HomeMy WebLinkAbout71.171 ORDINANCE NO. 71. ~ 7]
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SARATOGA
AMENDING SECTIONS 6-10.020,6-10.050,6-10.080, 6-10.100,
6-10.110, 6-10.120,OF THE SARATOGA CITY CODE
RELATING TO ALARM SYSTEMS
The City Council of the City of Saratoga hereby ordains as follows:
SECTION i: Paragraph (c) of Section 6-10.020 in Article 6-10 of the City Code is amended
to read as follows:
"6-10.020 Definitions.
(c) Alarm system means any mechanical or electrical device which is designed or used
for the detection of intrusion into a building, structure or facility, and which emits a sound or
transmits a signal or message when activated. Alarm systems include, but are not limited to,
direct-dial telephone devices, audible alarms, and proprietor alarms. Devices which are not
designed or used to evoke a police response or used to register alarms that are intended to be
audible, visible or perceptible from outside of the protected building, structure or facility are not
included within this definition, nor are auxiliary devices installed to protect the telephone
systems from damage or disruption by the use of an alarm system."
SECTION 2: Paragraph (a) and Paragraph (b) of Section 6-10.050 in Article 6-10 of the City
Code is amended to read as follows:
"6-10.050 Application for permit; issuance.
a. Application for an alarm permit shall be made to the City Manager or his/her designee
on such form as may be prescribed, which shall include the following information:
b. Upon receipt of a completed application, the City Manager or his/her designee shall
issue an alarm permit to the applicant; provided, however, if the application discloses
that a permit previously issued to the same applicant or for the same alarm system has
been revoked, a new permit shall not be issued unless the applicant demonstrated to
the satisfaction of the City Manager or his/her designee that the prior grounds for
revocation will not reoccur. No fee shall be charged for issuance of the alarm
permit."
SECTION 3: Section 6-10.080 in Article 6-10 of the City Code is amended to read as
follows
"6-10.080 False alarms prohibited; investigation of false alarms.
(a) It shall be unlawful to maintain, use or posses an alarm system which has caused more
than two false alarms to be transmitted within any calendar year to the County
Communications center, or the County Sheriffs Office, by communication from an alarm
business or a person responding to the false alarm.
(b) A representative of the police department responding to each emergency alarm shall
attempt to ascertain by investigation whether said alarm was activated with reasonable
cause therefor or was a false alamo. In the event his/her investigation indicates that the
alarm was a false alarm, the investigator shall prepare a false alarm card of this
investigation stating his/her conclusions and the factual basis for such conclusions, and
shall forward such card to the City Manager or his/her designee. The investigator shall
also serve a copy of his/her report on the alarm owner or occupant of the premises on or
in which the false alarm occurred by delivering the stune to and leaving it with some
person of suitable age and discretion upon the premises or by mfiiling a copy of the report
to such alarm owner or occupant."
SECTION 4: Section 6-10.100 in Article 6-10 of the City Code is amended to read as
follows:
"6-10.100 Revocation of permit.
(a) An alarm permit issued pursuant to this Article may be revoked on any one of the
following grounds:
(1) The occurrence of three false alarms within any calendar year.
(a) A violation by the permittee of any regulation set forth in this article.
(b) The failure by a permittee to pay any fine prescribed in Section 6-10. 120.
(b) The City Manager or his/her designee shall give written notice to the permittee of the
City's intention to revoke the alarm permit and the grounds for such revocation. The
notice shall advise the permittee that the alarm permit will be revoked after the expiration
of fifteen days, unless prior to that time the permittee shows good cause as to why such
action should not be taken. If, in response to the notice and within the time specified
therein, or such longer period of time as may be allowed by the City Manager or his/her
designee, the permittee demonstrates to the satisfaction of the City Manager or his/her
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designee that all grounds for revocation stated in the notice have been remedied, said
City Manager or his/her designee may terminate the revocation proceedings. If the
permit is revoked, the alarm system shall not be utilized by the alarm owner or any other
person unless and until a new permit has been issued pursuant this Article."
SECTION 5: Section 6-10.110 in Article 6-10 of the City Code is amended to read as
follows:
"6-10.110 Administrative review; appeal procedure.
Any person charged with a false alarm penalty under Subsection 6-10.120(e) of this
Article may appeal of such penalty to the City Manager or his/her designee by filing a
notice of appeal in the Office of the City Clerk, written within ten days of receipt of such
penalty. The appeal shall be accompanied by the accumulated false alarm penalties, on
such form as the City Manager or his/her designee may prescribe. Within 21 days after
his/her receipt of such appeal the City Manager or his/her designee shall conduct a
hearing on the matter considering all relevant evidence and may affirm, reverse, or
modify the penalty. If a penalty is reversed, the penalty shall promptly be refunded. The
decision of the City Manager or his/her designee shall be final.
SECTION 6: Paragraph (e) of Section 6-10.120 in Article 6-10 of the City Code is amended
to read as follows:
"6-10.120 Violations of Article.
(e) Maintaining, using or possessing an alarm system which has caused any false alarm
to be transmitted to the County communications center, or the County Sheriffs Office by
communication from an alarm business or a person responding to the false alarm:
(f) For the third verified false alarm within any calendar year: seventy-five dollars.
(g) For the fourth verified false alarm within any calendar year: one hundred dollars
(h) For the fifth verified false alarm within any calendar year: two hundred dollars.
(i) For the sixth and subsequent verified false alarms within any calendar year: two
hundred - fifty dollars.
SECTION 8: If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this Ordinance is for
any reason held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unconstitutional, such
decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City
Council of the City of Saratoga hereby declares that it would have passed this Ordinance and
each section, subsection, sentence, clause and phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that one or
more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases may be held invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 9: This Ordinance shall be in full force and effect thirty days after its passage and
adoption.
The above and foregoing Ordinance was regularly introduced and after the waiting time required
by law, was thereafter passed and adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of
Saratoga held on the 7th _ day of January ,1998, by the following vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Bogosian, ~acobs, Moran, Shaw and Mayor Wolfe
NOES: None
ABSENT: None '~/~'~R~
MAY R
ATTEST:
CITY CLERK
The above and foregoing is a true and correct
copy of Ordnance '71-17[ which has been
published accoFding to law.
Deputy City Clerk Date' _