HomeMy WebLinkAbout9F - False Alarm Ordinance
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CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
October 21, 2002, 2002 iY
9F '. ~
Frank Boyles, City Mana e
AGENDA ITEM: CONSIDER APPROVAL OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING IN PART SECTIONS
503 AND 803 OF THE PRIOR LAKE CITY CODE RELATING TO PUBLIC
SAFETY AND FALSE ALARMS.
DISCUSSION: History; The proliferation of fire and security alarms, first in commercial buildings
and now in residential homes is both an asset and a liability to both our police and
fire departments. The City receives fire and rescue services from a 40-person
paid on-call fire department. Police services are provided by a- department of 20
sworn officers. Both departments serve in excess of 6000 households, a
population which fluctuates from 17,000 to 27,000 daily, and an over 16square
mile area with 110 miles of streets.
ISSUES:
Current Circumstances: Year to date, the fire department has responded to 494
calls. Eighty-nine of those responses, or 18%, are attributable to false alarms.
These types of numbers are typical over the past several years. Likewise, the
police department, on average, has responded to approximately 53 residential
burglary calls per month, or 479 calls year-to-date. The number of actual
burglaries so far this year is under 5. That means there have been a minimum of
474 false burglar alarms this year. In addition, the police department responds to
fire calls as well, so are doubly impacted by false alarms.
False alarms are on the rise. More households and businesses rely upon alarms
to protect property and people. The City wants to encourage the use of alarm
systems. But, steps must be taken to encourage responsible system use so that
the City's limited police and fire personnel are available to respond to the entire
community.
Conclusion: In an effort to discourage false alarms, but encourage alarm usage, a
false alarm ordinance is proposed for City Council adoption.
Under the terms of the proposed ordinance, all alarm systems for business or
residential structure are included. A false alarm is "any activation of an alarm not
caused by or as a result of a criminal act, an unauthorized entry or an act of
nature that is received by the fire or police department."
The ordinance provides the following provisions:
1. If the alarm company or building owner receives the false alarm and
cancels it before it reaches the fire or police Department, no penalty is
enforced.
16200 Eagle Creek Ave. S.E., Prior Lake, Minnesota 55372-1714 / Ph. (952) 447-4230 / Fax (952) 447-4245
1:\COUNCIL\AGNRPTS\2002\F ALSE ALARMS.~AL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
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ALTERNATIVES:
RECOMMENDED
MOTION:
2. Each year, an alarm user may have up to three false alarms. Upon the
occasion of the fourth alarm, the cost to the alarm user is $100. For each
false alarm thereafter within the 12-month period, the cost per false alarm
increases by $50.
3. In the event that an alarm user exceeds four false alarms in a calendar
year or is more than 120 days delinquent in the payment of a penalty, the
City Manager may notify the alarm user that the City will no longer
respond to that address.
4. To prevent the suspension of services, the alarm user may elect to pay a
penalty of $500. This payment to the City "resets" the false alarm counter
to "0" for that 12-month period.
Fire Chief Sames approached me with the request for this ordinance. Police Chief
O'Rourke has also expressed his support for these provisions. False alarms
create two significant problems. The first is that they create needless and
preventable activity for our already limited resources. Fire Chief Sames has
stated that the number of false alarms are interfering with his ability to do his full-
time job. Undoubtedly, other firefighters feel the same. If the number of alarms
continues to increase, we will likely lose firefighters to needless re$ignation.
The second problem is even more significant. When police officers or firefighters
become used to false alarms from a particular user, it is sometimes too easy to
assume all alarms to that address are false. Personal injury or loss of life often
occur when an officer is surprised by the real thing when he or she had grown
complacent as a result of on-going false alarms.
The Council should determine if it wishes to adopt such an ordinance. The
Council should also discuss whether ordinance implementation should become
effective at the beginning of 2003 to provide the time to inform the public.
Councilmembers may also wish to consider whether 3 alarms is an appropriate
threshold. The $100 initial fine, $50 escalator and suspension of policelfire
response could also be discussed.
Since the fire department currently serves the townships as well, we will
encourage the Townships to adopt an identical ordinance. Even if the townships
do not adopt the ordinance, the staff would still recommend adoption given that
the numbers demonstrate a significant rationale for such action.
The Council has the following alternatives:
(1) Adopt the Ordinance as proposed.
(2) Adopt the Ordinance with amendments.
(3) Take no action and direct the staff to prepare additional information.
Alternative (1).
~OUNCIL\AGNRPTS\2002\FALSE ALARMS. DOC
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ORDINANCE 02-XX
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTIONS 503 AND 806 OF THE
PRIOR LAKE CITY CODE RELATING TO FALSE ALARMS
SECOND BY:
The Prior Lake City Council does hereby order that
1. Section 503.200 and 503.300 of the Prior Lake City Code is hereby amended in its entirety
as set forth below:
503.200
False Alarms. Enforcement regulations for alarms systems are regulated under
Section 806 of the Prior Lake City Code.
2. Part 8 of the Prior Lake City Code is amended to add Section 806 False Alarms as follows:
.806.100
806.200
PURPOSE: The purpose and intent of this Ordinance to protect the health, safety
and welfare of the residents of the City of Prior Lake. The City operates a
volunteer, on-call fire department. As a volunteer, on-call fire department, the
volunteers are paid for each call to which they respond. Responding to false
alarms depletes the limited resources, people and equipment, with which the City
has to respond to emergencies. Further, increased development in Prior Lake
creates additional demands on the resources of the Police Department. Therefore,
in order to protect the residents of Prior Lake by maximizing the limited resources
available to the City, this Section attempts to encourage Alarm Users to properly
maintain and use their Alarm Systems.
DEFINITIONS: The following words and terms when used in this Section shall have
the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
Alarm Company: The business by any individual, partnership, corporation or
other entity of selling, leasing, maintaining, monitoring, servicing, repairing, altering,
replacing, moving or installing any Alarm System or causing to be sold, leased,
maintained, monitored, serviced, repaired, altered, replaced, moved or installed,
any Alarm System in or on any building, structure or facility.
Alarm System: Any instrument or other device that, as one of its purposes, is
used to protect buildings, premises or persons from criminal acts, unauthorized
entries or acts of nature by warning persons of crime, unauthorized entry and acts
of nature through the emission or transmission of a sound or signal.
Alarm User: Any person, employee, firm, partnership, association, corporation,
company or organization of any kind which uses or is in control of an Alarm
System, regardless of whether it owns or leases the system.
False Alarm: Any activation of an alarm not caused by or as a result of a criminal
act, an unauthorized entry or an act of nature that is received by the Fire and/or
Police Department.
16200 Eagle Creek Ave. S.E., Prior Lake, Minnesota 55372-1714 / Ph. (952) 447-4230 / Fax (952) 447-4245
AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
806.300:
806.400:
806.401 :
806.402:
806.403:
806.404:
FALSE ALARMS; PENALTIES:
(1) The City will impose a penalty on any Alarm User for each False Alarm in excess of
three (3) per calendar year. The penalty will be:
Fourth Alarm Fee:
Fifth Alarm Fee:
Sixth Alarm Fee:
Seventh Alarm Fee:
$100.00
$150.00
$200.00
$250.00
The fee shall increase by the sum of fifty dollars ($50.00) for each succeeding
False Alarm thereafter.
(2) If the responding police officer or firefighter determines that a False Alarm was
caused by the actions of the Alarm Company, a penalty of $100.00 shall be
assessed against the Alarm Company with no corresponding penalty assessed
against the Alarm User.
SUSPENSION OF POLICE/FIRE RESPONSE:
SUSPENSION OF POLIcE/FIRE RESPONSE: If the requirements of subsection 806.403
are met, the City Manager, upon consultation with the Police Chief or Fire Chief,
may suspend police or fire response to Alarm Users by Notice to the Alarm User as
provided in subsection 806.402. However, the Police and/or Fire Department will
respond if independent information is received by the Police and/or Fire
Department that verifies the need for immediate pOlicelfire response.
NOTICE: The City Manager may serve, in person or by U.S. mail, the Alarm User
with written notification that effective fourteen (14) days from the date of the notice,
the Prior Lake Fire and/or Police Department will not respond to alarm dispatch
requests received from that Alarm System for the remainder of the calendar year.
REQUIREMENTS: When an Alarm User generates more than four (4) False Alarms
within a calendar year; or when an Alarm User is more than one hundred twenty
(120) days overdue in payment of the Penalty as described in subsection 806.300.
REINSTA TEMENr: To prevent the suspension of services, the Alarm User may
elect to pay a penalty of $500.00. The first False Alarm after the payment of this
$500.00 penalty will be considered the first False Alarm in the calendar year for
purposes of assessing further penalties under subsection 806.300.
This ordinance shall become effective January 1, 2003. following its passage and publication.
Passed and adopted by the City Council of the City of Prior Lake on October 21, 2002.
ATTEST:
City Manager
Mayor
Published in the Prior Lake American on November 2, 2002.
ON: 163293