debt owing to the
city. Proceedings may be instituted by the city in a court of
competent jurisdiction to secure a judgment for the amount due.
(b) It is unlawful for any person, or business entity to
install, operate or maintain an alarm system contrary to or in
violation of any of the provisions of this chapter. Any person
or business entity violating any of the mandatory requirements
of this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon
conviction, punishable as provided in Section 1.08.010 of this
code.
SECTION 3. The Municipal Fee Schedule is hereby amended
to reflect the fee change indicated in Attachment B, which is
attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference.
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010927 cI 0044119 7
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SECTION 4. This ordinance shall be effective on the
thirty-first day after the date of its adoption.
INTRODUCED: November 13, 2001
PASSED: December 3, 2001
AYES: BEECHAM,
WHEELER
BURCH, EAKINS,
NOES:
ABSENT: FAZZINO, MOSSAR
ABSTENTIONS:
A~~.~
City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
rney
THIS DOCUMENT IS CER1l,fIED TO BE AN,
ORDINANCE DULY PAsseD BVTHE COUNCIL
OF THE CITY OF PALO ALTO AND
THEREAt-fER POSTED ~IT'COUNCIL
CHAMBERS ON I 10 QI (WITHIN l'
DAYS OF ITS PASSAGE)
"I certify (or declare) under penalty 0' perjury that tho foregoing is true
and correct."
Ij '11061.-~IL a L-m...
Date & Place
010927 c10044119 8
KLEINBERG, LYTLE, OJAKIAN,
-
Attachment B
POLICE DEPARTMENT
Licenses (continued) -Fees for licenses delinquent
The minimum deli1Uluent charge shall
Circus
Closing out sale
Renewal (maximum of 2)
Fireanns Dealer (all fees are nonrefundable)
Master Permit -Renewal
Fee: Each Owner, Officer, Allent and
New
not include DOJ or FBI Fimrp:Tn1"int
Renewal
Fee
Hot Tub/Sauna Establishment
Business location change
Hot tub/sauna emplOyee (Does not include Department of Justice
New (non-refundable application fee)
Renewal
2000-01 FEE
$2,100.00 plus bond, plus costs to provide
certain services
$48.00/up to 60 days
$48.oo/up to 30 days
50
2001"()2 FEE
$2,100.00 plus bond, plus costs to provide
certain services
$48.oo/up to 60 days
$48.oo/up to 30 days
$210.oo/occurrence
I5.00/occurrence
O.oo/new
3.oo/renewal
$1,790.00/year
$715.00/year
$105.00/occurrence