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HomeMy WebLinkAbout418_Amend Part 10 Ch 3_Restrictions of False Alarm SystemsBOOK 5285 PAGE 2615 942003 ORDINANCE NUMBER 418 CITY OF OWASSO, OKLAHOMA AN ORDINANCE AMENDING PART 10-- OFFENSES AND CRIMES, CHAPTER 3 -- OFFENSES AGAINST THE PUBLIC, SECTION 10- 312 -- NOISES, RELATING TO REGULATION OF SECURITY ALARM SYSTEMS IN TERMS OF LIMITATION OF DURATION OF EMISSION BY LOUD SPEAKER OF NOISE AS WELL AS REGULATION OF EMISSION OF FALSE ALARMS, DIRECTING CODIFICATION, DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF OWASSO, OKLAHOMA, THAT: Section One: That Part 10-- Offenses and Crimes, Chapter 3-- Offenses Against the Public, Section 10- 312 -- Noises be, and same hereby is amended to provide, as follows, to -wit: 1. The residential, commercial or industrial use or operation of any security alarm system which emits by loud speaker a noise of a duration of five (5) minutes or longer; 2. The residential, commercial or industrial use or operation of any security alarm system which by reason of inadequate or improper design or installation or the malfunction of said security alarm system, emits by loud speaker a noise or transmits by silent alarm, under cir- cumstances of same constituting a false alarm, on more than three (3) occasions per calendar month. Section Two: That the foregoing provisions shall be codified in the Code of Ordinances of the City of Owasso, Oklahoma, under Section 10- 312(13) and 10- 312(14) respectively. Section Three: That effect thirty (30) days provided by state law. Dated this 7th day of August, 1990. this ordinance shall, upon passage, take from the date of first publication as of 1990. CITY OF OWASSO, OKLAHOMA By: Mark Thompson, Mayor BOOK 5285 PAGE 2616 Affidavit norna. August 16, 1990. STATE OF OKLAHOMA, TULSA COQ. NTY, ss: ORDINANCE NUMBER 41S CITY OF OWASSO, OKLAHOMA AN ORDINANCE AMENDING -' Bill R. Retherford, of lawful age, being deity sworn PART 10 -- OFFENSES AND CRIMES, CHAPTER '3 -- OFFENSES AGAINST THE and authorized, says that he is the publisher of the N.OISES SR ELIAOTI NG TO OWASSO REPORTER a weekly REGULATION OF SECURITY ALARM SYSTEMS IN newspaper ite e Oita of TERMS OF LIMITATION OF DURATION OF EMISSION OF TULSA NOISE AS WELL AS EGUF OF EMISSION OF Tidsa County, Oklahoma, a newspaper qualified to FALSE ALARMS, DIRECT- f NG CODIFICATION, DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE' publish legal notices, advertisements and publications as DATE. NOW THEREFORE, BE IT provided lei Section 206 of Title 25, Oklahoma Statutes 1971 ORDAINED THE OFT EaCITY OF�OWASSSO, OKLAHOMA, THAT: and 1983 as annended, and thereafter, and complies with Section One: That Part 10 Offenses and Crimes, Chapter 3 Offenses Against the Public, Sec all other requirements of the lags of Oklahoma with tion 10- 312 -- Noises be, and same hereby is amended to provide, as follows, to -wft: reference to legal pia"f,heations. of ary security alarm system which emits That said notice, a true copy of which is attached by loud speaker a noise of a dura- tion of five (5).. minutes or longer; hereto, was published in the regular edition of said Z The residential, commercial or " industrial use or operation of any security alarm system which by rea- newspaper during the period and time of publication and son of inadequate or improper design or installation or the mal- function of said security alarm sys- not in a supplement, on the following dates: tem, emits by loud speaker a noise or transmits by silent alarm, under circumstances of same constituting false alarm, on more than three occasions per calendar month. Section Two: That the foregoing shall be in the provisions codified code of Ordinances of the City of Owasso, Oklahoma, under Section 3i and 10-312'(14) Subscribed, sworn to before me" this espectvely 1990 Section Three: That this ordi- nance shall, upon passage, take effect thirty (30) days from the date of first, publication as provided by state law. Dated this 7th day of August Notary Piihltc 990. Mark Thomson, 994 Mayon ATTEST: Jane Buchanan City clerk APPROVED AS TO FORM: Ronald D. Cates, City Attorney 10 TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL CITY OF OWASSO FROM: RODNEY J RAY SUBJECT: ORDINANCE #418 - REGULATING FALSE ALARMS AND SILENT ALARMS DATE: AUGUST 31 1990 BACKGROUND: The city hall staff and Police Department dispatchers have received numerous complaints over the past several months relating to false emergency alarms. Most of the complaints related to the unusually loud and long- sounding alarm devices that are located on the outside of businesses. These alarms are designed to be very loud and to ring for extended periods of time without automatic shutdown devices. The reason for the complaints is that on many occasions these alarms are sounded in the late evening triggered by severe weather conditions or by human error when employees fail to shut down the system and as a result activate the alarm. Generally, most of the problems occur in the late evening or on weekends when there is usually no one the police can reach to have the alarm turned off. In the meantime, the residents of the surrounding neighborhoods are bombarded with the constant noise of the alarm and Police Department is besieged with phone calls. This nuisance has caused many of the residential areas continuous problems over the past years. There are documented instances that show these alarms being accidently activated on as many as four occasions in one night. A second problem is less noisy, but much more dangerous. it relates to false silent alarms from businesses. Our Police Department is experiencing an excessive number of these false "hijack" alarms. That is an alarm that is designed to be activated by the deliberate action of an employee in order to alert the police (by silent alarm) that a robbery is in progress. The action that triggers this type of alarm is usually connected to a special dollar bill being removed from the cash drawer. In many cases the employee will forget about the device and remove the bill, thus activating the alarm. The result is the eventual arrival of several police officers who must act on the assumption that there is a distinct possibility of danger to the public and to themselves. These officers have also driven to the scene of the alarm at a high rate of speed and therefore increase the risk of endangering their lives and the lives of innocent citizens. There is also a secondary problem with these types of false alarms. After several false calls the officers tend to become less wary in their approach. Such laxness can easily cause the officer to be in great danger. ORDINANCE #418, FALSE ALARMS AUGUST 3, 1990 PAGE TWO After meeting with the Police Chief, the Fire Chief, and City Attorney, it was determined that the community did have a problem and that the problem needed to be addressed. Subsequently, we conducted several meetings to discuss the options available to solve the problem. The decision of the group was that an ordinance requiring an automatic cutoff on all outside alarms within five minutes of their activation, and initiating a fine for false alarms of all types after the third occurrence in any month was the proper response to the problem. Mr. Cates has written an ordinance ( #418) that would implement the recommended actions. The staff has reviewed the proposed ordinance and agrees that it is the proper approach to the problem. The proposed ordinance is attached for your consideration and action. In an effort to ensure that we have covered all the affected parties we have sent a copy of the proposal to the Owasso Chamber of Commerce for notice to businesses. This notice was contained in the most recent Chamber Newsletter. There has also been a published news article in the "Owasso Reporter" alerting readers that the Council would receive this recommendation from the staff. To this point we have received no calls or questions relating to the issue or to the remedy provided by the proposed ordinance. I recommend Council adoption of ordinance #418, and that the Mayor be authorized to execute such ordinance and cause its publication. 1. Correspondence from the City Attorney 2. Ordinance #418 3. Memorandum from Chief Motto dated May 21, 1990 MEMORANDUM TO: City Manager Rodney Ray FROM: Chief C. R. Motto SUBJECT: False Alarm Ordinance DATE: May 21, 1990 In response to your memorandum dated 5/18/90 concerning a possible ordinance change relating to false alarms, I have researched the police records for the first four months of 1990. During the months of January through April 1990 there were 110 false alarm calls responded to by officers of this police department. Of these 110 false alarms, 95 were at local businesses and 15 were from residences. False alarm calls are a problem for the department as it can tie up police personnel anywhere from fifteen to forty -five minutes. A main concern is that most of these alarms are from the same establishment. An officer responding to the same alarm call time and time again does indeed tend to be lax in his tactical approach which could lead to his safety being placed in jeopardy in the event the alarm is found not to be false. Although I believe some type of "false alarm ordinance" would not be popular with our business establishments, I would look forward to an ordinance that would help alleviate this problem situation. Clifford R. Motto Chief of Police CRM /ah CC: File June 26, 1990 Mr. Rodney J. Ray City Manager City of Owasso 207 South Cedar Owasso, Oklahoma 74055 Re: Security Alarm System Ordinance Dear Mr. Ray: Pursuant to your request, I enclose herewith a proposed ordinance relating to regulation of security alarm systems within the City of Owasso, Oklahoma. If such meets with your approval, as well as that of the Chiefs of Police and Fire - Department, please advise and I will accordingly transmit a f' copy for placement on the City Council's agenda. truly yours, Ren ld D. Cates City Attorney RDC /jek Enclosure cc: Clifford R. Motto, Chief of Police Bob Allen, Fire Chief 06260.008 CATES & COBB. P.A. AN ASSOCIATION OF INDEPENDENT RONALD D. CATES ATTORNEYS AND COUNSELORS AT LAW OFCOUNSEL JANE ANN COBB SUITE 109 EXECUTIVE CENTER ELLIOTT H. HOWE 12620 E. 86> ST. N. OWASSO. OKLAHOMA 74066 918/272 -9592 - June 26, 1990 Mr. Rodney J. Ray City Manager City of Owasso 207 South Cedar Owasso, Oklahoma 74055 Re: Security Alarm System Ordinance Dear Mr. Ray: Pursuant to your request, I enclose herewith a proposed ordinance relating to regulation of security alarm systems within the City of Owasso, Oklahoma. If such meets with your approval, as well as that of the Chiefs of Police and Fire - Department, please advise and I will accordingly transmit a f' copy for placement on the City Council's agenda. truly yours, Ren ld D. Cates City Attorney RDC /jek Enclosure cc: Clifford R. Motto, Chief of Police Bob Allen, Fire Chief 06260.008