14B.10.020 Definitions.
A. "Alarm Business" means the business by any individual, partnership,
corporation, or other entity of selling, leasing, maintaining, servicing,
repairing, altering, replacing, moving or installing any alarm system or causing
to be sold, leased, maintained, serviced, repaired, altered, replaced, moved or
installed any alarm system in or on any building, structure or facility.
B. "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 police may respond. The system
may or may not be interconnected to an "automatic dialing device."
C. "Alarm User" means the person, firm, partnership, association,
corporation, company or organization of any kind which owns, controls or
occupies any building, structure or facility wherein an alarm system is
maintained.
D. "Automatic Dialing Device" means a device that is interconnected
between an "alarm system" and a telephone line and is programmed to select a
predetermined telephone number and transmit by voice message or code signal an
emergency message indicating a need for emergency response.
E. "Bureau of Emergency Communications" is the City/County facility used
to receive emergency and general information from the public to be dispatched to
the respective police departments utilizing the Bureau.
F. "Burglary Alarm System" means an alarm system signaling an entry or
attempted entry into the area protected by the system.
G. "Chief" means the Chief of the City of Portland's Bureau of Police
or his/her designated representative.
H. "Sheriff" means Sheriff of Multnomah County or his designated
representative.
I. "Coordinator" means the individual designated by the Chief of Police
to issue permits and enforce the provisions of this chapter.
J. "False Alarm" means an alarm signal which announces a need for
emergency services when no such need exists. This does not include an alarm
signal caused by violent conditions of nature or other extraordinary
circumstances not reasonably subject to control by the alarm business operator
or alarm user.
K. "Interconnect" means to connect an alarm system including an automatic
dialing device to a telephone line, either directly or through a mechanical
device that utilizes a telephone, for the purpose of using the telephone line to
transmit a message upon the activation of the alarm system.
L. "Primary Trunk Line" means a telephone line serving the Bureau of
Emergency Communications that is designated to receive emergency calls.
M. "Robbery Alarm System" means an alarm system signaling a robbery or
attempted robbery.
N. "Response" occurs when the Bureau of Emergency Communications treats
an alarm signal as a valid alarm. When treating an alarm signal as valid, the
Bureau of Emergency Communications may dispatch police officers to investigate
the alarm signal as call load, staffing levels, and distance allow.
O. "Sound Emission Cutoff Feature" means a feature of an alarm system
which will cause an audible alarm to stop emitting sound.
P. "System Becomes Operative" means when the alarm system is capable of
eliciting a response by police.
Q. "Economically Disadvantaged Person" means a person receiving public
assistance and/or food stamps.
14B.10.030 Alarm User Permits Required.
(Amended by Ordinance No. 179767, effective November 30, 2005.)
A. Every alarm user shall obtain an alarm user’s permit for
each system from the Coordinator’s Office within 30 days of the time when the
system becomes operative. Users of systems with both robbery and burglary alarm
capabilities shall obtain separate permits for each function. Each permit shall
bear the signature of the Chief of Police and shall be valid for a 1 (one) year
period immediately following issuance of the permit. The permit shall be kept
upon the premises using the alarm system and shall be available for inspection
by the Chief or Sheriff.
B. A yearly alarm permit fee, permit surcharge, late payment
fee, and permit renewal fee shall be established by the Bureau of Police. The
fees established under this Section shall not become effective until approved by
the Commissioner in charge of the Bureau of Police.
C. If a residential alarm user is over the age of 62 and/or
is an economically disadvantaged person and resides where the permitted alarm is
located and if no business is conducted in the residence, a user’s permit may be
obtained from the Coordinator’s Office according to Section 14B.10.030 A.
without the payment of a fee.
D. A surcharge will be charged in addition to the fee
provided in Section 14B.10.030 B to a user who fails to obtain a permit within
30 days after the system becomes operative, who is more than 30 days delinquent
in renewing a permit, or who is more than 30 days delinquent in payment of an
invoice.
E. If an alarm user fails to renew a permit within 30 days
after the permit expires, the coordinator will notify the alarm user, by mail,
that, unless the permit is renewed and all fees and fines are paid within 45
days from the date of expiration, and the alarm system remains operative, the
user will be considered in violation of 14B.10.030 A.
F. Calls for emergency response to an alarm event by an
alarm business must include the corresponding alarm permit number.
G. Alarm businesses must provide monthly updates of their
designated customer list information to the Portland Police Alarm Administration
Unit by the 10th day of the following month.
14B.10.050 Burglary and Alarm System Fines.
(Amended by Ordinance Nos. 179726 and 179767, effective November 30, 2005.)
A. Fines will be assessed by the Coordinator for excessive
false alarms during a permit year as follows:
Second False Alarms $50 each
Third False Alarms $100 each
Fourth and any additional False Alarms $150 each
B. The Coordinator will send a Notification of Alarm by
regular mail to notify the alarm user and the alarm business of a false alarm
and the fine and the consequences of the failure to pay the fine. The
Coordinator will also inform the alarm users of their right to appeal the
validity of the false alarm to the Chief of Police, as provided in Section
14B.10.100. If the fine has not been received in the Coordinator’s Office within
30 days of the day Notice of fine was mailed by the Coordinator and there is no
appeal pending on the validity of the false alarm, the Coordinator will send the
Notice of fine by mail along with a notice of late fee of $25. If payment is not
received within 10 days of the day the Notice of late fee was mailed, the
Coordinator will initiate the no response process according to Section
14B.10.060 and may initiate the enforcement of penalties according to Section
14B.10.130.
C. The payment of any fine shall not be deemed to extend the
term of the permit.
D. The fine assessed by the Coordinator to the Alarm User
for failure to apply for an alarm permit will be $100 per incident.
E. The fine assessed by the Coordinator to an Alarm Business
for failure to provide the alarm permit number at the time of requesting
emergency service will be $100 per incident.
F. The fine assessed by the Coordinator to an Alarm Business
for failure to provide the designated monthly updates of their customer list by
the 10th day of the following month will be $500 per month.
14B.10.060 No Response to Excessive Alarms.
A. After the second false alarm the Coordinator shall
send a notification to the alarm user by regular mail, which will contain the
following information:
1. That the second false
alarm has occurred;
2. That if four or more
false alarms occur within the permit year, the Coordinator will direct the
Bureau of Emergency Communications to suspend response to further alarm
signals;
3. That the approval of the
Chief of Police of reinstatement of alarm response can only be obtained by
applying in writing for reinstatement and that the Chief of Police may
reinstate alarm response only upon finding that reasonable effort has been
made to correct the false alarms;
4. That the alarm user has the right to contest the
validity of a false alarm determination by requesting a False Alarm Validity
Hearing, and that a request for such a hearing will stay the effect of a false
alarm determination and must be in writing and filed within ten days of the
receipt of the Notice of Alarm.
B. After the fourth false
alarm within the permit year the Coordinator shall direct the Bureau of
Emergency Communications to suspend response to subsequent alarms unless
instructed to respond by the of the Chief of Police pursuant to 14B.1.060 D. The
Coordinator shall send a Notice of Suspension of Response to:
1.
The Bureau of Emergency Communication; and
2. The alarm user by
certified mail.
C. The suspension of response
to an alarm shall begin ten days after mailing of the Notice of Suspension of
Response to the alarm user unless a written request for a False Alarm Validity
Hearing has been made as delivered to the Coordinator.
D. The Chief of Police shall
order the Coordinator to reinstate an alarm response if the user makes a written
application for reinstatement and the Chief finds that reasonable effort has
been made to correct the problem(s) which led to the false alarms.
14B.10.100 Hearing.
A. An alarm user may challenge the validity of a false alarm
determination by the Coordinator by appealing the determination and asking for a
hearing on the matter before the Chief of Police. The appeal must be in writing
and must be submitted to the Coordinator within ten days of the alarm user
having received Notice of False Alarm. Failure to contest the determination in
the required time period results in a conclusive presumption that the alarm was
false.
B. If a hearing is requested, written notice of the time and place of
the hearing shall be served on the user by the Chief of Police by certified mail
at least 10 days prior to the date set for the hearing, which date shall not be
more than 21 nor less than 10 days after the filing of the request for
hearing.
C. The hearing shall be before the Chief of Police or
his/her designated representatives. The Coordinator and the alarm user shall
have the right to present written and oral evidence, subject to the right of
cross-examination. If the Chief of Police determines that the false alarms
alleged have or have not occurred in a permit year, the Chief of Police shall
issue written findings waiving, expunging or entering a false alarm designation
on an alarm user’s record as appropriate. If false alarm designations are
entered on the alarm user’s record, the Coordinator shall pursue fine collection
as set out in this Chapter.
D. Failure to appear at a scheduled hearing without providing prior
notice and cause for rescheduling a hearing will be justification for immediate
suspension of the permit. Thereafter a new hearing may be scheduled after
submission of a written request to the Chief of Police.
14B.10.110 Sound Emission Cutoff Feature.
A. Alarm systems which can be heard outside the building, structure or
facility of the alarm user shall be equipped with a sound emission cutoff
feature which will stop the emission of sound 15 minutes or less after the alarm
is activated.
B. When an alarm system may be heard outside a building, structure or
facility for more than 15 minutes continuously or intermittently, and the alarm
owner or alarm company is not readily available or able to silence the device,
the Portland Police Bureau is authorized to enter the premises and physically
disconnect the sounding device. The alarm owner shall be liable for the cost of,
or associated with, disconnecting the alarm. Neither the City nor its officers,
agents or employees shall be liable for such costs.
C. The alarm owner shall be liable for cost of reconnecting the alarm.
Neither the City nor its officer, agents or employees shall be liable for such
cost.
