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Home My WebLink AboutO-1049-9-91ORDINANCE NO. 1049-9-91 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ALLEN, COLLIN COUNTY, TEXAS, REPEALING ORDINANCE NO. 831-11-87 AND ARTICLE IV, CHAPTER 8, OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES, CITY OF ALLEN, TEXAS; PROVIDING FOR THE REGULATION OF ALARM SYSTEMS WITHIN THE CITY OF ALLEN; PROVIDING PROCEDURES FOR THE APPROVAL AND REGISTRATION OF SUCH SYSTEMS AND ESTABLISHING FEES FOR SUCH REGISTRATION; AUTHORIZING PENALTIES FOR EXCESSIVE FALSE ALARMS; PROVIDING DEFINITIONS; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Allen, Texas, has determined it necessary to provide new regulations for alarm systems within the city in order to comply with the provisions of V.T.C.A., Local Government Code §218; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ALLEN, TEXAS, THAT: SECTION 1: From and after the effective date of this ordinance, Ordinance No. 831-11-87 and Article IV, Chapter 8, of the Code of Ordinances, City of Allen, Texas, are hereby repealed. SECTION 2: Definitions. For the purposes of this Ordinance, the following terms shall apply: 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 emergency services of the city, including, but not limited to, local alarms, phone-in alarms from security agencies, medical alert alarms and other emergency assistance alarms. "Alarm System" does not include vehicle alarms, unless such vehicle is permanently located at a site, nor an alarm designed to alert only the inhabitants of a premises which does not have a local alarm. Alarm Console means a monitoring panel, located at the police department, to which certain alarm sites are hard -wired or otherwise directly connected. False Alarm means an alarm notification or any other notification responded to by the police or fire departments within thirty (30) minutes of the alarm notification and it was determined from an inspection of the interior or exterior of the premises that the alarm was false or there was no reasonable cause for the alarm. Hold-up Alarm means an alarm system designed to notify the police department of a robbery or attempted robbery whether actual or suspected. Burglar Alarm means an alarm system designed to notify the police department of a break-in or attempted break-in to a building or residence. Supervisory Alarm means a signal indicating the need of action in connection with the supervision of sprinklers and other extinguishing systems or equipment, or the maintenance features of other protective systems. Fire Alarm means an alarm system sounding an alarm as a result of the manual operation of a fire alarm box or the operation of protection equipment or systems, such as water flowing in a sprinkler system, the discharge of carbon dioxide, the detection of smoke or the detection of heat. Local Alarm means an alarm system that emits a signal at an alarm site that is audible and/or visible from the exterior of the structure. Alarm Permit means a certificate, license, permit, registration, or other form of permission that authorizes a person to install or operate an alarm system. SECTION 3: Permits. It shall be unlawful for any person to install any alarm system in the city which terminates at the alarm console, as defined herein, unless prior application has been made and an alarm permit issued by the chief of police, or his designate, in the case of hold-up or burglar alarms, or the fire marshal, or his designate, in the case of supervisory or fire alarms. A separate alarm permit application is required for each alarm site and each type of alarm system. All other alarm systems will be registered with the police or fire departments in accordance with procedures established by the chief of police or fire marshal asprovided by Section 10 of this ordinance. Permits will remain in effect for a period of one (1) year from the date of application. The chief of police or fire marshal will be notified of any changes in the permit information within ten (10) days of the change. Permits must be renewed no later than thirty (30) days prior to its expiration. No permit will be terminated by the city for nonrenewal without first providing at least thirty (30) days notice of the termination. SECTION 4: Permit fees. No fees will be charged for permits issued to either alarms terminating at the police alarm console or for any other residential or business alarm system. SECTION 5: Automatic dialing telephone alarms. It shall be unlawful for any person or business to install a hold-up, burglar, fire or supervisory alarm device which causes the emergency telephone to ring without the written approval of the chief of police or fire marshal. SECTION 6: Alarm console. The chief of police is authorized to contract for a modularized alarm console to be installed at the police station for the purpose of displaying incoming alarms on a single console; and further providing that any and all fees or costs involved in connecting an existing or future system to the console be paid in full by the persons or businesses requesting the alarm installation. SECTION 7: Permits for existing alarms. Alarm systems which are presently in operation and connected to the alarm console must have a permit applied for and approved by the chief of police, in the case of hold-up or burglar alarms, or by the fire marshal, in the case of supervisory or fire alarms, within a period not exceeding sixty (60) days from the effective date of this ordinance. SECTION 8: False alarms, service charge. Any burglar, fire or supervisory alarm system shall be assessed a service charge for excessive false alarms which shall be interpreted as those false alarms in excess of five (5) alarms per calendar year. The service charge shall be Fifty Dollars ($50.00) for each alarm over five (5) alarms. Exceptions: Owners of hold-up alarms will be charged One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) per occurrence with no free alarms. SECTION 9: Responsibilities of alarm system owners. An owner of an alarm system must: (1) Adjust or modify the sensory mechanism of his alarm system to suppress false indications of force so that the alarm system will not be activated by impulses due to: Ordinance No. 1049-9-91 Page 2 (a) Transient pressure changes in water pipes; (b) Flashes of light; (c) Wind noise caused by the rattling or vibrating of doors or windows; (d) Vehicular noise adjacent to the installation; (e) Other forces unrelated to actual emergencies; (2) Maintain the premises containing an alarm system in a manner that insures proper operation of the alarm system. SECTION 10. Administrative rules establishment. The chief of police, in the case of hold-up or burglar alarms, or the fire marshal, in the case of supervisory or fire alarms, is authorized to establish and enforce reasonable administrative rules and procedures to regulate the installation and operation of alarm systems, including, but not limited to, alarm installation, registration, response and removal; and further authorizing the enforcement of technical standards as may be adopted by the City of Allen. SECTION 11. Intentional activation unlawful. From and after the effective date of this ordinance, it shall be unlawful for any person to intentionally activate or cause to be activated any hold-up, burglar, supervisory or fire alarm without the existence of an emergency situation and with the intent of causing the response of city police or fire departments. SECTION 12. Violation of ordinance misdemeanor. Any person who installs or operates an alarm system in violation of this ordinance shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and fined not in excess of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00). Each day of violation shall constitute a separate and distinct offense. SECTION 13. Severability. Should any part or portion of this ordinance be declared unconstitutional or invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, it is expressly provided that the remaining portions of this ordinance shall remain in full force and effect. SECTION 14. Effective date. This ordinance shall take effect immediately from and after its passage and publication in accordance with the provisions of the Charter of the City of Allen, and it is accordingly so ordained. DULY PASSED AND APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ALLEN, TEXAS, ON THE 5th DAY OF September , 1991. APPROVED: ce Farmer, MAYOR PROVED AS TO FORM: ATTEST: n IT TTORNEY Jud17Morron, CITY SECRETARY- Ordinance E RET YOrdinance No. 1049-9-91 page 3 AFFIDAVIT AND PROOF OF PUBLICATION THE STATE OF TEXAS COUNTY OF COLLIN BEFORE ME, the undersigned authority, on this day personally appeared DEBBIE TACKETT, who having been by me duly sworn, on oath deposes and says: That she is the General Manager of THE ALLEN AMERICAN, a newspaper published in COLLIN COUNTY, TEXAS, not less frequently than once a week, having a general circulation in said county, and having been published regularly and continously for more than twelve (12) months prior to publishing Ordinance 1049-9-91 of which the attached is a true and written copy, and which was published in THE ALLEN AMERICAN on Wendesday September 11, 1991 & Sunday September 15, 1991 and which was issued on September 11 , 1991 _, by City of Allen of COLLIN COUNTY, TEXAS. A printed copy of said publication is attached hereto. a,L-T,, SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this / day of A.D. 19 9� "`• V.A. TODD MY COAAmi ft0N EMPIE3 D Publisher's fee $ 2 7 . 0 0 ARY PUBLIC in and for COLLIN COUNTY, TEXAS CITY OF ALLEN PUBLIC NOTICE Notice is hereby given that the Allen City Council adopted the following ordinance at their regular meeting held on Thursday, September 5, 1991 (Title only): Ordinance No. 1049-9-91: An Ordinance of the City of Allen, Collin County, Texas, Repealing Ordinance No. 831-11-87 and Article IV, Chapter 8, of the Code of Ordi- nances, City of Allen, Texas; Providing for the Regulation of Alarm Systems Within the City of Allen, Providing Procedures for the Approval and Registration of Such Sys= tems and Establishing Fees for Such Re- gistration; Authorizing Penalties for Exces- sive False Alarms; Providing Definitions; Providing a Severability Clause; and Pro- viding an Effective Date. A copy of this ordinance may be read or Purchased in the office of the City Secret- ary, City of Allen, One Butler Circle, Allen, Texas 75002. /s/ Judy Morrison CITY OF ALLEN PUBLIC NOTICE Notice is hereby given that the Allen City Council adopted the following ordinance at their regular meeting held on Thursday, September 5, 1991 (Title only): Ordinance No. 1049-9-91: An Ordinance of the City of Allen, Collin County, Texas, Repealing Ordinance No. 831-11-87 and Article IV, Chapter 8, of the Code of Ordi- nances, City of Allen, Texas; Providing for the Regulation of Alarm Systems Within the City of Allen, Providing Procedures for the Approval and Registration of Such Sys- tems and Establishing Fees for Such Re- gistration; Authorizing Penalties for Exces- sive False Alarms; Providing Definitions; Providing a Severability Clause; and Pro- viding an Effective Date. A copy of this ordinance may be read or purchased in the office of the City Secret- ary, City of Allen, One Butler Circle, Allen, Texas 75002. /s/ Judy Morrison