Alarm Ordinance

Palm Springs, CA Alarm Ordinance

PALM SPRINGS MUNICIPAL CODE SECTION:

 5.02.075 False alarm response fees.

(a) In addition to the fees stated herein, an alarm user may become liable to the city for a civil penalty for police and/or fire departments responding to repeated false fire, emergency medical, and/or burglary alarms permitted by the user's alarm system. A false alarm response civil penalty, in amounts as the council may establish by resolution, shall be paid to the city by the alarm user for every false fire, emergency medical, and burglary alarm occurring on the second and any subsequent false alarms received from any one source or from any one alarm system within any consecutive three hundred sixty-five day period. No false alarm civil penalty shall be charged for false fire, emergency medical, and/or burglary alarms occurring within thirty days following initial installation of any new alarm system provided the system otherwise complies with the requirements of this chapter. A higher civil penalty may be established for each additional false fire, emergency medical, robbery, and/or burglary alarm received during any consecutive three hundred sixty-five day period. Multiple false fire, emergency medical, and/or burglary alarm calls received in any one twenty-four hour period shall be considered a single event for the purpose of assessing a civil penalty.

(b) A false robbery alarm response civil penalty, in amounts as the council may establish by resolution, shall be paid by the alarm user to the city for every false robbery alarm occurring on the second or any subsequent false robbery alarm received from any one source or from any one alarm system within any consecutive three hundred sixty-five day period. A higher civil penalty may be established for each additional false robbery alarm received during any consecutive three hundred sixty-five day period as determined by the police chief.

(c) Any fire, emergency medical, and/or burglar alarm which causes more than eight false alarms, or robbery alarm which causes more than four false alarms, may be declared a nuisance, and will be subject to revocation of permit as specified in Section 5.02.080 of this chapter. False alarms responded to beyond eight for fire, emergency medical, or burglary and four for robbery will continue to be billed at the rate specified on the city of Palm Springs alarm application permit, and the police department will no longer be required to respond to burglar alarms at such address and the fire department will no longer be required to respond to fire or emergency medical alarms at such address once the police and/or fire department has sent a letter, return receipt requested, to the owner or occupant of the building advising of the cessation of such service and the police and or fire department has received the return receipt.

(d) A response to a non-permitted fire, emergency medical, burglar, or robbery alarm, whether false or valid, shall result in a non-permitted alarm civil penalty. If an alarm user's permit is applied for within thirty days of the response to a non-permitted fire, emergency medical, burglar, or robbery alarm, the non-permitted alarm civil penalty shall be waived. However, if an alarm user's permit is not applied for within thirty days of the response, each additional response to a non-permitted location, whether false or valid, will result in a higher civil penalty, as set forth on the city of Palm Springs alarm application permit. Should a non-permitted false fire, emergency medical, burglar alarm frequency reach more than eight or a non-permitted false robbery alarm reach more than four in any three hundred sixty-five day period, the person responsible for such alarm location shall be notified by certified mail that the police and or fire department will no longer respond to alarms at that location.

(e) All fees established and/or levied by this section shall be paid to the city within thirty days from the date of the invoice by the holder of the alarm user's permit or the owner of the premises upon which the alarm system is located if no permit has been issued for the alarm system.

(f) All unpaid fees shall accrue interest at five percent.

(g) The chief of police or the fire chief may suspend a fee required to be assessed for a second false alarm occurring with any three hundred sixty-five day period pursuant to the provisions of subsection (a) or (b) of this section, if the person liable for such assessment successfully completes a diversion program. (Ord. 1683 2, 2006; Ord. 1678 5, 2005;

Ord. 1655 2, 2004: Ord. 1430 1 (part), 1993)

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