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A. The alarm subscriber and the alarm business shall be subject to a civil assessment for each false activation of a vision obscuring device or alarm system. Upon recording a false activation, the Police Department shall notify both the alarm subscriber and alarm business by mail of the false activation and the amount of the assessment. If the alarm subscriber or alarm business wishes to contest the determination that the activation was false or the imposition of the assessment, the alarm subscriber and alarm business shall, within twenty days of the date of the mailing of the initial notice of assessment, file a petition with the Director of the Police Department. The petition shall contain specific defenses. The petition shall identify the specific cause of the activation, and include a copy of the central station report for the date and time of the activation and any relevant inspection reports, maintenance and service records. If the imposition of the assessment is challenged but not the false alarm determination, the petition shall specify what corrective action, if any, has been taken to prevent the future occurrence of false activations of the device or alarm system. An activation caused by an Act of God or other extraordinary circumstances not reasonably subject to control by the alarm business or alarm subscriber shall be an affirmative defense.

B. If the petition is not received within twenty days of the date of mailing of initial notice of assessment required by subsection A of this section, the alarm subscriber and the alarm business shall be deemed to have waived their right to any further review or hearing as provided herein and the initial assessment shall be final.

C. Upon timely submission of a petition, the Director of the Police Department or his designee shall review the defenses, if any, set forth in the petition. If it is determined that a valid defense to the initial determination of a false activation has been set forth, a notice will be sent to the alarm subscriber and alarm business that no assessment will be made for that particular activation. The notice shall specifically set forth the findings and conclusions of the Director of the Police Department or his designee with respect to the review of the petition.

D. If the Director of the Police Department or his designee determines that a defense to the initial notice of assessment has not been set forth in the petition, the Director of the Police Department shall send a notice of decision by mail to both the alarm subscriber and the alarm business that they will be assessed pursuant to subsection E of this section. The notice of decision shall contain the specific findings and conclusions of the Director of the Police Department.

E. The Director of the Police Department or his designee shall impose an assessment under subsection A or D of this section in the amount of one hundred fifty-five dollars for a Police Department response, two hundred sixty-three dollars for a Fire Department response, and four hundred eighteen dollars if both departments respond, for each false activation. The alarm subscriber and alarm business, except as otherwise decided by the Director of the Police Department or his designee or as provided in subsection J of this section, shall be jointly and severally responsible for the payment of the assessment.

F. Any party aggrieved by a decision of the Director of the Police Department or his designee made pursuant to subsection D of this section may, within ten days of receipt of the notice of decision, appeal by filing a notice of appeal with the hearing officer so designated by the City Manager. The notice of appeal shall set forth the specific objections to the decision of the Director of the Police Department, which forms the basis of the appeal. The hearing officer shall set a time and place for the hearing as soon as practicable.

G. The hearing officer shall conduct the hearing required by subsection F in an informal manner to determine whether there is a sufficient factual and legal basis to support the assessment. The hearing officer shall not be bound by the technical rules of evidence in the conduct of such hearings, provided that the decision of the hearing officer shall in all cases be based upon substantial and reliable evidence. All parties to the hearing shall have the right to present evidence, including evidence of specific defenses and the claim that another party should be solely responsible for the assessments. The burden of proof shall be at all times upon the party or parties appealing the assessment.

H. The decision of the hearing officer shall be based upon the evidence presented and it shall affirm the assessment, in which case any assessments imposed shall be sustained, or reverse the assessment, in whole or in part, in which case no assessment or a lesser assessment shall be imposed. When the hearing officer affirms any part of the assessment on appeal, the hearing officer may designate the alarm subscriber or the alarm business as solely responsible for the payment of the assessment. The decision of the hearing officer is final.

I. The party responsible for the assessment shall tender the assessment within twenty days after the date of the final determination. All or any part of the assessment not paid when due will be subject to a charge of one and one-half percent per month, compounded monthly.

J. Upon the third or subsequent false activation of a vision obscuring device or alarm system within one year from the date of issuance of the vision obscuring addendum or the renewal date of the vision obscuring addendum, the Director of the Police Department or his designee may revoke the vision obscuring addendum. The alarm subscriber and alarm business may appeal the revocation decision pursuant to the appeal procedures set forth in this section. The vision obscuring addendum shall be reinstated upon completion of the following conditions:

1. The alarm subscriber and alarm business certify in writing that corrective action was taken to prevent further false activations, and provide proof that the vision obscuring device or alarm system was inspected for malfunctions.

2. An inspection by the Police and Fire Departments verifies that the device or system operates in conformance with the standards set forth in this Article.

3. The alarm subscriber and alarm business have paid all assessments imposed pursuant to this section and not under appeal, and a reinstatement fee of two hundred seventy dollars.

K. It is unlawful:

1. For any person to manually activate a vision obscuring device or alarm system.

2. For an alarm subscriber to use or operate a vision obscuring device or alarm system without a valid vision obscuring addendum.

3. For an alarm subscriber or alarm business to fail to pay an assessment imposed under this section when due.

4. For an alarm subscriber or alarm business to install, use or operate a vision obscuring device or alarm system that emits or produces a harmful or hazardous substance, including tear gas.

5. For an alarm subscriber, proprietary alarm owner or alarm business to install a vision obscuring device or alarm system in a residential structure.

6. For an alarm subscriber, proprietary alarm owner or alarm business to use or operate a vision obscuring device or alarm system that is not connected to a twenty-four-hour monitoring station that will notify the Police and Fire Departments of each device or system activation.

7. For an alarm subscriber or an alarm business to violate any provision of this section. (Ord. No. G-4378, § 10, 2001; Ord. No. G-5444, § 3, 2009)