Ordinance No. 7,700Published in The Baytown Sun:
Tuesday, May 28, 1996, and
Wednesday, May 29, 1996.
ORDINANCE NO. 7700
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AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE CODE OF ORDINANCES BY ADDING
CHAPTER 3 %:, "ALARMS," TO THE CODE OF ORDINANCES, REQUIRING
A PERMIT FOR ALARM SYSTEMS AND PROVIDING A SERVICE CHARGE
FOR RESPONSE TO FALSE ALARMS; PROVIDING A REPEALING CLAUSE;
CONTAINING A SAVINGS CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING FOR THE
PUBLICATION AND EFFECTIVE DATE THEREOF.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN, TEXAS:
Section 1: That the Code of Ordinances, City of Baytown, Texas, is hereby amended by
adding a Chapter, to be numbered Chapter 3' /Z "Alarms," which said Chapter shall read as follows:
CHAPTER 3
ALARMS
Sec. 3 '' /z -1. Definitions.
(a) "Alarm site" means a single premise or location with one street address served by an
alarm system or systems that are under the control of one or more owners or lessees.
Alarm site includes all residential and commercial locations served by an alarm
system or systems.
(b) "Alarm system" means a device or assembly of equipment that emits, transmits, or
relays a signal intended to summon, or that would reasonably be expected to
summon, police and/or fire services of the City of Baytown.
Alarm system does not include:
(1) an alarm system installed on a motor vehicle;
(2) an alarm system installed upon the premises occupied by the United States
Government, the State of Texas, the City of Baytown, or any county
government or school districts situated within the corporate limits of the City;
(3) an alarm designed to alert only the inhabitants of a premise which does not
emit a signal audible or visible from the exterior of a structure; or
(4) a Varda alarm.
(c) "Alarm system user" means the owner, agent, lessee or person in control of the
property on which an alarm system or systems is maintained within the corporate
limits of the City of Baytown.
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(d) "False alarm notification' means notification intended to summon police or fire
personnel which is transmitted or relayed to the Public Safety Communications
Center of the City of Baytown when the police personnel respond within thirty (30)
minutes of alarm notification and find no evidence of an attempted or actual
unauthorized intrusion burglary, robbery, theft, hostage taking, or fire.
False alarm notification does not include:
(1) any activation of an alarm system which is caused by hurricanes, tornadoes,
lightning, earthquakes or gale force winds or higher; or
(2) any activation of an alarm system to which the response by the police
department is canceled by either the alarm system user or their authorized
agent prior to the arrival of responding police personnel at the alarm site.
(e) "Permit" means a certificate of authorization issued by the City of Baytown to the
owner, agent, or person in control of the property which authorizes the operation of
an alarm system or systems at an alarm site.
(f) "Permit holder" means any individual, corporation, partnership, association,
organization or similar entity to whom an alarm system permit is issued.
(g) "Person" means any individual, corporation, partnership, association, organization
or similar entity.
Sec. 3 %s -2. Permit Required.
It shall be unlawful for any person to operate, cause to be operated, or allow to be operated
an alarm system or systems at an alarm site unless a valid permit has been issued by the City of
Baytown. Alarm sites in existence before the effective date of this article must be permitted within
ninety (90) days of the effective date of this article.
An alarm system user or his agent shall obtain a permit for each alarm site.
Sec. 3 '' /z -3. Permit Application.
Application for a permit for the operation of an alarm system shall be made with the City
Clerk by the owner, agent, lessee or person having control over the property on which the alarm
system will be installed and operated. Application shall be made in writing by a person at least
eighteen (18) years of age, on a form designated by the City. The application shall include at least
the following information:
(a) the name, address, and telephone number of the owner, agent, lessee or person in
control of the property to be protected;
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(b) the address of the alarm site, and whether it is residential or commercial, including
the name of all businesses operating at the site;
(c) the name, address and telephone number of the alarm protective service or person
who will install and/or monitor the alarm system;
(d) the business and residence addresses and telephone numbers of the primary person
designated to respond to an alarm site when requested by the City of Baytown police
or fire personnel, and at least one other contact person.
Sec. 3 %2 -4. Permit Issuance and Renewal.
A permit is issued for one (1) year and is renewable annually.
It is the responsibility of the permit holder to submit an application for renewal at least ten
(10) days prior to the permit expiration date. The City will not issue a permit if it determines there
is a false statement of a material matter in the application. A permit cannot be transferred to another
person.
Sec. 3 i /2 -5. Permit Revocation.
The Chief of Police or Fire Chief may revoke an alarm system permit if he determines that:
(a) there is false statement of a material matter in the application;
(b) the permit holder has violated this chapter or any of its provisions; or
(d) the permit holder has failed to pay a service fee assessed under this article within
thirty (30) days of receipt of false alarm notification.
It shall be unlawful for any person to operate an alarm system during the period in which his
alarm permit is revoked.
Sec. 3 %2 -6. Operation and Maintenance of an Alarm System.
A permit holder or person in control of an alarm system shall respond or cause a
representative to respond within a reasonable period of time, not to exceed thirty (30) minutes when
requested by the City of Baytown police or fire personnel to repair or inactivate a malfunctioning
alarm system, to provide access to the premises or to provide security for the premises.
A permit holder or person in control of an alarm system shall adjust the mechanism or cause
the mechanism to be adjusted so that an alarm signal will sound for no longer than thirty (30)
minutes after being activated. If an alarm system sounds a broadcast signal for longer than thirty
(30) minutes after being activated, police or fire personnel may disable the alarm and costs to the
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rN City associated with disabling the alarm system shall be assessed to the person required to have a
permit and shall be paid to the City within thirty (30) days after notification that costs have been
assessed. Application for a permit constitutes a grant of approval to said city to disable the alarm
as provided herein.
A permit holder or person in control of an alarm system that causes an alarm notification to
be sent to the City of Baytown Public Safety Communications Center shall adjust the mechanism
or cause the mechanism to be adjusted so that upon activation the system will not transmit another
alarm signal without first being manually reset.
Sec. 3 %s -7. Service fee.
A person who is required to obtain a permit shall pay a service fee within thirty (30) days of
receipt of each false alarm notification emitted from an alarm site. The service fee is Fifty Dollars
($50) for each police or fire response to a false alarm notification after the fifth (5th) false alarm
notification in any twelve (12) month period. A service fee will not be assessed if the permit holder
or person who is required to obtain a permit shows to the police or fire chief or his designee within
ten (10) calendar days of the false alarm notification that the activation was not a false alarm and the
burden is on the permit holder or person who is required to obtain a permit that the activation of the
alarm system was not a false alarm.
Sec. 3 '/2 -8. Appeal from denial or revocation of permit.
The applicant or permit holder may appeal the decision to deny or revoke a permit by filing
with the City Clerk a written request for a hearing, setting forth the reasons for the appeal, within
ten (10) calendar days after notice of the decision to deny or revoke a permit. The appeal shall be
heard by the City Manager, or his designee, whose decision shall be final.
Section 2: All ordinances or parts of ordinances inconsistent with the terms of this ordinance
are hereby repealed; provided, however, that such repeal shall be only to the extent of such
inconsistency and in all other respects this ordinance shall be cumulative of other ordinances
regulating and governing the subject matter covered by this ordinance.
Section 3: If any provisions, section, exception, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause or
phrase of this ordinance or the application of same to any person or set of circumstances, shall for
any reason be held unconstitutional, void or invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the validity of
the remaining provisions of this ordinance or their application to other persons or sets of
circumstances and to this end all provisions of this ordinance are declared to be severable.
Section 4: This ordinance shall take effect from and after ten (10) days from its passage by
the City Council. The City Clerk is hereby directed to give notice hereof by causing the caption of
this ordinance to be published in the official newspaper of the City of Baytown at least twice within
ten (10) days after passage of this ordinance.
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INTRODUCED, READ and PASSED by the affirmative vote of the City Council of the City
of Baytown this the 23rd day of May, 1996.
ATTEST:
EILEEN P. HALL, City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
JQ(qACI0 RAMIREZ, SU S . City Attorney
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PETE C. ALFAR , Mayor