§ 54-121. Definitions.

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

Alarm administrator means a person designated by the governing authority to administer, control and review false alarm reduction efforts and administers the provisions of this article.

Alarm dispatch request means a notification to the city that an alarm has been activated at a particular alarm site and that city emergency service is requested.

Alarm installation company means a person in the business of selling, providing, maintaining, servicing, repairing, altering, replacing, moving or installing an alarm system in an alarm site.

Alarm permit means authorization granted by the alarm administrator to an alarm user to operate an alarm system.

Alarm permit application means the written application for an alarm permit filed by an alarm user with the alarm administrator.

Alarm site means a single fixed premises or location served by an alarm system or systems. Each unit, if served by a separate alarm system in a multi-unit building or complex, shall be considered a separate alarm site, and is further defined by the following categories:

Commercial site means every premises or location where any business activity is regularly conducted and which is served by an alarm system. Each unit of a business premises or business location, if served by a separate alarm system in a multi-unit building or complex, shall be considered a separate commercial alarm system site.

Educational/government site means every premises or location of a public or private school or school administrative office and every premises or location of any federal, state, county or municipal governmental office.

Financial site means every premises or location of a financial institution which is required to have an alarm system pursuant to the Bank Protection Act of 1968 (12 USC 1882).

Residential site means a single-family residence and each residential unit of a multi-unit building or complex which is served by an alarm system.

Alarm system means a device or system that transmits a signal intended to summon a city emergency service response. The term "alarm system" includes an alarm that emits an audible signal on the exterior of a structure. The term "alarm system" does not include an alarm installed on a vehicle, unless the vehicle is used for a habitation at a permanent site, or an alarm designed to alert only the inhabitants within the premises.

Alarm user means any person who owns or operates an alarm system at an alarm site.

Arming station means a device that allows control of an alarm system.

Automatic voice dialer means any electrical, electronic, mechanical, or other device capable of being programmed to send a prerecorded voice message, when activated, over a telephone line, radio or other communication system, to a city emergency service requesting dispatch.

Cancellation means the process where response is terminated when a monitoring company (designated by the alarm user) for the alarm site notifies the responding city emergency service that there is not an existing situation at the alarm site requiring a response after an alarm dispatch request.

City emergency service means any emergency service provided by the city, including police, fire, and emergency medical services.

Duress alarm means a silent alarm system signal generated by the entry of a designated code into an arming station in order to signal that the alarm user is being forced to turn off the system and requires law enforcement response.

False alarm means an alarm dispatch request that has generated a city emergency service response, which is canceled, or when no emergency condition is found at the alarm site. A false alarm shall not be considered to have occurred unless a response is made by an agency of the city within 30 minutes of the alarm notification and the agency determines from an inspection of the interior or exterior of the premises that the alarm was false.

Holdup alarm means a silent alarm signal generated by the manual activation of a device intended to signal a robbery in progress.

Local alarm system means any alarm system, which is not monitored, that emits an audible alarm only at the alarm site.

Monitoring means the process by which a monitoring company receives signals from an alarm system and relays an alarm dispatch request to the municipality for the purpose of summoning city emergency services to the alarm site.

Monitoring company means a person in the business of providing monitoring services.

Panic alarm means an audible alarm system signal generated by the manual activation of a device intended to signal a life threatening or emergency situation requiring emergency response.

Responder means an individual capable of reaching the alarm site within 30 minutes and having access to the alarm site, the code to the alarm system and the authority to approve repairs to the alarm system.

SIA Control Panel Standard CP-01 means the ANSI - American National Standard Institute approved Security Industry Association - SIA CP-01 Control Panel Standard, as may be updated from time to time, that details recommended design features for security system control panels and their associated arming and disarming devices to reduce the incidence of false alarms. Control panels built and tested to this standard by Underwriters Laboratory (UL), or other nationally recognized testing organizations, will be marked to state: "Design evaluated in accordance with SIA CP-01 Control Panel Standard Features for False Alarm Reduction."

Transfer means the transaction or process by which an alarm user takes over control of an existing alarm system, which was previously controlled by another alarm user.

Verify means an attempt by the monitoring company, or its representative, to contact the alarm site and/or alarm user by telephone and/or other electronic means, whether or not actual contact with a person is made, to determine whether an alarm signal is valid before requesting city emergency service dispatch, in an attempt to avoid an unnecessary alarm dispatch request. For the purpose of this article, telephone verification shall require, as a minimum, that a second call be made to a different number if the first attempt fails to reach an alarm user who can properly identify themselves to determine whether an alarm signal is valid before requesting an emergency response.

Zones means division of devices into which an alarm system is divided to indicate the general location from which an alarm system signal is transmitted.

(Code 2005, § 54-121; Ord. No. 2008-36, § 1, 10-20-2008)