Ord 93-193ORDINANCE NO. 93 -193
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FEDERAL
WAY, WASHINGTON, RELATING TO ALARM SYSTEMS; REQUIRING
REGISTRATION; ESTABLISHING FEES; PROVIDING FOR FINES FOR
EXCESSIVE FALSE ALARMS; PROVIDING FOR NO RESPONSE TO
ALARMS; PROVIDING FOR PUNISHMENT OF VIOLATIONS; AND
ESTABLISHING A SYSTEM OF ADMINISTRATION AND REPEALING
FEDERAL WAY CITY CODE SECTION 3.1 THROUGH SECTION 3.7.
WHEREAS, the Federal Way City Council finds that this
ordinance is in the interest of the public health, safety and
welfare; and
WHEREAS, the Federal Way City Council finds that this
ordinance will encourage alarm users and alarm businesses to assume
increased responsibility for maintaining the mechanical reliability
and the proper use of alarm systems to prevent unnecessary police
emergency responses to false alarms and thereby protect the
emergency response capability of the Federal Way Police from
misuse.
WHEREAS, the information provided on the registration
application will give public safety personnel important records on
alarm user emergency contacts, alarm businesses and locations of
alarm systems.
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FEDERAL WAY, WASHINGTON, DOES
ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS
Unless the context or subject matter otherwise requires, terms
defined herein shall have the following meanings when used in this
chapter:
A. Alarm Business. 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, serviced, repaired, altered, replaced, moved or
installed any alarm system on real property.
B. Alarm System. Any system, device or mechanism which,
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Ordinance No. 93 -193
ORIGINAL
when activated, transmits a telephone message to a private
monitoring company or some other number, or emits an audible or
visible signal that can be heard or seen by persons outside the
protected premises, or transmits a signal beyond the premises in
some other fashion, except any system, device or mechanism
primarily protecting a motor vehicle, or a medical alarm.
C. Alarm User. The person, firm, partnership, association,
corporation, company, or organization of any kind to whom a
registration is required under this chapter.
D. Automatic Dialing Device. A device that is
interconnected to 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. Such a device is an alarm system.
E. Burglary Alarm System. An alarm system designed or used
for detection and reporting of an unauthorized entry or attempted
unauthorized entry upon real property protected by the system.
F. Chief of Police. The Chief of the City of Federal Way
Police Department.
G. City Clerk. The Clerk of the City of Federal Way.
H. Department. The City of Federal Way Police Department.
I. Economically Disadvantaged Person. A person receiving
public assistance.
J. False Alarm. The activation of any burglary and /or
robbery alarm system when no crime is being committed or attempted
on the premises. An alarm shall be presumed to be false if the
police officers responding do not locate any evidence of an
intrusion or commission of an unlawful act or emergency on the
premises which might have caused the alarm to sound, but does not
include alarms 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. 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. No Response. Police officers shall not be dispatched to
investigate a report of an alarm signal.
M. Registration Year. July 1 to and including June 30.
N. Premises. Any area and any portion of any area protected
by an alarm system.
O. Robbery Alarm System. An alarm system designed or used
for alerting others of a robbery or other crime in progress which
involves potential serious bodily injury or death.
P. System Subscriber. Person, corporation, firm,
partnership, association, company, organization or other business
entity who purchased or contracted for any alarm system.
Q. Panic /Trouble Alarm. An alarm system designed or used
for alerting police of the need for immediate assistance or aid in
order to avoid injury or serious bodily harm.
R. Verification. An independent- method of determining that -
a signal from an automatic alarm system reflects a need for
immediate police assistance or investigation.
SECTION 2. ALARM USERS REGISTRATION REQUIRED.
A. After June 30, 1994, no person shall operate or use an
alarm system on any premises within the City of Federal Way, under
that person's control, without first having obtained from the City
Clerk's Office, a separate registration for each premises protected
by an alarm system.
B. The police department may not respond to any alarm system
for which a registration has not first been obtained.
C. For the purposes of this section, a person shall be
deemed to be an operator or user of an alarm system if:
(1) The person controls both the alarm system and the
premises upon which it is installed, or
(2) The person controls the premises and is the
subscriber, client or tenant of the system subscriber, or
(3) The person is the system subscriber or alarm user.
D. All persons required to obtain a registration must
complete a registration application form which is provided by the
City Clerk's Office. Information required to be provided on the
registration application form includes, but is not limited to:
(1) Subscriber's and /or alarm user's name, address and
telephone number(s);
(2) Names and telephone numbers of three (3) additional
persons who will respond in the event of alarm activation in the
absence of the alarm user and said persons will provide access to
premise and be able to deactivate alarm, or said persons will
provide information on who to contact for access;
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(3) The electrical inspection permit number;
(4) Name of the alarm business responsible for regular
maintenance and that company's electrical contractor's license
number;
(5) The information required in paragraphs 3 and 4 of
this subsection shall not apply to alarms which are installed by
the homeowner /tenant;
(6) The information required in paragraph 3 of this
subsection shall not apply to (a) existing alarms or (b) alarms
which are installed in multiple- tenant buildings.
E. Failure to complete the required information will result
in automatic denial of the registration.
F. Each registration shall be given a number which shall not
be transferable.
G. Completed applications for an alarm user's registration
and a fee as set forth in the Fee Resolution shall be filed with
the City Clerk's Office, except that no fee shall be charged for
alarms installed prior to enactment of this chapter if a
registration application for such existing alarm system is filed
within ninety (90) days after enactment of this chapter.
H. A penalty fee as set forth in the Fee Resolution will be
charged, in addition to the fee provided in subsection (G), to a
user who fails to obtain a registration within 30 days after the
system becomes operative, or to a current user who fails to obtain
a registration.
I. Registration fees shall be payable to the City of Federal
Way and deposited into the City's General Fund to be used
exclusively for the direct or indirect support of law enforcement
activities.
J. Any person who owns, operates, or possesses any alarm
system within the City of Federal Way, which does not conform to
the requirements of this chapter, shall disconnect that alarm and
render it inoperable or alter it in accordance with this chapter no
later than July 31, 1994.
K. If a residential alarm user is over the age of 62, or is
an economically disadvantaged person and is a resident of the
residence, and if no business is conducted in the residence, a
registration may be obtained from the City Clerk according to
Section 2 (D) without the payment of a fee.
L. The following shall be required to obtain a registration
under this article, but shall not be required to pay any fee:
(1) Business which are nonprofit organizations, including
but not limited to religious, civic, charitable, benevolent,
nonprofit, cultural, governmental or youth organizations.
M. Alarm user shall notify police department, within ten
(10) days, of any change of information from that contained on the
registration application.
SECTION 3. SERVICE CHARGES FOR EXCESSIVE FALSE ALARMS
A. Service charges will be assessed by the City Clerk for
excessive false alarms during the registration year as follows:
Fourth and Fifth
False Alarms...... Fee Set forth in Fee Resolution
Sixth and Additional
False Alarms...... Fee Set forth in Fee Resolution
B. The City Clerk shall notify the alarm user and the alarm
business by regular mail of the fourth false alarm, the fine and
the consequences of the failure to pay the fine. The City Clerk
shall also inform the alarm user of the right to appeal the
validity of the false alarm determination, as provided in Section
10. If the service charge has not been received in the City
Clerk's Office within sixty (60) days from the day the notice of
service charge was mailed by the City Clerk's Office, and there is
no appeal pending on the validity of the false alarm, the City
Clerk shall send the notice of service charge by certified mail
along with a notice of late fee as set forth in Fee Resolution. If
payment is not received within ten (10) days of the day the notice
of late fee was mailed, the Police Chief may initiate the no
response process and enforcement of penalties.
SECTION 4. NO RESPONSE TO EXCESSIVE FALSE ALARMS.
A. After the sixth false alarm in a registration year, the
City Clerk shall send a notification to the alarm user by mail,
which will contain the following:
(1) that the 6th false alarm has occurred;
(2 ) that if any additional false alarms occur within the
remainder of the registration year, the police may not respond to
any subsequent alarms without the approval of the Police Chief and
the Alarm User Registration can be revoked.
(3) that the approval of the Police Chief can only be
obtained by applying in writing for reinstatement. The Police
Chief may reinstate the alarm user upon a finding that reasonable
effort has been made to correct the false alarms which includes
consideration of a, letter from user's alarm company, duly
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registered to do business in the City of Federal Way, which states
the alarm system is operating properly and the alarm user's)'
agents are properly trained in the alarm system operation. The
City of Federal Way shall not be responsible for any costs incurred
by the user to qualify for reinstatement.
(4) that reinstated users will be billed for any false
alarm responses after reinstatement, and will be subject to further
revocation after any more false alarm responses during the
remainder of the registration year. Registrations will not be
reinstated if there are any outstanding fees or service charges
due.
(5) that the alarm user has the right to contest the
validity of a false alarm determination through a False Alarm
Validity Hearing as set forth in Section 9 of this Chapter.
B. After the 6th false alarm within a registration year,
there may be no police response to subsequent alarms without
approval of the Police Chief. If police response is suspended, the
Police Chief shall send a notification of the suspension to:
(1) The Department's Communications Center;
(2) The Department;
(3) The alarm user by certified mail; and
(4) The persons listed on the alarm user's registration
who are to be contacted in case of an emergency, by
certified mail.
C. The suspension of police response to an alarm shall begin
ten (10) days after the date of delivery of the notice of
suspension of service to the alarm user unless a written request
for a False Alarm Validity Hearing has been made in the required
time period as set forth in Section 9 of this chapter. .
SECTION 5. ADDITIONAL DUTIES OF ALARM USER.
A. The premises shall display the registration decal at or
near the main entrance, which shall be clearly visible and readable
from the exterior of the premises.
B. The premises shall display the street address at or near
the front of the premises and at other places where access is
available, such as from an alley or parking lot. The street
address shall be clearly visible and readable from the exterior of
the premises.
C. If requested to do so by the Department, the alarm user
or his or'her designee shall respond to a premises following
activation of an alarm system for which a registration has been
issued within a reasonable time, and in any event, within one (1)
hour after said notification.
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SECTION 6. ALARM BUSINESS DUTIES
A. Every alarm system monitoring company engaging in
business activities in the City of Federal Way shall:
(1) Be registered to do business in the City of Federal
Way;
(2) Submit standard user form instructions to the Police
Chief. If the Police Chief finds the instructions are incomplete,
unclear, or in adequate, the Police Chief may require the alarm
business to revise the instructions to comply with Section 6 (A) (4 )
and then to distribute the revised instructions to its alarm users.
(3) Provide the Police Chief information about the
nature of its property alarms, burglary alarms, robbery alarms and
panic alarms; its method of monitoring; its program for preventing
false alarms, and its method of disconnecting audible alarms.
(4) Furnish the user with instructions that provide
information to enable the user to operate the alarm system properly
and information on how to obtain service for the alarm system at
any time. The alarm business shall also inform each alarm user of
the requirement to obtain a registration and where it can be
obtained.
(5) Establish a process for alarm verification. The
verification process shall not take more than five (5) minutes,
calculated from the time that the alarm signal has been accepted by
the alarm business monitoring the system, until a decision is made
whether to call for a police dispatch. The means of verification
may include one or more of the following:
(a) The establishment of voice communication with
an authorized person at or near the premises who may indicate
whether or not need for immediate police assistance or
investigation exists;
(b) A feature that permits the alarm system user or
a person authorized by the user to send a special signal to the
alarm system monitoring company that will cancel an alarm
immediately after it has been sent and prevent the monitoring
company calling for a police dispatch;
(c) The installation of a video system that
provides the alarm system monitoring company when the signal is
received with the ability to ascertain that activity is occurring
which warrants immediate police assistance or investigation;
(d) A confirmation that a signal reflects a need
for immediate police assistance or investigation either by the
alarm system user, or a person at or near the premises before
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dispatching police; or
(e) An alternate system that the Police Chief
determines has, or is likely to have, a high degree of reliability.
6. Coordinate with the Department's Communication
Center to develop a process to cancel an alarm dispatch that is
consistent with the Communication Center's standard operating
procedures.
7. Provide the Department's Communication Center when
requesting an alarm response with the registration number for that
premise, and the Department need not respond if the registration
number if not provided.
7. NON- PERMITTED SYSTEM AND USES.
A. No person shall operate or use an alarm system which
emits an audible sound where such emission does not automatically
cease within fifteen (15) minutes. Nothing in this section shall
limit the duration of a fire or other evacuation alarm during a
bona fide emergency when the sound may assist in saving life or
avoiding injury.
B. No person shall use an alarm system to protect more than
one (1) business and /or private residence without receiving a
separate registration for each business and /or private residence to
be protected.
C. No person shall operate or use any alarm system for which
the registration has been revoked.
D. No person shall operate or use any alarm system which
automatically dials the Department directly and delivers a pre-
recorded message.
SECTION 8. SPECIAL REGISTRATIONS
A. An alarm user required by federal, state, county or
municipal law, regulation, rule or ordinance to install, maintain
and operate an alarm system shall be subject to the alarm system
regulations, provided:
(1) A registration shall be designated a Special Alarm
User's Registration.
(2) A Special Alarm User's Registration for a system
that has five false alarms in a registration year shall not be
subject to the no response procedure and shall pay the penalty fees
and service charges.
B. An alarm user that is a governmental political unit shall
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be subject to this chapter; but a registration shall be issued
without payment of a fee and shall not be subject to service
charges or the imposition of any penalty provided herein.
SECTION 9. ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING
A. An alarm user may appeal the validity of a false alarm
determination to the Police Chief. The appeal shall be in writing
and shall be requested within ten (10) days of the notice of
penalty received from the City Clerk's Office. Failure to contest
the false alarm determination in the required time period results
in a conclusive presumption for all purposes 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 Police
Chief, by Certified Mail, at least ten (10) days prior to the date
set for the hearing, which shall not be more than twenty -one (21)
nor less than ten (10) days after the filing of the request for
hearing.
C. The hearing shall be before the Police Chief. The Police
Chief may appoint another person to be an Administrative Hearing
Officer to hear the appeals and to render judgment. The alarm user
and the Police Chief shall have the right to present written and
oral evidence. If the Police Chief determines that the false
alarms alleged have occurred in a registration year, the Police
Chief may issue written findings waiving, expunging or entering a
false alarm designation on an alarm user's record. If false alarm
designations are entered on the alarm user's record, the City Clerk
shall pursue the collection of the penalty fines. If the civil
penalty is not found to be proper, then the alarm user shall bear
no costs.
D. If a hearing is canceled more than ten (10) days after
its request, then a cancellation fee as set forth in the Fee
Resolution must be paid in addition to the amount of the civil
infraction.
E. In accordance with RCW 46.55.240(1)(d), a decision made
by an administrative Hearing Officer may be appealed to the King
County District Court for final judgment.
SECTION 10. VIOLATIONS /PENALTIES.
A. In addition to the penalties and regulations provided
herein, who violates any provisions of this chapter shall be found
to have committed a Class I civil infraction.
SECTION 11. SEVERABILITY.
A. If any provision of this chapter or its application to
any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the
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chapter or the application of the provision to other persons or
circumstances is not affected.
SECTION 12. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This ordinance shall be effective thirty (30) days after
passage and publication as provided by law.
PASSED by the City Council of the City of Federal Way this 9th
day of November, 1993.
FILED WITH THE CITY CLERK: 10/19/93
PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL: 11/09/93
PUBLISHED: 11/13/93
EFFECTIVE DATE: 12/09/93
ORDINANCE NO.: 93 -193
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CITY OF FEDERAL WAY