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Home My WebLink About11/16/2005 - STAFF REPORTS (10) O�QPLMSAR i V N City Council Staff Report 4OMTEO Cq�IFORN�p (DATE: November 16, 2005 CONSENT CALENDAR SUBJECT: SECOND READING AND ADOPTION OF PROPOSED ORDINANCE NO. 1678, AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING SECTION 5.02.005, SUBSECTIONS (3), (5), (6), AND (7) OF SECTION 5.02.010, SECTION 5.02.020, SECTION 5.02.045, SUBSECTIONS (a) and (b) OF SECTION 5.02.075, AND SUBSECTION (a)(2) OF SECTION 5.02.080 OF THE PALM SPRINGS MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO FALSE ALARM RESPONSE CIVIL PENALTIES FROM: David H. Ready, City Manager BY: Office of the City Clerk SUMMARY: The City Council will consider adoption of Ordinance No. 1678. RECOMMENDATION: Waive further reading and adopt Ordinance No. 1678, "AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING SECTION 5.02.005, SUBSECTIONS (3), (5), (6), AND (7) OF SECTION 5.02.010, SECTION 5.02.020, SECTION 5.02.045, SUBSECTIONS (a) and (b) OF SECTION 5.02.075, AND SUBSECTION (a)(2) OF ;iECTION 5.02.080 OF THE PALM SPRINGS MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO FALSE ALARM RESPONSE CIVIL PENALTIES." ;)TAFF ANALYSIS: At its November 2, 2005, meeting the City Council introduced on first reading the proposed ordinance. This report provides for the City Council to waive further reading and adopt the ordinance. The ordinance shall be effective 30-days from adoption. James Thompson David H. Ready (,fPty Clerk City Manager `rf Attachment: Ordinance No. 1678 Item 2 . E . PROPOSED ORDINANCE NO. 1678 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING SECTION 5.02.005, SUBSECTIONS (3), (5), (6), AND (7) OF SECTION 5.02.010, SECTION 5.02.020, SECTION 5.02.045, SUBSECTIONS (a) and (b) OF SECTION 5.02.075, AND SUBSECTION (a)(2) OF SECTION 5.02.080 OF THE PALM SPRINGS MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO FALSE ALARM RESPONSE CIVIL PENALTIES. City Attorney's Summary The current provisions of the City's Municipal Code allow the City to assess a fee for false burglary and robbery alarms after two such incidents occur in any 365 day period. This ordinance changes the fee to a civil penalty and would allow the City to assess a civil penalty for false fire, emergency medical, burglary, and robbery alarms on the second or any subsequent alarms occurring in any 365 day period. THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA, DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 5.02.005 of the Palm Springs Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows: The purpose of this Chapter is to establish standards and controls to reduce the incidents of false fire, emergency medical, burglary, and robbery alarm calls responded to by the police and fire departments. The revenue raised by the false alarm civil penalties imposed under this Chapter will offset the costs associated with responses to false fire, emergency medical, burglary, and robbery alarms and serve as a deterrent for persons who maintain defective or inferior alarms that result in public safety officers responding to false alarms. SECTION 2. Subsections (3), (5), (6), and (7) of Section 5,02.010 of the Palm Springs Municipal Code are hereby amended to read as follows: (3) "Alarm system" means any electronic device designed for the detection of fire, emergency medical crisis, burglary, or robbery, or an unauthorized entry on premises, or for alerting others of the commission of an unlawful act, or both, and when activated, emits a sound or transmits a signal to indicate that an emergency exists, and to which police and/or fire departments are expected to respond. (5) "Audible alarm" means a device designed to emit an audible sound to alert others of a fire, emergency medical crisis, burglary, or robbery, an unauthorized entry onto property, an unauthorized entry into a structure, or the commission of illegal activity. Ordinance No. Page 2 (6) "City, "Police," and Police Chief' mean the City of Palm Springs, and in relation to robbery and burglar alarms the terms mean the City's Police Department and the Police Chief of the City or the Police Chief's designee, and in relation to fire or emergency medical alarms the terms mean the City's Fire Department and the Fire Chief of the City or the Fire Chief's designee. (7) "False alarm" means an alarm signal which causes response by the fire and/or police departments where any emergency situation does not exist. "Response" means arrival at the location of the alarm. "False alarm" does not include an alarm signal activated by earthquake, extraordinary weather conditions, or other act of God. SECTION 3. Section 5.02.020 of the Palm Springs Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows: The provisions of this Chapter shall not be applicable to audible alarms affixed to automobiles, unless the vehicle alarm is connected to a central monitoring system. SECTION 4. Section 5.02.045 of the Palm Springs Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows: A fire, emergency medical, burglary or robbery panic alarm button shall only be used when there is an immediate threat to life or property. It shall be unlawful to use such alarm systems to merely summon the police, or in lieu of dialing 911. SECTION 5. Subsections (a), (b), (c), and (d) of Section 5.02.075 of the Palm Springs Municipal Code are hereby amended to read as follows: (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 emitted 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 (365) day period. No false alarm civil penalty shall be charged for false fire, emergency medical, and/or burglary alarms occurring within thirty (30) days following initial installation of any new alarm system provided said 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 (365) day period. Multiple false fire, emergency medical, and/or burglary alarm calls received in any one 24 hour period shall be considered a single event for the purpose of assessing a civil penalty. Ordinance No. (Page 3 (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 (365) day period. A higher civil penalty may be established for each additional false robbery alarm received during any consecutive three hundred sixty-five (365) 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 said address and the fire department will no longer be required to respond to fire or emergency medical alarms at said 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 (365) 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. SECTION 6. Subsection (a)(2) of Section 5.02.080 of the Palm Springs Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows: (2) The alarm system activates four (4) or more false alarms within any consecutive three hundred sixty-five (365) day period. SECTION 7. If any section, subsection, subdivision, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion of this Ordinance is, for any reason, held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity Ordinance No. Page 4 of the remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have adopted this Ordinance and each section, subsection, subdivision, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more section, subsection, subdivision, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion thereof be declared invalid or unconstitutional. SECTION 8. The City Clerk is authorized to add the civil penalties identified in Exhibit A to this ordinance to the City's Revised Master Bail Schedule. SECTION 9. The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall certify to the passage and adoption of this Ordinance and shall cause the same, or the summary thereof, to be published and posted pursuant to the provisions of law and this Ordinance shall take effect thirty (30) days after passage. PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED this day of 2005. MAYOR ATTEST: City Clerk CERTIFICATION STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE ) ss. CITY OF PALM SPRINGS ) I, JAMES THOMPSON, City Clerk of the City of Palm Springs, California, do hereby certify that Ordinance No. is a full, true, and correct copy, and was introduced at a regular meeting of the Palm Springs City Council on and adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council held on by the following vote: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: ABSTAIN: James Thompson, City Clerk City of Palm Springs, California Ordinance No. Page 5 Ordinance No. Exhibit A Civil Penalties Imposed Relating to Public Safety Response to False Alarms. 1s False Alarm in 2" False Alarm in 3 False Alarm in 4 False Alarm in 5 or more False Alarm 365 day period 365 Day period 365 Day period 365 Day panod in 365 Day period Permitted Alarm No charge $100.00 $150 00 $200.00 $200.00 Non Permitted Alarm $100.00 $150.00 $200.00 $200.00 $200.00 Fire Alarms Full Response) Free $240.00 $240.00 $240.00 $240.00 Emergency Medical Alarms(Single Unit Free Free Free Free Free