HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinances (O-87-645)-05/04/1987
10
11
1
~~~tJ)
~~n
~~1
.LJ' 'I ~ (). .1\.
ID.~cf
2
ORDINANCE NO. 0-87~
3
4
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 7, OF THE COLLEYVILLE CODE, BY
ADDING SECTION 5 "EMERGENCY REPORTING AND EQUIPMENT PROCEDURES"
PROVIDING DEFINITIONS; REQUIRING A PERMIT OF ALARM SYSTEM
USERS; PROVIDING SERVICE FEES FOR ALARM NOTIFICATIONS;
PROVIDING FOR REVOCATION OF A PERMIT; REGULATING ALARM
REPORTING AND OPERATION; PROVIDING FOR PROTECTION OF FINANCIAL
INSTITUTIONS; PROVIDING A PENALTY NOT TO EXCEED $200; PROVIDING
A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR PUBLICATION.
5
6
7
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
COLLEYVILLE, TEXAS;
8
SEC. 1:
That Chapter 7 of the Colleyville code be amended by
adding section 5, "Emergency Reporting Equipment and
Procedures" to read as follows:
9
SEC. 5:
EMERGENCY REPORTING EQUIPMENT AND PROCEDURES
SEC. 5-1: DEFINITIONS.
12 In this section:
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
(1) ALARM SYSTEM means a device or system that emits,
transmits, or relays a signal intended to summon, or
that would reasonably be expected to summon, police
services of the city, including, but not limited to/
local alarms. Alarms system does not include:
(a) an alarm installed on a vehicle unless the
vehicle is permanently located at a site; nor
(b) an alarm designed to alert only the inhabitants
of a premises which does not have a local alarm.
(2) ALARM NOTIFICATIONS means a notification intended to
summon the police, which is designed either to be
initiated purposely by a person or by an alarm system
that responds to a stimulus characteristic to
unauthorized intrusion.
(3) ALARM SITE means a single premises or location (one
street address) served by an alarm system or systems
that are under the control of one owner.
(4) CHIEF means the chief of police of the city or his
authorized representative.
1
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
1
2
3
(5) FALSE ALARM NOTIFICATION means an alarm notification
to the police department, when the responding officer
finds no evidence of unauthorized intrusion,
attempted unauthorized intrusion, robbery, attempted
robbery, or an attempt to take a person hostage.
4
5
(6) LOCAL ALARM means an alarm system that emits a signal
at an alarm site that is audible or visible from the
exterior of a structure.
6
7
(7) PERMIT HOLDER means the person designated in the
application as required in Section 5-2(c) (1) who is
responsible for responding to alarms and giving
access to the site and who is also responsible for
proper maintenance and operation of the alarm system
and payment of fees.
8
9
(8) PERSON means an individual, corporation, partnership,
association, organization, or similar entity.
SEC. 5-2:
PERMIT REQUIRED; APPLICATION; TRANSFERABILITY;
FALSE STATEMENTS.
(a) A person commits an offense if he operates or causes
to be operated an alarm system without an alarm
permit issued by the chief. A separate permit is
required for each alarm site.
(b) Upon receipt of a completed application form, the
chief shall issue an alarm permit to an applicant
unless the applicant has failed to pay a service fee
assessed under section 5-12 or has had an alarm
permit for the alarm site revoked, and the violation
causing the revocation has not been corrected.
(c) Each permit application must contain the following
information:
(1) name, address, and telephone number of the
person who will be the permit holder and be
responsible for the proper maintenance and
operation of the alarm system and payment of
fees assessed under this chapter;
(2) classification of the alarm site as either
residential or commercial;
(3) for each alarm system located at the alarm site
the purpose of the alarm system, i.e., burglary,
robbery, or personal hostage or robbery;
2
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
1
2
3
(4) other information required by the chief which is
necessary for the enforcement of this chapter.
4
(d) Any false statement of a material matter made by an
applicant for the purpose of obtaining an alarm
permit shall be sufficient cause for refusal to issue
a permit.
5
6
(e) An alarm permit cannot be transferred to another
person. A permit holder shall inform the chief of
any change that alters any information listed on the
permit application within two business days. No fee
will be assessed for such changes.
7
8
9
(f) All fees owed by an applicant must be paid before a
permit may be issued or renewed.
SEC. 5-3: PERMIT DURATION AND RENEWAL.
A permit is issued for three years and must be renewed
every three years upon submission of an updated application.
It is the responsibility of the permit holder to submit an
application prior to the permit expiration date. The chief
shall determine the first expiration date of a permit. This
initial period shall be no less than two or more than three
years from the date of issuance of the permit.
SEC. 5-4: PROPER ALARM SYSTEM OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE.
(a) A permit holder or person in control of an alarm
system shall:
(1) maintain premises containing an alarm system in
a manner that insures proper operation of the
alarm system;
(2) maintain the alarm system in a manner that will
minimize false alarm notifications;
(3) respond or cause a representative to respond
within a reasonable period of time when notified
by the city to repair or inactivate a
malfunctioning alarm system, to provide access
to the premises, or to provide security for the
premises;
(4) not manually activate an alarm for any reason
other than an occurrence of an event that the
alarm system was intended to report.
3
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
1
2
3
(b) A person in control of a local alarm shall adjust the
mechanism or cause the mechanism to be adjusted so
that an alarm signal will sound for no longer than 30
minutes after being activated.
4
5
SEC. 5-5: MANUAL RESET REQUIRED.
6
A person in control of a local alarm or an alarm system
that causes an alarm notification to be sent directly to the
city, shall adjust the mechanism or cause the mechanism to be
adjusted so that upon activation the system will not transmit
another alarm signal without first being manually reset.
7
8
SEC. 5-6:
REPORTING OF ALARM SIGNALS.
9
A permit holder or person in control of an alarm system
shall not allow alarm signals to be reported through a relaying
intermediary that does not comply with the requirements of this
chapter and any rules and regulations promulgated by the chief
or that is not licensed by the Texas Board of Private
Investigators and Private Security Agencies.
SEC. 5-7:
INDIRECT ALARM REPORTING.
(a) A person who is engaged in the business of relaying
alarm notifications to the city shall communicate
alarm notifications to the city in a manner and form
determined by the chief.
SEC. 5-8:
DIRECT ALARM REPORTING; AUTOMATIC ALARM
NOTIFICATION.
A permit holder or person in control of an alarm system,
other than an alarm system in a financial institution, whose
alarm system transmits automatic alarm notifications directly
to the communications center of the police department shall:
(1) transmit the alarm in the form and with the
content specified by the chief;
(2) insure that any recorded message is
intelligible;
(3) design the alarm system so that it will notify
or attempt to notify the permit holder, or his
designated agent identified on the permit
application, when an alarm is transmitted to the
city.
4
I'
I
1 I
2 I
,
3 I
I
I
4 I
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
SEC. 5-9:
ALARM SYSTEM OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS.
A person in control of an alarm system shall maintain at
each alarm site, a complete set of written operating
instructions for each alarm system. Special codes,
combinations, or passwords must not be included in these
instructions.
SEC. 5-10: ALARM DISPATCH RECORDS.
(a) The officer responding to a dispatch resulting from a
burglary, robbery, personal hostage or robbery alarm
notification shall record such information as
necessary to permit the chief to maintain records,
including but not limited to the following
information:
(1) identification of the permit holder;
(2) identification of the alarm site;
(3) arrival time and dispatch received time;
(4) time of day, date, and time zone;
(5) weather conditions;
(6) area and sub-area;
(7) name of permit holder's representative on
premises, if any.
(b) The responding police officer shall indicate on the
dispatch record whether the notification was caused
by a criminal offense.
SEC. 5-11: SYSTEM PERFORMANCE REVIEWS.
If there is reason to believe that an alarm system is not
being used or maintained in a manner that insures proper
operation and suppresses false alarms, the chief may require a
conference with an alarm permit holder and the individual or
association responsible for maintenance of the alarm system to
review circumstances of each false alarm.
SEC. 5-12: SERVICE FEE; NEW INSTALLATIONS.
(a) Except as provided in Subsections (b) and (c), the
holder of an alarm permit shall pay a service fee of
5
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
$25 for each alarm notification in excess of three
that is emitted from an alarm site within any 12
month period.
(b) If the responding police officer determines that an
alarm notification was caused by a criminal offense,
no service fee will be assessed for that notification
and that fee will be assessed.
SEC. 5-13:
REVOCATION OF ALARM PERMIT.
(a) The chief shall revoke an alarm permit if he
determines that:
(1) there is a false statement of a material matter
in the application for a permit;
(2) the permit holder has violated section 5-4, 5-5,
5-6, 5-7, or 5-8; or
(3) the permit holder has failed to make timely
payment of a service fee assessed under Section
5-12.
(b) A person commits an offense if he operates an alarm
system during the period in which his alarm permit is
revoked.
SEC. 5-14: APPEAL FROM DENIAL OR REVOCATION OF A
PERMIT.
(a) If the chief refuses to issue or renew a permit, or
revokes a permit, he shall send to the applicant or
permit holder by certified mail, return receipt
requested, written notice of his action and a
statement of the right to an appeal. The applicant
or permit holder may appeal the decision of the chief
to the city manager by filing with the city manager a
written request for a hearing, setting forth the
reasons for the appeal, within 10 days after receipt
of the notice from the chief. The filing of a
request for an appeal hearing with the city manager
stays an action of the chief in revoking a permit
until the city manager or his designated
representative makes a final decision. If a request
for an appeal hearing is not made within the 10 day
period, the action of the chief is final.
6
1 I
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
I
15 i I
I
16 I
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
25
26
(b)
SEC. 5-15:
(a)
(b)
(c)
i I
The city manager or his representative shall serve as
hearing officer at an appeal and consider evidence by
an interested person. The formal rules of evidence
do not apply at an appeal hearing; the hearing
officer shall make his decision on the basis of a
preponderance of the evidence presented at the
hearing. The hearing officer must render a decision
within 30 days after the request for an appeal
hearing is filed. The hearing officer shall affirm,
reverse, or modify the action of the chief. The
decision of the hearing officer is final as to the
administrative remedies within the city.
PROTECTION OF FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS.
A financial institution required to have an alarm
system pursuant to the provisions of the Bank
Protection Act of 1968 (12 U.S.C., Section 1882) may
install, with the permission of the chief, a signal
line directly to the police department for the
purpose of reporting burglaries and robberies. If
such an arrangement is made, all other requirements
of this chapter must be met. The financial
institutions shall execute a letter of agreement with
the city permitting the installation of all necessary
equipment on an indicator panel monitored in the
communications division of the police department.
The installation must be accomplished at the
institution's expense.
The financial institution shall pay an annual fee of
$300 for each indicator. The chief shall have the
right, at reasonable times and upon oral notice, to
inspect the alarm system at the alarm site and
require necessary repairs or improvements. If the
chief finds that the alarm system continually fails
to operate properly or to be operated properly, he
may terminate the privilege to have equipment and
indicators in the communications center of the police
department and require prompt removal of the
equipment at the expense of the financial
institution.
The financial institution, at its expense, shall make
arrangements to provide service for the alarm system
at the request of the financial institution or the
chief on a 24-hour basis, seven days a week. In no
event shall the city become liable for charges for
repairs and maintenance.
7
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17 I
18 I
19 I
20 I
I
21 I
I
22 ' I
I
23
24
25
26
(d) The financial institution may cancel its agreement
with the city at any time by giving the city written
notice through the chief, and at its own expense,
remove its equipment and indicators from the monitor
panel in the communications center.
(e) The chief may require any change, modernization, or
consolidation of alarm signaling equipment that he
deems advisable. In no event shall the city become
liable for charges for these changes.
(f) Instead of a direct line, a financial institution may
report burglaries and robberies by transmission
through an alarm reporting service using a method
designated by the chief.
SEC. 5-16: VIOLATIONS; PENALTY; CORPORATIONS,
PARTNERSHIPS AND ASSOCIATIONS.
(a) A person commits an offense if he violates by
commission or omission any provision of this chapter
that imposes upon him a duty or responsibility.
(b) A person who violates a provision of this chapter is
guilty of a separate offense for each day or portion
of a day during which the violation is committed,
continued, or permitted, and each offense is
punishable by a fine of not more than $200.
(c) In addition to prohibiting or requiring certain
conduct of individuals, it is the intent of this
chapter to hold a corporation, partnership, or other
association criminally responsible for acts of
omissions performed by an agent acting in behalf of
the corporation, partnership, or other association,
and within the scope of his employment.
SECTION 3.
That the terms and provisions of this
Ordinance are severable.
SECTION 4.
The City Secretary is hereby authorized and
directed to cause publication of the
descriptive caption and penalty clause
hereof as an alternative method of
publication provided by law.
AND IT IS SO ORDERED.
8
earing being conducted on the
, 1987.
earing being conducted on the
, 1987.
'c hearing being conducted on the
, 1987.
~ ~~y OF COLLEYVILLE
1
2
3
4
J. R. Hubbard
Mayor
9