O-666-08 ORDINANCE NO. 666-08
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI SHORES VILLAGE COUNCIL, MIAMI SHORES VILLAGE,
FLORIDA, AMENDING CHAPTER 3 "ALARM SYSTEMS" OF THE VILLAGE CODE OF
ORDINANCES, BY REPEALING ARTICLE II, "BURGLARY AND ROBBERY ALARMS" IN ITS
ENTIRETY AND ADOPTING A NEW ARTICLE II, TITLED -ALARM SYSTEMS" WHICH
PROVIDES FOR REGISTERING AND MONITORING ALARMS SYSTEMS THROUGH THE
ISSUANCE OF ALARM PERMITS, SETTING FORTH RULES AND PENALTIES FOR FALSE
ALARM INSTANCES, PROVIDING FOR CONFLICTS, PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY,
PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, The Village finds that excessive false alarms unduly burden the Miami
Shores Police Department's limited law enforcement resources; and,
WHEREAS, The Village wishes to establish reasonable expectations of alarm users
and to ensure that alarm users are held responsible for the use of their alarm systems;
and,
WHEREAS, It is in the best interest of the Village to enact new guidelines
governing the alarm system permitting and monitoring program,
NOW, THEREFORE, be it ordained by the Village Council of Miami Shores Village,
Florida, that:
Section 1. Article II "Burglary and Robbery Alarms" of Chapter 3, Alarm
Systems, of the Village Code is hereby repealed in its entirety.
Section 2. Chapter 3 of the Village Code is hereby amended by adopting a
new Article II, titled"Alarm Systems"to read as follows:
ARTICLE II ALARM SYSTEMS
SEC. 3-16 TITLE
This article shall be known as the"Alarm Systems"ordinance.
SEC. 3-17 DEFINITIONS
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this Article, shall have the
meanings ascribed to them, except where the context clearly indicates a different
meaning:
Alarm Administrator means a person or persons designated by the Village Manager to
administer, control and review false alarm reduction efforts and administers the provisions
of this ordinance.
Alarm business means the business of any individual, partnership, corporation or other
entity engaged in selling, leasing, maintaining, servicing, repairing, altering, replacing,
moving or installing any alarm system or in causing any alarm system to be sold, leased,
maintained, serviced, repaired, altered, replaced, moved or installed in or on any building,
structure or facility.
Alarm monitoring service means any business or entity wherever located which
monitors or responds to Alarm Systems by communicating with Miami Shores Village
Police Department in the event of an Alarm Signal.
Alarm permit means a permit issued by Miami Shores Village allowing the operation of
an alarm system within the Village.
Alarm signal means a detectable signal, electronic, audible or visual, generated by an
alarm system, to which law enforcement is requested to respond.
Alarm system means any single device or assembly of equipment, any part of which is
located in Miami Shores Village, designed to signal the occurrence of an illegal or
unauthorized entry or other activity requiring immediate attention and to which law
enforcement may be requested to respond, but does not include motor vehicle or boat
alarms, fire alarms, domestic violence alarms, or alarms designed solely to elicit a medical
response.
Alarm user means any person, corporation, partnership, proprietorship, educational
entity or any other entity using or operating an alarm system, or occupying premises
where an alarm system is being operated for the protection of such premises.
Alarm User Awareness Class means a class conducted for the purpose of educating
alarm users about the responsible use, operation, and maintenance of alarm systems and
the problems created by false alarms.
Automatic dial protection device means an automatic dialing device or an automatic
telephone dialing alarm system and shall include any system which, upon being activated,
automatically transmits to the Miami Shores Police Department a recorded message or
code signal indicating a need for law enforcement response.
Cancellation means the process whereby Police response is terminated when the alarm
company (designated by the alarm user) notifies the Miami Shores Police Department that
there is not an existing situation at the alarm site requiring police response after an alarm
dispatch request.
Dispatch means the process by which Miami Shores Police Department directs a police
response to a location from which an Alarm Signal was generated.
False alarm means the activation of an alarm system through mechanical or electronic
failure, malfunction, improper installation, or the negligence of the alarm user, his/her
employees or agents, and signals are activated to summon law enforcement personnel
(unless law enforcement response was cancelled by the alarm user or his/her agent
before law enforcement personnel arrive at the alarm location). An alarm is false within
the meaning of this article when, upon inspection by the Miami Shores Police Department,
no evidence indicates that any fire, genuine medical emergency unauthorized entry,
robbery, or other such crime was committed or attempted in or on the premises which
would have activated a properly functioning alarm system. Notwithstanding the foregoing,
a false alarm shall not include an alarm which is reasonably determined by the Miami
Shores Police Department to have been caused or activated by unusually violent
conditions of nature nor does it include other extraordinary circumstances not reasonably
subject to control by the alarm user.
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 and is not monitored by a remote monitoring
facility, whether installed by an alarm company or user.
Permit year means a 12-month period beginning on the day and month on which an
alarm permit is issued.
Runaway alarm means an alarm system that produces repeated alarm signals that do
not appear to be caused by separate human action. The Miami Shores Police Department
may in its discretion discontinue police responses to alarm signals from what appears to
be a runaway alarm.
SIA Control Pane/Standard CP-01 means the American National Standard Institute
(ANSI) approved Security Industry Association (SIA) CP-01 Control Panel Standard, as
may be updated from time to time, that details recommended design features for security
system control panels and their associated arming and disarming devices to reduce false
alarms. Control panels built and tested to this standard by a nationally recognized testing
organization, will be marked to state: "Design evaluated in accordance with SIA CP-01
Control Panel Standard Features for False Alarm Reduction".
Verify means attempts by an Alarm Monitoring Service, or its representative, to contact
the alarm site and/or alarm user by telephone and/or other electronic means, whether or
not actual contact with a person is made, to attempt to determine whether an alarm
signal is valid before requesting law enforcement dispatch, in an attempt to avoid an
unnecessary alarm dispatch request. For the purpose of this Ordinance, telephone
verification shall require, at a minimum, that a second call be made to a different number
if the first attempt fails to reach an alarm user who can properly identify themselves to
attempt to determine whether an alarm signal is valid before requesting law enforcement
dispatch.
SEC. 3-17.1 ALARM PERMIT
(a) Permit required. No person shall use or operate an Alarm System without first
obtaining a permit for such alarm system from Miami Shores Village. A separate permit is
also required for each separate dwelling unit of commercial tenancy served by common
Alarm Systems. Each alarm permit shall be assigned a unique permit number, and the
user shall provide the permit number to each applicable Alarm Monitoring Service to
facilitate law enforcement dispatch.
(b) Application. The permit shall be requested on an application form provided by
Miami Shores Village. Every alarm user has the duty to duly complete and submit an
application to Miami Shores Village.
(c) Emergency notiFcation, Every application submitted by an Alarm User shall list
an emergency telephone number for the user or the user's representative, to permit
notification of alarm calls and to assist the police in the inspection of the property.
Changes in emergency telephone numbers listed with the Village shall be kept current by
the Alarm User, and failure to provide updated information may constitute grounds for
revocation of the permit.
(d) Transfer ofpossession. When the possession of the premises at which an alarm
system is maintained is transferred, the person (user) obtaining possession of the
property shall file an application for an alarm permit within 30 days of obtaining
possession of the property. Alarm permits are not transferable to addresses, locations,
nor Alarm Users different from those shown upon original issuance.
(e) Reporting updated information. Whenever the information provided on the
alarm permit application changes, the alarm user shall provide correct information to
Miami Shores Village within 30 days of the change. In addition, each year after the
issuance of the permit, permit holders may receive from Miami Shores Village a form
requesting updated information. The permit holder shall complete and return this form to
Miami Shores Village when any of the requested information has changed; failure to
comply will constitute a violation and may result in a civil penalty.
SEC. 3-17.2 DUTIES
Each owner of property within Miami Shores Village upon which an Alarm System is
operated or used shall require and shall be responsible for assuring that all users and
operators thereof comply with all provisions of this Article. All Alarm Users shall have the
following duties.
(a) Maintain the premises and the alarm system in a method so as to reduce or eliminate
false alarms; and
(b) Provide their Alarm Monitoring Service the current permit number, (which number
must be provided to the Miami Shores Police Department by the Alarm Monitoring Service
to facilitate dispatch).
(c) Respond or cause a representative to respond to the alarm system's location within
thirty (30) minutes after notification by the Miami Shores Police Department to deactivate
a malfunctioning alarm system.
(d) Refrain from manually activating any alarm system for any reason other than 1.) an
occurrence of an event that the alarm system was intended to report or 2.) to perform
routine maintenance as prescribed by the alarm system provider.
SEC. 3-17.3 DUTIES OF THE ALARM BUSINESS AND ALARM MONITORING
SERVICE
(a) Any person engaged in the Alarm Business in Miami Shores Village shall:
1) Comply with Florida State Statute, Chapter 489.
2) Obtain and maintain all required state, county and village license(s).
(b) Every Alarm Monitoring Service shall, upon request by Miami Shores Police
Department provide the most current contact information for the alarm user.
(c) Prior to activation of any new Alarm System, the installer or monitoring service, as
applicable, shall provide the user instructions explaining the proper operation of the alarm
system and provide the user written information detailing how to obtain service from the
alarm company for the alarm system.
(d) Every Alarm Monitoring Service, with respect to alarm signals originating from
locations with the Village, shall:
1) Attempt to Verify whether an alarm signal is valid before requesting Dispatch.
Telephone verification shall require as a minimum that a second call be made to a
different number if the first attempt fails to reach an alarm user who can properly
identify themselves, to attempt to determine whether an alarm signal is valid.
Notwithstanding the above provision, no verification prior to a Dispatch request is
required in the case of a panic alarm or robbery-in-progress alarm, or in cases
where a crime-in-progress has been verified by an Alarm Monitoring Service via
video and/or audible means.
2) Provide the correct alarm user registration number to the Miami Shores Police
Department when requesting Dispatch and/or Cancellations.
3) Communicate any available information about the location of the alarm upon
request.
4) Communicate a Cancellation to the law enforcement communications center as
soon as possible following a determination that response is unnecessary.
SEC. 3-17.4 PROHIBITED ACTS
(a) It shall be unlawful to activate an alarm system for the purpose of summoning law
enforcement when no fire, genuine medical emergency, burglary, robbery, or other crime
dangerous to life or property is being committed or attempted on the premises, or to
otherwise intentionally cause a false alarm.
(b) It shall be unlawful to install, maintain, or use an audible alarm system which is
designed or intended to sound continually for more than 15 minutes.
(c) It shall be unlawful to install, maintain, or use an Automatic Dial Protection Device
or any other device that reports, or causes to be reported, any recorded message to the
Miami Shores Police Department.
(d) Commencing 90 days after the effective date of this Article it shall be unlawful for
any property owner in the Village, any alarm user and any alarm business to install any
new Alarm System which utilizes any alarm panel that does not comply with SIA Control
Panel Standard CP-01.
SEC. 3-18 FEES; ENFORCEMENT OF PROVISIONS
(a) Alarm Permit Registration Fee, Within (30) days of the effective date of this
Article, alarm user permits may be acquired from the Village upon application and
payment of the annual registration fee. The annual registration fee is set at $ 35.00. The
Village Manager shall establish rules, procedures and forms to implement the provisions
of this Section.
(b) Excessive false alarms/Failure to register. It is hereby found and determined
that three or more false alarms within a permit year is excessive, constitutes a public
nuisance, and shall be unlawful. Civil penalties for false alarms within a permit year or for
failure to register as required by this Article may be assessed against an alarm user as
follows:
Third, fourth and fifth false alarm........... $ 50.00 each alarm
Sixth and seventh false alarm................ $ 100.00 each alarm
Eighth and ninth false alarm............... $ 250.00 each alarm
Tenth and over false alarms................ $ 500.00 each alarm
Failure to Register... ........................ $ 100.00 each month
(c) Other Civil Penalty(ies). Violations of any of the other provisions of this Article
may be enforced through the assessment of civil penalty(ies) in the amount of $100.00
per violation.
(d) Payment of Civil Penalty(ies). Civil penalty(ies) shall be paid within (30) days
from the date of the invoice.
(e) Discontinuance of law enforcement response. The failure of an alarm user to
make payment of any civil penalty(ies) assessed under this ordinance within 30 days from
the date of the invoice may result in discontinuance of law enforcement response to alarm
signals that may occur at the premises described in the alarm user's permit until payment
is received. In addition, failure to register and obtain a permit may result in no law
enforcement response to an unregistered alarm.
(f) Civil Non criminal violation. A violation of any of the provisions of this ordinance
shall be a civil (non-criminal) violation and shall not constitute a misdemeanor or
infraction, but may be enforced by any lawful means.
SEC. 3-18.1 ALARM USER AWARENESS CLASS.
(a) Alarm User Awareness Class, The Village may create and implement an Alarm
User Awareness Class and may request the assistance of the area alarm companies to
assist in developing and implementing the class. The class shall inform alarm users of the
problems created by false alarms and instruct alarm users how to help reduce false
alarms.
SEC. 3-19 AUTOMATIC RESET; BACKUP POWER SUPPLY.
(a) All alarm systems shall have an automatic reset which silences any annunciator within
15 minutes after activation and which will not sound again as a result of the same
event that resulted in the original activation.
(b) All alarm systems shall have a backup power supply that will become effective in the
event of power failure or outage in the source of electricity from the utility company.
SEC. 3-20 RESPONSE BY POLICE DEPARTMENT; REPORT OF FALSE ALARM
(a) Whenever an Alarm System is activated in the Village, thereby initiating a request for
Dispatch to the location by the police department, and the police department does
respond, a police officer on the scene of the activated alarm system shall inspect the area
protected by the system and shall determine whether the response was in fact required
as indicated by the alarm system or whether the police department response was the
result of a False Alarm.
(b) If the police officer at the scene of the activated alarm system determines the alarm
to be a False Alarm, the officer shall make a report of the False Alarm, a notification of
which shall be mailed or delivered to the alarm user, at the address of the alarm system
installation location, advising the alarm user of the False Alarm.
(c) The village manager, or his designee, shall have the right to inspect any alarm
system on the premises to which a response has been made and he may cause an
inspection of such system to be made at any reasonable time thereafter to determine
whether it is being used in conformity with the terms of this article.
SEC. 3-21 APPEALS
(a) Appeals process Assessments of civil penalty(ies) and other enforcement
decisions made under this ordinance may be appealed by filing a written notice of appeal
with the Miami Shores Code Enforcement Department within 10 days after the date of
notification of the assessment of civil penalty(ies) or other enforcement decision. The
failure to give notice of appeal within this time period shall constitute a waiver of the right
to contest the assessment of penalty (ies) or other enforcement decision. Appeals shall be
heard through an administrative process established by the Village. The Code
Enforcement Board's decision is subject to review in the Miami-Dade County Circuit Court
—Appellate Division by proceedings in the nature of certiorari.
(b) Appeal standard. The Code Enforcement Board shall review an appeal from the
assessment of civil penalty(ies) or other enforcement decisions de novo using a
preponderance of the evidence standard. Notwithstanding a determination that the
preponderance of the evidence supports the assessment of civil penalty(ies) or other
enforcement decision, the Code Enforcement Board shall have the discretion to dismiss or
reduce civil penalty(ies) or reverse any other enforcement decision under this Article
where deemed warranted. In determining applications to dismiss or reduce civil
penalty(ies) or reverse any other enforcement decision(s) under this Article, the Code
Enforcement Board shall also be guided by the standards set forth in Village Code Section
2-81(d) (2) &(3).
SEC. 3-23 GOVERNMENT IMMUNITY
By applying for an alarm registration, the alarm user acknowledges that the Miami Shores
Police Department response may be influenced by various factors including but not limited
to: the availability of police units, priority of calls, location, weather conditions, traffic
conditions, emergency conditions, staffing levels and prior response history.
Alarm registration is not intended to, nor shall it be effective to create any contract, duty
or obligation, either expressed or implied, on the part of the Village nor the Miami Shores
Police Department. Any and all liability resulting from any delay or failure to respond to a
notification is hereby disclaimed and all governmental immunity as provided by law is
retained.
Section 3. All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith or
inconsistent herewith, are hereby repealed, but only insofar as such ordinances may be
inconsistent or in conflict with this Ordinance.
Section 4. If any section, sentence, clause or phrase of this Ordinance is
held to be invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, then said
holding shall in no way effect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance,
which shall be deemed to be severable therefrom.
Section 5. This ordinance shall become effective immediately upon its
adoption on second reading.
PASSED ON FIRST READING THIS 18th day of MARCH , 2008.
PASSED AND ADOPTED ON SECOND AND FINAL READING THIS 1st day of
APRIL , 2008.
ATTEST:
Alma, t�j Herta Holly, Mayor
Barbara A. Estep, MMC
Village Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
U"� Is
Richard Sarafan, VillageAttor y