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ORDINANCE NO. r 0 3
AN ORDINANCE REPEALING IN ITS ENTIRETY
ORDINANCE NO. 8996, ADOPTED OCTOBER 17,
1979, WHICH DEALT WITH THE SUBJECT MATTER
OF BURGLARY AND ALARM SYSTEMS, AND SUB-
STITUTING A NEW ORDINANCE ENTITLED:
"BURGLARY AND ROBBERY ALARM ORDINANCE";
PROVIDING DEFINITIONS; REQUIRING ANYONE IN
CONTROL OF PREMISES WHERE AN ALARM SYSTEM
IS MAINTAINED TO SECURE A PERMIT: ESTABLISH-
ING A PROCEDURE FOR AUTOMATIC REVOCATION
AND PROVIDING CONDITIONS FOR REINSTATE-
MENT OF SAID PERMIT: CONTAINING A PENALTY
PROVISION; REQURING ALARM USERS TO HELP
COMPENSATE THE CITY FOR UNNECESSARY
RESPONSES BY THE POLICE TO FALSE ALARMS;
ALLOWING AN APPEAL FROM A DETERMINATION
THAT AN ALARM WAS FALSE; PROVIDING THE
POLICE DEPARTMENT WITH THE AUTHORITY TO
SUSPEND ITS RESPONSE TO ALARM SYSTEMS
THAT ACTIVATE A CERTAIN NUMBER OF FALSE
ALARMS THEREBY CREATING THE PRESUMPTION
THAT THE ALARM SYSTEM IS MALFUNCTIONING;
PROHIBITING THE INSTALLATION OR MAINTEN-
ANCE OF ALL AUTOMATIC TELEPHONE ALARM
DIALING DEVICES WHICH TRANSMIT OVER
TELEPHONE LINES EXCLUSIVELY USED BY THE
PUBLIC TO REQUEST EMERGENCY SERVICE FROM
THE MIAMI POLICE DEPARTMENT; CONTAINING A
REPEALER PROVISION AND A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE
AND DISPENSING WITH THE REQUIREMENT OF
READING SAME ON TWO SEPARATE DAYS BY A
VOTE OF NOT LESS THAN FOUR -FIFTHS OF THE
MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION AND CONTAINING
AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, a Burglar Alarm Ordinance (No. 8996) was adopted
October 17, 1979 as a result of unreliable alarm systems hamper-
ing the Police Department in the performance of its duties and
also creating a public nuisance injurious to the peace and
well-being of the community and to the safety of the individual
police officers; and
WHEREAS, the aforesaid Ordinance was adopted because of
the Police Department's response to more than 19,000 alarms
per year of which at least 98% were false alarms, since either
by negligence, malfunction, or poor design, they were activa-
ted through means other than the criminal activities the alarms
were designed to detect and report; and
WHEREAS, even before passage of the October, 1979
ordinance, the Miami Police Department had expended in
excess of 10,000 employee hours per year investigating these
false alarms, thereby depriving the remainder of the com-
munity of these police services and reducing the Police
Department's ability to promptly respond to genuine calls
for services; and
WHEREAS, the purpose and intent of said ordinance was
to assist the alarm industry and alarm users in improving
alarm reliability by making effective and reliable systems
more attractive to users on a cost effective basis; and a
secondary purpose of said ordinance was to partly defray the
costs involved in responding to malfunctioning false alarms;
and
WHEREAS, a review of the first 6 months since implemen-
tation of said ordinance indicates that the ordinance is not
fully accomplishing its objective and, although mo-t alarm
users have become more aware of their responsibilities, the
number of false alarm incidents has not been reduced; and
WHEREAS, the herein ordinance has been drafted to
provide for a sliding scale of fee assessments, thereby
providing an incentive for compliance so as to reduce the
number of false alarm incidents;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COMMISSION OF THE
CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA:
Section 1. Ordinance No. 8996, adopted October 17,
1979, covering the subject matter of this ordinance is
hereby repealed in its entirety and the following is hereby
substituted in its place and stead:
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"Section 1. Title. This ordinance shall be known
as the "Burglary and Robbery Alarm Ordinance".
Section 2. Definitions. Unless it is apparent from
the context that another meaning is intended, the following
words when used in this ordinance shall have the meanings
attached to them by this section:
a. "Alarm system" means any assembly of equipment,
mechanical or electrical, arranged to signal the occurrence
of an illegal entry or other activity requiring urgent atten-
tion and to which the police department is expected to respond,
but does not include alarms intalled in conveyances or fire
alarms.
b. "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.
C. "Alarm business" means the business of any individual,
partnership, corporation, or other entity engaged in selling,
leasing, maintaining, servicing, repairing, altering, replac-
ing, moving or installing any alarm system or in causing any
alarm system to be sold, leased, maintained., serviced, re-
paired, 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 master burglar alarm
technician with a valid Dade County certificate of competency
and a current security clearance certificate issued by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation. An alarm business shall
have an occupational license issued by the City of Miami.
d. "Automatic telephone dialing alarm system" means
the automatic dialing device or an automatic telephone dial-
ing alarm system and shall include any system which, upon
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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.
e. "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 con-
ditions of nature nor does it include other extraordinary
circumstances not reasonably subject to control by the alarm _
user.
f. "Hearing officer" means an employee of the City
of Miami designated by the chief of police to act as an impar-
tial arbitrator at hearings related to the enforcement of the
herein ordinance.
g. "Alarm permit" means a permit issued by the City of
Miami allowing the operation of an alarm system within the
City of Miami.
Section 3. Penalty; Permit Issuance and Renewal.
a. It shall be unlawful for any person to operate an
alarm system without a valid alarm user permit. Violation
of this Section 3 shall be a misdemeanornor of the second degree,
punishable as provided for in Chapter 775, Florida Statutes.
b. (i) Within 30 days of the effective date of this
ordinance, alarm user permits may be acquired from the City
of Miami upon application and payment of a $25 registration
fee.
(ii) After the 30-day period, applications must
be made to the City of Miami building and zoning inspection
department which will issue permits to alarm users after com-
pletion of a final inspection and payment of the $25 registra-
tion fee.
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9203
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(iii) All alarm user permits will expire on the
30th day of September of each year and must be renewed not
later than the 1st day of October of each year. Renewal
permits will be issued after completion of an application
form and the payment of a $25 renewal fee; except that
permits for a premise that has had no false alarm during the
preceeding permit period will be renewed upon completion of
an application but without any renewal fee.
(iv) 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 struc-
ture.
(v) Subsections b(i) through (iv) of this Sec-
tion 3 shall not apply in those situations where alarm user
permits have been revoked under Section 9 hereof.
Section 4. Application for Alarm Permit; Emergency Notifi-
cation and Reporting Service Information.
a. Applications - Applications for alarm permits shall
be made on forms provided by the police department. Each appli-
cation shall be accompanied by a fee of $25. The application
shall state the name, address and telephone number of the appli-
cant's property to be serviced by the alarm, and the name
address, and telephone number of the applicant's residence,
if different. If the applicant's alarm is serviced by an alarm
company, then the applicant shall also include the name, address
and telephone number of that company. Each permit shall be
valid until the 30th day of September of each 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 revoca-
tion of the permit.
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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 infor-
mation on file with the city regarding such permit. Failure
to do so shall constitute grounds for revocation of the per-
mit.
Section 5. 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 prom-
inently 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.
Section 6. 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.
Section 7. Response.
- 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 whether
the emergency response was in fact required as indicated by
the alarm system or whether in some way the alarm system mal-
functioned and thereby activated a false alarm.
b. If the police office at the scene of the activated
alarm system determines the alarm to be false, said officer
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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 said alarm system installation location, advis-
ing 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 ordinance.
Section 8. 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 deter-
mined by a police officer at the scene of such activiated
alarm.
b. Upon receipt of any false alarm report from the city,
the alarm user shall have 10 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 avail-
able to the alarm user and the chief of police within 10 days
from the date the hearing is concluded.
e. (i) A decision by the chief of police, or his desig-
nee, to uphold or to cancel the false alarm report which is the
subject of the herein section must be made within 10 days from
the receipt of the above findings by the chief of police.
(ii) Until all of the steps set forth in this See-
tion 8 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.
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Section 9. Fee Assessment.
a. It is hereby found and determined that more than 5
false alarms within any permit year are excessive and con-
stitute a public nuisance.
b. The activation of 6 or more false alarms within a
permit year will be handled according to the following
schedule:
(i) The 6th through 8th false alarms will be
billed a $25 service charge per occurrence which shall be
considered a bill owed by the alarm user to the city. Each
$25 service charge incurred for the 6th through 8th false
alarms at the premises described in the alarm user's permit
shall be paid within 30 days from date of receipt thereof.
Failure to make payment within 30 days from date of receipt
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.
(ii) The 9th false alarm shall result in revocation
of the alarm user's permit in the following manner:
(a) The alarm user shall be given 10 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) Reinstatement of the permit and police service
will be made upon receipt of a letter from an
alarm company licensed by the City of Miami that
the alarm system is operating properly and a $50
reinstatement fee.
(iii) The loth false alarm shall result in a written
notfication to the alarm user that upon'activation of the next
false alarm the alarm user's permit will be revoked.
(iv) The llth false alarm shall result in revocation
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of the alarm user's permit in the manner described in
subsection b(ii) of Section 9 hereof, except that the fee
for reinstatement shall be $100.
(v) The 12th false alarm shall result in a written
notification to the alarm user that upon activation of the
next false alarm the alarm user's permit will be revoked.
(vi) The 13th false alarm shall result in revoca-
tion of the alarm user's permit in the manner described in
subsection b(ii) hereof, except that an inspection of the
property by a police department representative and a repre-
sentative from a licensed burglar alarm company shall be a
condition precedent to reinstatement of the alarm user's
permit and that the fee for reinstatement shall be $250.
(vii) No action shall be taken by the city as a
result of the 14th false alarm.
(viii) The 15th false alarm shall result in a writ-
ten notification to the alarm user that upon activation of
the next false alarm the alarm user's permit will be revoked.
(ix) The 16th false alarm shall result in revoca-
tion of the alarm user's permit in the manner described in
subsection b(ii) hereof, except that an inspection of the
premises by a police department representative shall be
a condition precedent to reinstatement of the alarm user's
permit and that the fee for reinstatement shall be $350.
(x) No action shall be taken by the city as a
result of the 17th and 18th false alarms.
(xi) The 19th false alarm shall result in a written
notification to the alarm user that upon activation of the next
false alarm the alarm user's permit will be revoked.
(xii) On the 20th and each subsequent false alarm
the alarm user's permit shall be revoked in the manner de-
scribed in subsection b(ii) hereof, except that the fee for
reinstatement shall be $500.
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C. For the purposes of this section, a permit year
will extend from October 1 to September 30 of the follow-
ing calendar year. False alarms occurring during each
permit year shall be handled in the same manner as set
forth in subsections a. and b. of Section 9 hereof.
Section 10. Automatic Telephone Dialing Alarm Systems.
a. It shall be unlawful for any person, natural or
corporate, to sell, offer for saI.e, 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 operation in violation of
subsection a. of Section 10 hereof 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. of Section 10
hereof prior to the effective date of this article shall be
removed within 30 days of the order as contained in subsec-
tion b. of Section 10 hereof.
Section 11. This ordinance shall be liberally con-
strued in accordance with the intent and purpose as set
forth herein."
Section 2. All ordinances or parts of ordinances, insofar
as they are inconsistent or in conflict with the provisions
of this ordinance, are hereby repealed.
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Section 3. If any section, part of section, paragraph,
clause, phrase, or word of this ordinance is declared invalid,
the remaining provisions of this ordinance shall not be
affected.
Section 4. The requirement of reading this ordinance
on two separate days is hereby dispensed with by a vote of
not less than four -fifths of the members of the Commission.
Section 5. The provisions of the herein ordinance shall
become effective January 1, 1981.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 26 day of November, 1980.
MAURICE A. FERRE
M A Y 0 R
ST:
ALPH G. ONGIE
TY CLERK
PREPARED AND APPROVED BY:
/ &4al�
OBERT F. CLARK
ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY
APPR AS TO ORM A CORRECTNESS:
GEO GE . KNOX, JR.
CITY A ORNEY
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MIAMI REVIEW
AND DAILY RECORD
Published Daily except Saturday, Sunday and
Legal Holidays
Miami, Dade County, Florida.
STATE OF FLORIDA
COUNTY OF DADE
Before the undersigned authority personally
appeared Octelma V. Ferbeyre, who on oath says that
she is Supervisor, Legal Advertising of the Miami
Review and Daily Record, a daily (except Saturday,
Sunday and Legal Holidays) newspaper, published at
Miami in Dade County, Florida; that the attached copy
of advertisement, being a Legal Advertisement or
Notice in the matter of
CITY OF MIAMI
Re: Ordinance 9203
in the X . X..a(..X.................__court,
was published in said newspaper in the issues of
December 4 1980 ..........................._.. ..
Altiant further says that the said Miami Review
and Daily Record is a newspaper published at Miami, in
said Dade County, Florida, and that the said newspaper
has heretofore been continuously published in said
Dade County, Florida, each day (except Saturday,
Sunday and Legal Holidays) and has been entered as
second class mail matter at the post office in Miami, in
said Dade County, Florida, for a period of one year next
preceding the first publication of the attached copy of
advertisement; and affiant further says that she has
neither paid nor promised any person, firm or
corporation any discount, rebate, commission or refund
for the purpose of securing this advertisement for
p ub' •�tlon in the said news
74x/^ .__........__ ....r .............
Sworn to a►grlltM1 1dlb fore me this
A ��
4th ,,' av of ...t���e., ..e . •..
• • �•• . q.....80
�1 k Net ey • ._
Nma{ •u81Tc late of Florid& ail r e
MI j C issior expires Sept.2, 19
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LEGAL NOTICE
All interested will take notice that on the 26th day of November
1980, the City Commission of Miami. Florida passed and adopted the
following titled ordinance:
ORDINANCE NO. 9 1kos
AN ORDINANCE REPEALING IN ITS ENTIRETY
ORDINANCE NO. 6996. ADOPTED OCTOBER 17.
1979, WHICH DEALT WITH THE SUBJECT MATTER
OF BURGLARY AND ALARM SYSTEMS. AND SUB-
STITUTING A NEW ORDINANCE ENTITLED:
"BURGLARY AND ROBBERY ALARM ORDINANCE": i
PROVIDING DEFINITIONS: REQUIRING'ANYONE IN `I
CONTROL OF PREMISES WHERE AN ALARM, SYSTEM
IS MAINTAINED TO SECURE A PERMIT: ESTABLISH-
ING A PROCEDURE FOR AUTOMATIC REVOCATION
AND PROVIDING CONDITIONS FOR REINSTATE- i
MENT OF SAID PERMIT: CONTAINING A PENALTY
PROVISION; REQURING ALARM USERS TO HELP
COMPENSATE THE CITY FOR UNNECESSARY
RESPONSES BY THE POLICE TO'FALSE ALARMS;
ALLOWIMC AN APPEAL PROM A DETERMINATION. �
THAT AN ALARM WAS TALSE; PROVIDING .THE
POLICE DEPARTMENT WITH THE AUTHORITY TO
SUSPEND ITS RESPONSE TO ALARM SYSTEMS. !
THAT ACTIVATE A CERTAIN NUMBER OF FALSE
ALARMS THEREBY CREATING THE PRESUMPTION
THAT THE ALARM SYSTEM IS MALFUNCTIONING; I
PROHIBITING,.TWE INSTALLATION OR M IC14TEN
ANCE OF ALL AUTOMATIC TELEPHONE ALARM --
DIALING DEVICES WHICH TRANSMIT OVER
TELEPHONE LINES EXCLUSIVELY USED BY THE
PUBLIC TO REQUEST EMERGENCY SERVICE FROM ''
THE, MIAMI POLICE DEPARTMENT; CONTAINING A
-REPEALER PROVISION AND A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE
AND DI3PERSING WITH THE REQUIREMENT OF
READING SAME ON TWO SEPARATE DAYS BY A
VOTE OF NOT LESS THAN -FOUR -FIFTHS OF THE
MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION AND CONTAINING
AN EFFECTIVE DATE.,
RALPH G. ON=
CITY CI=
CITY. OF HIM, ILMRIDA
, w
I
Publication of this Notice on #4 day of, November Im
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I'IT�R-G1=f-1r:.:= `.••r:RAt?Fi:1!`Ef,.J?•1
Jr R.
Grassie
August 29, 1980
-EE.E
REL 1
City
Manager
Revised Burglar Alarm Ordinance
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Kenneth
I. Harms
9E FEEt C!i•=F5
—
Chief
of Police
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53
r�s
C^rn
"I recommend that
City Ordinance #8996 pertaining
to False Burglar
Alarms be revised per the attached
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proposed ordinance."
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The drafting of the original Burglar Alarm Ordinance in October, I"g ,
was a combined effort of the Police and Legal Departments. The
intention was to reduce the occurrence of false alarm incidents and
this objective was reinforced by the Commission when the ordinance
was passed.
A review of the first six months since implementation indicates that
the ordinance is not accomplishing its objective. Although most
alarm users have become more aware of their responsibilities, the
number of false alarm incidents has not been reduced. Another
problem is the inequity of punishment for violators. After an initial
warning, all alarm users are assessed the same penalty of $25.00
regardless of the frequency of previous violations.
A new ordinance has been drafted that should resolve the inequities
of the existing ordinance, be easier to administer and hopefully
reduce the number of false alarm incidents. Representatives from the
burglar alarm industry assisted in drafting the ordinance, the
industry Association supports it. All parties agree that the proposed
ordinance is more equitable in its assessment and fees and should
identify and correct faulty alarm systems.
Some of the new provisions are:
1. Operating permit for all alarm users: Favored by both the Police
and Building and Zoning as a means of registering alarm systems
and providing a means to regulate their use.
2. Five warnings before a fee assessment: Even with a good alarm
system and conscientious use, false alarms should be expected.
The intent of the ordinance is to correct problems with chronic
abusers.
9 `2d 0 3
J. R. Grassie
Page 2
August 29, 1980
SUBJECT: Revised Burglar Alarm Ordinance
3. Escalating scale on fee assessment: The fee for false alarm
incidents escalates from $25.00 for the sixth occurrence to
$500.00 for the twentieth occurrence.
4. Mandatory inspections: Inspections by the alarm company and
police department representatives are mandated for those systems
identified as chronic abusers.
The new ordinance is designed for implementation as of 1 October to
coincide with both the fiscal year and the other City issued permits.
KIH:ma