VILLAGE OF TAOS SKI VALLEY
ORDINANCE 98-29
AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR THE REGULATION OF ALARM SYSTEMS, DEFINING VARIOUS TERMS, PROHIBITING CERTAIN EQUIPMENT AND REQUIRING OTHER EQUIPMENT, SETTING TIME LIMITS, ESTABLISHING AN ALARM USER PERMIT, EMERGENCY RESPONSE INFORMATION FOR ALARMS, ESTABLISHING PENALTIES FOR FALSE ALARMS, SETTING PENALTIES FOR OTHER VIOLATIONS, PROVIDING FOR A GRACE PERIOD FOR CONFORMANCE WITH, PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
Statement of Purpose
WHEREAS, the Village of Taos Ski Valley declares the response to false alarms to be an unnecessary and inefficient use of the limited manpower and other resources of the Village of Taos Ski Valley. The purpose of this ordinance is to promote more effective, and efficient law enforcement service, fire prevention service and other emergency service to the public through the reduction of the number of responses to false alarms.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE VILLAGE OF TAOS SKI VALLEY, NEW MEXICO, THAT:
Section 1. AUTHORITY- This Ordinance is enacted pursuant to authority granted to the Village of Taos Ski Valley Village Council by §3-18-1 NMSA 1978.
Section 2. DEFINITIONS. In construing the provisions of this ordinance, except where otherwise plainly declared or clearly apparent from the context, the following definitions shall apply:
1. "ALARM SERVICE COMPANY” shall mean any business, partnership or corporation which installs and supplies an alarm system and/or acts as an intermediary for contacting law enforcement service, fire prevention service and other emergency service when an alarm is sounded.
2. “ALARM MONITORING COMPANY” shall mean any privately owned business, partnership or corporation which acts as an intermediary for contacting law enforcement service, fire prevention service and other emergency service when an alarm is sounded.
3. “ALARM SYSTEM" shall mean any assembly of equipment, mechanical or electrical designed to alert law enforcement, fire departments or other emergency agencies, the public, or any person, of an emergency at a particular or given location.
4. "ALARM USER" shall mean any person, business or other entity, which owns, or has control over any building, structure, or facility where an alarm system is maintained.
5. "AUTHORIZED SERVICE PERSONNEL" shall mean those persons who by reason of their experience, training, or occupation, can demonstrate to the Marshal that they are qualified to inspect and repair alarm systems.
6. "FALSE ALARM" shall mean the intentional or unintentional activation of any alarm system that elicits a response from the Village of Taos Ski Valley Public Safety Department when no criminal act has been committed or attempted, no fire is present or no other emergency situation exists. The causes of false alarms include, but are not limited to, the following: equipment malfunction, improper installation or maintenance of equipment, human error or negligence, or any cause other than the actual existence of an emergency situation.
Section 3. PROHIBITED EQUIPMENT Alarm systems designed to alert any agency of an emergency by providing unattended automatic dialing to any agency or any emergency response (911) system for the purpose of transmitting a pre-programmed signal, message or code shall be prohibited.
Section 4. REQUIRED EQUIPMENT. All alarm systems shall have a standby backup power source which will automatically assume the operation of the alarm system should any interruption occur in power to the system. The transfer of power from the primary source to the backup source must occur in a manner that does not activate the alarm.
Section 5. AUDIBLE ALARM - TIME LIMIT. It shall be unlawful to operate an audible alarm system which does not shut off within a maximum of fifteen (15) minutes from the time of activation. Shut off may be accomplished either with an automatic cut off or by manual operation. If the alarm system has an automatic cut off with a re-arming phase, the re-arming phase must be able to distinguish between an open and closed circuit, and if the circuit is broken, the system will not re-arm.
Section 6. ALARM USER PERMIT REQUIRED.
1. No person or business shall establish or maintain an alarm system unless a current Alarm User Permit has been obtained from the Village offices. This requirement shall be the responsibility of the owner of the property unless the occupant of the property is different from the owner, in which case it shall be the responsibility of both.
2. If an alarm user has more then one alarm system protecting two or more separate structures having different addresses, a separate permit shall be required for each structure. All addresses (i.e., physical location) shall be stated on the Alarm User Permit application.
3. No posting of the Alarm User Permit or the posting of any other evidence or registration shall be required.
Section 7. APPLICATION FOR ALARM USER PERMIT
1. Application for Alarm User Permits shall be on forms provided by the Village. The application shall include the name, mailing address, physical address, and telephone numbers, including both home and business phone numbers, of the applicant and , if the applicant is not the property owner, the name, mailing address, and telephone numbers of the property owner. Also the telephone numbers of any key holders authorized by the applicant or property owner to enter the premises in the event of an activated alarm shall be listed on the application.
2. The telephone number of the Alarm Monitoring Company shall be listed on the application.
3. Each application, which pertains to a residence, building, structure, or facility which employs more than three (3) persons, shall provide at least one other name and telephone number of a person to be contacted in case of emergency when the user is unavailable.
4. Each holder of an Alarm User Permit shall, within ten (10) days of any change of the information on the Alarm User Permit application, shall notify the Village Clerk of any and all changes in the information on the application.
5. Each application shall contain an agreement to submit to the assessment schedule given in paragraph 6 below. Failure to agree to this provision shall be cause to deny issuance of an Alarm User Permit.
6. All Alarm User Permits shall be charged an annual fee of ten dollars ($10.00) per calendar year.
7. The information contained in an Alarm User Permit application shall be securely maintained and restricted to inspection only by authorized representatives of the Village, including, but not limited to, the Marshal, and the Fire Chief, Village Administrator, Village Attorney, Village Clerk, and/or Village Code Enforcement Officer, should one be appointed by the Village.
Section 8. RENEWAL.
1. Each Alarm User Permit, issued by the Village Clerk shall be issued on a calendar year basis.
2. Each permit holder shall obtain, from the Village Clerk, a renewal form not less than thirty (30) days before the expiration of the Alarm User Permit.
3. Renewal of an Alarm User Permit shall be accomplished by completing and signing the renewal form and returning it to the Village Clerk with the appropriate fee (s) prior to the expiration of such permit. The signature shall certify the accuracy of the information and shall be signed by the alarm system user or any person listed on the application currently on the application.
4. All Alarm User Permits shall be valid from the date of issuance though December 31 of the calendar year in which they are issued.
5. The fee for renewal shall be the amounts specified in Section 7.6.
above.
6. Failure to renew a permit prior to January 10 in any calendar year shall require a payment of a $50 late fee.
Section 9. EMERGENCY RESPONSE INFORMATION.
1. No person or business shall establish or maintain an alarm system unless a current alarm information file is always maintained with the alarm monitoring company or at the alarm point of termination.
The alarm file must contain the following information:
A. A recognized numerical address that corresponds to numerical address of the structure in the E911 system and is plainly visible from the roadway as well as the recognized road name as stipulated by the Village;
B. Detailed directions from a major road or landmark;
C. A list of persons authorized to enter the premises;
If the address or directions are incomplete, the call shall be deemed a false alarm. The name of the monitoring service and a 24- hour telephone number must be clearly displayed outside of the premises where the alarm is located.
2. Upon notification by agency responding to the alarm that his/her presence is required, the alarm user, or his/her representative shall promptly proceed to the scene of the service. Such service, when necessary, shall include turning off the alarm and/or opening the alarmed premises so a search can be made.
3. Circumstances that may require the alarm users presence include, but are not limited to: continual malfunction of an alarm system which causes repeated false alarms over a short period of time, evidence at the alarmed premises indicating a crime was committed or attempted, and further investigation is necessary or the premises are not or cannot be properly secured.
4. Any alarm monitoring company, upon notification that a false alarm has sounded, shall immediately notify the appropriate agency that a false alarm has been sounded, that the alarm monitoring company has been notified that it is a false alarm and that the agency no longer needs to respond to the earlier reported location.
Section 10. FALSE ALARMS PROHIBITED-PENALTIES.
1. No alarm user shall cause or allow a false alarm.
A. The intentional activation of an alarm system for the purpose of summoning aid for other than an emergency or life threatening situation, shall be a violation of this ordinance.
B. The failure of an alarm monitoring company or alarm monitoring company employee to notify the summoned agency of the cancellation of an alarm signal shall be a violation of this ordinance.
3. The third false alarm, and each subsequent false alarm, from the same location or alarm system within a six month period, resulting from equipment malfunction, improper installation or maintenance of equipment, or human error or negligence, shall constitute a civil infraction subject to monetary penalties as set forth below:
A. For the third (3rd) false alarm, a penalty of $50.00 shall be assessed.
B. For the fourth (4th) false alarm, a penalty of $100.00 shall be assessed.
C. For the fifth (5th) false alarm, and each succeeding false alarm, a penalty of $200.00 shall be assessed.
D. All penalties are subject to uniform court costs as set forth, and usually assessed in the Municipal Court of the Village of Taos Ski Valley.
4. An activated alarm at any structure or place of business to which any agency of the Village Department of Public Safety is dispatched, to which an Alarm User Permit has not been issued shall be considered a false alarm for the purposes of this Act.
5. Hearing on notices of infractions shall be held in the Municipal Court of the Village of Taos Ski Valley. The procedures for issuance of a infraction, hearing, assessment, and payment of monetary shall be in accordance with the provisions of New Mexico Law.
Section 11. PENALTIES. The violation of any section of this ordinance, excepting that section dealing with multiple false alarms, shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed $300.00 or imprisonment for ninety days, or both the fine and imprisonment.
Section 12. AUTHORITY TO PROMULGATE REGULATIONS. The Marshal of shall have the authority to promulgate regulations for the implementation of this ordinance and to regulate the alarm systems and the methodology for reporting of alarms within the Village of Taos Ski Valley. Such regulations shall be presented to the Marshal and approved by resolution of the Village of Taos Ski Valley Council.
Section 13. NO OBLIGATION CREATED IN THE PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT. Nothing in this ordinance shall be construed or interpreted to create a duty to respond on the part of the Village of Taos Ski Valley Public Safety Department. The Village of Taos Ski Valley Public Safety Department shall respond to alarms on such basis and in accordance with availability of resources, manpower and pre-existing duties. No cause of action shall arise from the failure of the Village of Taos Ski Valley Public Safety Department to respond to any alarm.
Section 14. SEVERABILITY. The provisions of this ordinance are hereby declared to be severable, and if any ordinance, or any application of the provisions of this ordinance are declared invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, such determination shall not affect the remaining provisions of this ordinance which shall be deemed severable.
Section 15. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Ordinance shall take full force and effect five days after it has been recorded by the Village of Taos Ski Valley Clerk.
PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 5th day of August, 1997.
Vote: For _____ Against _____
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J. Christopher Stagg, Mayor
ATTEST:
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Village Clerk