Chapter 3 ALARM SYSTEMS [1]

Chapter 3 ALARM SYSTEMS Chapter 3 ALARM SYSTEMS [1] ARTICLE I. - IN GENERAL ARTICLE II. - BURGLARY AND ROBBERY ALARMS ARTICLE III. - FIRE ALARMS FOOTNOTE(S): --- (1) --- City Code cross references Fire protection, ch. 19; police, ch. 42 (Back) Miami, Florida, Code of Ordinances Page 1

ARTICLE I. IN GENERAL ARTICLE I. IN GENERAL Secs. 3-1 3-20. Reserved. Secs. 3-1 3-20. Reserved. Miami, Florida, Code of Ordinances Page 2

[2] Sec. 3-21. Title. Sec. 3-22. Definitions. Sec. 3-23. Alarm permits required; fee; renewal; enforcement provisions. Sec. 3-24. Application for alarm permit; emergency notification and reporting service information. Sec. 3-25. Issuance of permit decals. Sec. 3-26. Necessary items for alarm systems to qualify for an alarm user permit. Sec. 3-27. Response to alarm; determination of validity. Sec. 3-28. Appeals. Sec. 3-29. False alarm service charges; enforcement provisions. Sec. 3-30. Automatic telephone dialing alarm systems prohibited. Secs. 3-31 3-55. Reserved. Sec. 3-21. Title. This article shall be known as the "burglary and robbery alarm ordinance." (Ord. No. 9203, 1, 11-26-80; Code 1980, 3.5-21) Sec. 3-22. Definitions. Unless it is apparent from the context that another meaning is intended, the following words when used in this article shall have the meanings attributed to them by this section: 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. An alarm business shall be a burglar alarm specialty electrical contractor which shall have, as a qualifying agent, a State of Florida or Dade County company qualifier, meaning a person licensed as a Dade County master or journeyman burglar alarm specialty electrical contractor, Dade County master electrician, State of Florida alarm contractor, or State of Florida electrical contractor. An alarm business shall have a local business tax receipt issued by the city. Alarm permit means a permit issued by the city allowing the operation of an alarm system within the city. Alarm system means any assembly of equipment, mechanical or electrical, arranged to signal the occurrence of an illegal entry or other activity requiring urgent attention and to which the police department is expected to respond, but does not include alarms installed in conveyances or fire alarms. Alarm user means the person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company or organization of any kind in control of any building, structure or facility or portion thereof wherein an alarm system is maintained. Miami, Florida, Code of Ordinances Page 3

Automatic telephone dialing alarm system means the automatic dialing device or an automatic telephone dialing alarm system and shall include any system which, upon being activated, automatically transmits by telephone or telephone line to the Miami police department, a recorded message or code signal indicating a need for emergency response; or a system which, upon activation, connects to an answering service whose function it is to transmit to the Miami police department a need for emergency response. False alarm means an alarm signal eliciting a response by police when a situation requiring a response by the police does not in fact exist; but this definition does not include an alarm signal caused by unusually violent conditions of nature nor does it include other extraordinary circumstances not reasonably subject to control by the alarm user. Hearing officer means an employee of the city designated by the chief of police to act as an impartial arbitrator at hearings related to the enforcement of this article. (Ord. No. 9203, 1(2), 11-26-80; Ord. No. 10988, 2, 6-11-92; Code 1980, 3.5-22; Ord. No. 12885, 1, 2-8-07) Sec. 3-23. Alarm permits required; fee; renewal; enforcement provisions. (a) It shall be unlawful for any person to operate an alarm system without a valid alarm user permit. Violation of this section shall be a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided for in F.S. ch. 775. (b) Applications must be made to the City of Miami Alarm Unit which will issue permits to alarm users after payment of a $79.00 application fee. (c) All alarm user permits will expire on September 30 of each year and must be renewed not later than October 1 of renewal year. Renewal permits will be issued after completion of an application form and the payment of a $79.00 renewal fee or a $26.50 renewal fee provided there have been no false alarms. (d) Whenever the police respond to a location where no alarm permit has ever been issued or the alarm permit has expired for the alarm system generating a false alarm, a copy of section 3-23 entitled "Alarm permits required; fee; renewal; enforcement provisions," shall be sent to the alarm user along with written notification as follows: (1) On nonpermitted accounts, a $79.00 renewal fee will be required, plus a $210.00 fine for a total of $289.00. There will be no police response to subsequent alarms until the fine and the permit fee are paid. (2) A response to an alarm system where the permit has expired will result in a $79.00 renewal fee, plus a $157.50 fine for a total of $236.50. There will be no police response to subsequent alarms until the fine and the permit fee are paid. (3) All expired permits will be charged a $26.50 late fee, plus a $79.00 renewal fee. All expired permits with no false alarms will require a $26.50 late fee, plus a $26.50 renewal fee. (e) If a business has one or more alarm systems protecting two or more separate structures having different addresses, a separate permit will be required for each structure. (f) To reinstate police service the alarm user must obtain a valid alarm permit pursuant to section 3-23(b) or (c) and pay all outstanding fines. (g) Subsections (b) through (f) of this section shall not apply in those situations where alarm use permits have been revoked under section 3-29 Miami, Florida, Code of Ordinances Page 4

(Ord. No. 9203, 1(3), 11-26-80; Ord. No. 10948, 1, 2-13-92; Ord. No. 10988, 1, 2, 6-11-92; Code 1980, 3.5-23; Ord. No. 11424, 1, 12-12-96; Ord. No. 13142, 3, 2-11-10) Sec. 3-24. Application for alarm permit; emergency notification and reporting service information. (a) Applications. Applications for alarm permits shall be made on forms provided by the police department. The initial application shall be accompanied by a fee of $79.00. The application shall state the name, address and telephone number of the location where the alarm is installed. If the applicant's alarm is installed and serviced by an alarm company, then the alarm company must provide the city with their company name, address and telephone number and obtain the alarm user permit for the applicant prior to the installation of the alarm system. Noncompliance by the alarm company will incur a $262.50 fine. Each permit shall be valid until September of the renewal year. The permit will be valid for one year. (b) Emergency notification. Each application shall list an emergency telephone number of the user or his representative to permit prompt notification of alarm calls and facilities assisting the police in the inspection of the property. Changes in emergency telephone numbers shall be kept current, and failure to provide updated information may constitute grounds for revocation of the permit. (c) Reporting service information. Each holder of an alarm user permit shall immediately notify the police department in writing of any and all changes in the information on file with the city regarding such permit. Failure to do so shall constitute grounds for revocation of the permit. (Ord. No. 9203, 1(4), 11-26-80; Code 1980, 3.5-24; Ord. No. 11424, 1, 12-12-96; Ord. No. 13142, 3, 2-11-10) Sec. 3-25. Issuance of permit decals. A decal with the alarm user's permit number, name of business or residence owner's name, and permit address will be issued with the alarm user permit. This decal must be prominently posted on or near the front entrance to the premises so that the information provided on the decal is visible from the outside of the structure. (Ord. No. 9203, 1(5), 11-26-80; Code 1980, 3.5-25) Sec. 3-26. Necessary items for alarm systems to qualify for an alarm user permit. (a) 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. (b) All alarm systems will have an automatic reset which silences the annunciator within 30 minutes after activation and which will not sound again as a result of the same event that resulted in the original activation. (Ord. No. 9203, 1(6), 11-26-80; Code 1980, 3.5-26) Sec. 3-27. Response to alarm; determination of validity. (a) Whenever an alarm is activated in the city, thereby requiring an emergency response 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 Miami, Florida, Code of Ordinances Page 5

whether the emergency response was in fact required as indicated by the alarm system or whether in some way the alarm system malfunctioned and thereby activated a false alarm. (b) If the police officer at the scene of the activated alarm system determines the alarm to be false, said officer shall cause a report to be generated of the false alarm. A notification shall be mailed or delivered to the alarm user, at the address of the said alarm system installation, advising the alarm user of the false alarm. (c) The chief of police, 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. (Ord. No. 9203, 1(7), 11-26-80; Code 1980, 3.5-27; Ord. No. 11424, 1, 12-12-96) Sec. 3-28. Appeals. (a) A hearing officer shall be appointed by the chief of police to hear appeals from alarm users on the issue of whether the alarm system in question activated a false alarm, as determined by a police officer at the scene of such activated alarm. (b) Upon receipt of any false alarm report from the city, the alarm user shall have ten days, orally or in writing, to request a hearing before the said hearing officer. (c) At the hearing, which must be scheduled and concluded within 15 days from the date the request for same is received, the alarm user shall have the right to present evidence and testimony. (d) The hearing officer shall make written findings available to the alarm user and the chief of police within ten days from the date the hearing is concluded. (e) A decision by the chief of police, or his designee, to uphold or to cancel the false alarm report which is the subject of the herein section must be made within ten days from the receipt of the above findings by the chief of police. (f) Until all of the steps set forth in this section have been completed, the false alarm in question will be considered to have been genuine and will not be considered the basis for the prima facie presumption that the involved alarm system is malfunctioning. (Ord. No. 9203, 1(8), 11-26-80; Code 1980, 3.5-28) Sec. 3-29. False alarm service charges; enforcement provisions. (a) It is hereby found and determined that more than six false alarms within any permit year is excessive and constitutes a public nuisance. (b) The activation of false alarms within a permit year will be handled according to the following escalating service fee schedule: (1) The first and second false alarms will not be billed a service charge. The third false alarm will be billed a $52.50 service charge that shall be considered a bill owed by the alarm user to the city. Failure to make payment within 15 days of receipt of the bill shall result in a discontinuance of police response to alarms that may occur at the premises described in the alarm user's permit until payment is received. The fourth false alarm will be billed a $105.00 service charge and must be paid within 15 days of receipt or there will be no further police response. The fifth false alarm will be billed a $157.50 service charge and must be paid within 15 days of receipt or there Miami, Florida, Code of Ordinances Page 6

will be no further police response. The sixth false alarm will be billed a $210.00 service charge and must be paid within 15 days of receipt or there will be no further police response. (2) The seventh false alarm shall result in no police response and shall also result in revocation of the alarm user's permit in the following manner: a. The alarm user shall be given ten days' advance written notification that the alarm user's permit will be revoked, which written notice shall set forth the reasons for such revocation. b. The notice shall specify the specific date of revocation, and that the police department will discontinue responding to alarms that occur at the premises described in the revoked permit after the date of revocation. c. False alarms occurring before the effective date of police response termination or while an appeal is pending pursuant to section 3-28 hereof, will continue to accumulate service charges which will be billed and handled in accordance with the provisions hereof. d. Reinstatement of the permit and police service will be made upon receipt of a letter from an alarm company licensed in accordance with section 3-22 hereof [to the effect] that the alarm system is operating properly, that the permit holder has received alarm system user's retraining on how to properly operate the alarm system, and payment of a $157.50 reinstatement fee and all outstanding service charges. (c) For the purposes of this section a permit year will extend from October 1 to September 30 of the following calendar year. (Ord. No. 10988, 1, 2, 6-11-92; Code 1980, 3.5-29; Ord. No. 11424, 1, 12-12-96; Ord. No. 13142, 3, 2-11-10) Sec. 3-30. Automatic telephone dialing alarm systems prohibited. (a) It shall be unlawful for any person, natural or corporate, to sell, offer for sale, install, maintain, lease, operate or assist in the operation of an automatic telephone dialing alarm system over any telephone lines exclusively used by the public to directly request emergency service from the Miami police department. (b) The chief of police, or his designee, when he has knowledge of the unlawful maintenance of an automatic telephone dialing alarm system, installed or operated in violation of subsection (a) of this section, shall, in writing, order the owner, operator or lessee to disconnect and cease operation of the system within 72 hours of receipt of the order. (c) Any automatic telephone dialing system installed unlawfully, as set forth in subsection (a) hereof prior to the effective date of this article January 1, 1981, shall be removed within 30 days of the order as contained in subsection (b) hereof. (Ord. No. 9203, 1(10), 11-26-80; Code 1980, 3.5-30) Secs. 3-31 3-55. Reserved. FOOTNOTE(S): Miami, Florida, Code of Ordinances Page 7

--- (2) --- City Code cross reference Cable TV auxiliary service defined to include burglar alarm service, 11-2 (Back) County Code cross references Automatic telephone dialing alarm system prohibited, 8A-163; intrusion and burglary security generally, ch. 8C. (Back) Miami, Florida, Code of Ordinances Page 8

ARTICLE III. FIRE ALARMS ARTICLE III. FIRE ALARMS Sec. 3-56. Definitions. Sec. 3-57. Response to alarm; determination of validity. Sec. 3-58. Appeals. Sec. 3-59. Fee assessment for false alarms. Sec. 3-60. Automatic telephone dialing alarm systems prohibited. Sec. 3-56. Definitions. Unless it is apparent from the context that another meaning is intended, the following words when used in this article shall have the following meanings: Alarm system means any assembly of personnel or equipment, mechanical or electrical, so arranged to signal the occurrence of a possible fire requiring urgent attention, and to which the fire-rescue department is expected to respond, but does not include either alarms installed in conveyance or burglar alarms. Alarm user means the person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company organization of any kind in control of any building, structure or facility or portion thereof wherein an alarm system is maintained. Automatic telephone dialing alarm system means an automatic dialing device or an automatic telephone dialing alarm system and shall include any system which, upon being activated, automatically transmits, by telephone or telephone line to the city fire-rescue department, a recorded message or code signal indicating a need for emergency response; the term also means a system which, upon activation, automatically connects with an answering service whose function it is to transmit to said department a need for emergency response. Certified fire alarm company means fire alarm specialty electrical contractors or electrical contractors certified by the county or by the state, or individuals who are so certified. False alarm means an electrical signal eliciting a response by the fire-rescue department when a situation requiring a response by the fire-rescue department does not in fact exist. Hearing officer means an employee of the city designated by the city manager to act as an impartial arbitrator at hearings related to the enforcement of this article. (Ord. No. 10073, 1, 1-23-86; Code 1980, 3.5-41) Sec. 3-57. Response to alarm; determination of validity. (a) Whenever an alarm system is activated, thereby requiring an emergency response to a location in the city by the fire-rescue department, and said department does respond, the fire officer in charge on the scene at said location shall inspect the area protected by the system and shall determine whether the emergency response was in fact required as indicated by the alarm system or whether the alarm system malfunctioned and thereby activated a false alarm. (b) If the fire officer at the location of the activated alarm system determines the alarm to be false, said officer shall make a report of the false alarm, a notification of which shall be mailed or delivered to Miami, Florida, Code of Ordinances Page 9

ARTICLE III. FIRE ALARMS the alarm user, at the address of the said alarm installation location, advising the alarm user of the false alarm. A copy of this article shall also be included with the false alarm notification to the user. (c) The director of the fire-rescue department, or designee thereof, 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. (Ord. No. 10073, 2, 1-23-86; Code 1980, 3.5-42) Sec. 3-58. Appeals. (a) A hearing officer shall be appointed by the city manager to hear appeals from alarm users on the issue of whether the alarm system in question activated a false alarm, as initially determined by a fire officer after his inspection at the location of a response to such activated alarm. (b) Upon receipt of any false alarm report from the city, the alarm user shall have ten days, orally or in writing to request a hearing before the said hearing officer; if the request is in writing, said writing is to be mailed or delivered to the fire prevention bureau, 444 SW 2nd Avenue, 10th Floor. (c) At the hearing, which must be scheduled within 15 days from the date the request for same is received, the alarm user shall have the right to present evidence and testimony. (d) The hearing officer shall make written findings available to the alarm user, and to the chief of the fire prevention bureau, within ten days from the date the hearing is concluded. (e) A decision by said bureau chief, or his designee, to uphold or to cancel the false alarm report which is the subject of the hearing, shall be made within ten days, from the receipt of the above findings by said bureau chief or designee. (f) Pending completion of all of the steps set forth in this section, each fire alarm in question will be presumed to have been genuine. (Ord. No. 10073, 3, 1-23-86; Code 1980, 3.5-43; Ord. No. 13196, 2, 9-27-10) Sec. 3-59. Fee assessment for false alarms. Notwithstanding references in this section to false alarms being activated within a period of 12 consecutive months, there shall be a six-month grace period following the issuance of an initial or temporary certificate of occupancy by the department of fire-rescue. Computation of the period of 12 consecutive months shall not include this initial grace period in order to permit the correction or adjustment of a newly installed alarm system in a building which has just been constructed. Following the completed installation of a new alarm system in a previously constructed building, there likewise shall be a six-month grace period commencing on the date such newly completed installation, after inspection by the department of fire-rescue, receives final approval of said department. (1) It is hereby found and determined that more than two false alarms within a period of 12 consecutive months is excessive and constitutes a pubic nuisance and creates a prima facie presumption that the involved alarm system is malfunctioning. (2) The activation of three or more false alarms in a period of 12 consecutive months will result in the following: a. The third and fourth false alarms shall result in a charge of $250.00 per incident. This fee shall be payable to the city upon receipt of said invoice by the alarm user. The alarm user shall submit, within 30 days from the invoice date is mailed to the alarm user, a letter from Miami, Florida, Code of Ordinances Page 10

ARTICLE III. FIRE ALARMS a certified fire alarm company to the fire prevention bureau, certifying the alarm system is operating properly. b. The fifth and any subsequent false alarm after that shall result in a charge of $500.00 per incident. This fee shall be payable to the city upon receipt of said invoice by the alarm user. The alarm user shall also submit, within 30 days from the date the herein charge invoice is mailed to the alarm user, a letter from a certified fire alarm company to the fire prevention bureau, certifying that the alarm system is operating properly. The alarm user will also be given written notice that the occurrence of another false alarm may be cause for revocation of any certificate of occupancy issued in connection with said building. c. If there is a sixth or subsequent false alarm, the certificate of occupancy may be revoked unless an inspection of the alarm system by a fire prevention bureau representative, and a certified fire alarm company representative results in the finding by the chief of the fire prevention bureau that the alarm system is working properly. (Ord. No. 10073, 4, 1-23-86; Code 1980, 3.5-44; Ord. No. 13142, 3, 2-11-10; Ord. No. 13196, 2, 9-27-10) Sec. 3-60. Automatic telephone dialing alarm systems prohibited. (a) It shall be unlawful for any person, natural or corporate, to sell, offer for sale, install, maintain, lease, operate or assist in the operation of an automatic telephone dialing alarm system over any telephone lines exclusively used by the public to directly request emergency service from the department of fire-rescue. (b) The director of said department or his designee, when he has knowledge of the installation or operation of an automatic telephone dialing alarm system installed or operated in violation of subsection (a) of this section shall, in writing, order the alarm user to disconnect and cease operation of said system within 72 hours after service of the order, said service to be effected pursuant to chapter 19 of this Code. (Ord. No. 10073, 5, 1-23-86; Code 1980, 3.5-45) Miami, Florida, Code of Ordinances Page 11