§ 9-16-3. Alarm user permits—Responsibilities.

A.

Required.

1.

No alarm user shall operate, or cause to be operated, an alarm system at its alarm site without a valid alarm permit issued by the alarm administrator. A separate permit is required or each alarm site. This subdivision does not require that a licensed alarm business obtain a permit under this section when it leases or provides services to alarm system users. If a licensed alarm business does, however, use an alarm system to protect its own premises, it shall obtain a permit for such system as required in this section. Alarm user permits are renewable each year on June 1. The alarm user applying for the permit is required to state on a permit application form prepared by the metro alarm review board and approved by the city attorney the information below and as periodically prepared or revised by the metro alarm review board.

2.

Upon receipt of a completed application form and the permit fee, the alarm administrator shall issue an alarm permit to an applicant unless the applicant has:

a.

Failed to pay a fine assessed under this section;

b.

Had an alarm permit for the alarm site suspended or revoked, and the violation causing the suspension or revocation has not been corrected to the satisfaction of the metro alarm review board.

B.

Application information.

1.

Except as otherwise set out here below, each permit application must include the following information:

a.

The name, address, and telephone numbers of the person who will be the permit holder and be responsible for the proper maintenance and operation of the alarm system and payment of fees assessed under this section;

b.

The classification of the alarm site as residential, commercial, apartment, proprietary, government owned facility, bank or school;

c.

Signed certification from the alarm user and the alarm business stating:

i.

The date of installation, conversion or takeover of the alarm system, whichever is applicable;

ii.

The name, address, telephone number, Tennessee Alarm Contractor's License number and Tennessee Qualifying Alarm Agent's license number for the alarm business performing the alarm system installation, conversion or alarm system takeover and responsible for providing repair service to the alarm system. If the alarm business is not required to be licensed under the Tennessee Alarm Contractor's Licensing Law, all provisions in sections 9-16-7 and 9-16-9 of this chapter shall be met by the alarm company in addition to all other provisions under this chapter and chapters 2-28 through 2-36 prior to an alarm user permit being issued;

iii.

The name, address, telephone number, state alarm contractor's license number and the state qualifying alarm agent's license number for the monitoring company or central station if different from the alarm business performing the responsibilities listed in subsection (B)(1)(c)(ii) of this section. If the monitoring company is not required to be licensed under the state alarm contractor's licensing law, all revisions in sections 9-16-7 and 9-16-9 of this chapter shall be met by the monitoring company in addition to all other provisions under this chapter and chapters 2-28 through 2-36;

iv.

A list containing the names, addresses and telephone numbers of at least two persons having keys and keypad numbers for the residential alarm site;

v.

That a set of written operating instructions for the alarm system, including written guidelines on how to avoid false alarms, and the penalties and consequences for false alarms under this chapter have been provided to the end user;

vi.

That the alarm business has trained the applicant for a minimum of 30 minutes in proper use of the alarm system, including instructions on how to avoid false alarms;

vii.

A certificate from an alarm business duly licensed under the state alarm contractor's licensing board signed by the designated qualifying agent stating that the alarm system has been tested. If the alarm business is not required to be licensed under state alarm contractor's licensing board, then all provisions in sections 9-16-7 and 9-16-9 of this chapter in addition to all other provisions under this chapter and chapters 2-28 through 2-36 shall be met by both the alarm business and the designated qualifying agent; and

viii.

Entities identified as proprietary under definition in section 9-16-1 are exempt and provide only that information as required by the metro alarm review board;

d.

Classification of the alarm site as being equipped with duress alarm, panic alarm, or hold up alarm if applicable.

2.

Any false statement of a material matter made by an applicant for the purpose of obtaining an alarm permit shall be sufficient cause for refusal to issue or renew a permit.

3.

An alarm permit cannot be transferred to another person. An alarm user shall inform the alarm administrator of any change that alters any information listed on the permit application within five business days.

C.

Fees.

1.

All fees owed by an applicant must be paid before a permit may be issued or renewed. The permit fee shall be issued by the alarm administrator, or his designee, upon the following conditions:

a.

There shall be a $30.00 permit fee for the first year for residential customers. There shall be a $60.00 permit fee for the first year for commercial customers.

b.

There shall be an annual renewal fee of $5.00 for residential customers and $25.00 for commercial customers.

c.

Permits shall not be renewed if outstanding fines or penalties which have been incurred as a result of the use of the system have not been paid. If the fines or penalties are being processed through administrative channels or a court system, then a permit may be issued or renewed.

D.

Multidwellings.

1.

Alarm systems in apartment complexes contracted for by individual tenant.

a.

If an alarm system is installed by an individual tenant in an apartment complex unit, the tenant must provide the name of a representative of the apartment owner or property manager who can grant access to the apartment to the alarm business which is providing any services to the alarm user pertaining to the alarm system.

b.

A tenant of an apartment complex shall also obtain an alarm permit from the alarm administrator before operating or causing the operation of an alarm system in the tenant's residential unit. The annual fee for this permit or the renewal of this permit shall be the same as the fee for a residential alarm site.

c.

For the purpose of enforcing this section against an individual residential unit, the tenant is responsible for false alarm dispatches emitted from the alarm system in the tenant's residential unit.

2.

Alarm systems in apartment complexes furnished by the apartment complex as an amenity.

a.

If the owner or property manager of an apartment complex provides alarm systems in each residential unit as an amenity, then the owner or property manager of the apartment complex shall be required to obtain a permit, or apply for a permit for each living unit and show proof of a permit prior to activating the alarm system. The permits are transferable from tenant to tenant at the same alarm site. However, if the owner or property manager requires individual tenants to apply for and obtain permits, the permit shall not be transferable. Regardless, each living unit within the apartment complex shall be considered one alarm site and be required to be permitted.

b.

All units shall be required to be permitted if the alarm system is active, regardless of the unit's occupancy status.

c.

The owner or property manager of an apartment complex shall obtain a separate alarm permit for any alarm system operated in a nonresidential area of the complex, including, but not limited to, common tenant areas and office, storage and equipment areas. An annual fee for such a permit shall be the same as the fee for an alarm site.

d.

For purposes of assessing fines and enforcing this section, the master alarm permit holder is responsible for payment of fines for false alarm dispatches emitted from the alarm systems in residential units.

3.

Permit duration and renewal.

a.

A permit shall expire at midnight on June 1 of each calendar year. It must be renewed annually by submitting an updated application and a permit renewal fee of $5.00 to the alarm administrator, the alarm administrator shall notify each alarm user of the need to renew 30 days prior to the expiration of their permit. It is the responsibility of the alarm user to submit an application prior to the permit expiration date. Failure to renew will be classified as use of a nonpermitted alarm system and citations and penalties shall be assessed without waiver; except, if the alarm system is installed after January 1, but before June 1, and the $30.00 permit fee was paid, the alarm site will not be subject to an annual renewal fee until the following June 1, provided the alarm site has not exceeded its false alarm threshold.

b.

If the alarm user fails to renew by June 15, the alarm user will be required to apply for a new permit. The permit fee shall be $30.00, plus any applicable fines.

4.

Proper alarm systems operation and maintenance. An alarm user shall:

a.

Maintain the premises and the alarm system in a manner that will minimize or eliminate false alarm dispatches;

b.

Make every reasonable effort to respond or cause a representative to respond to the alarm system's location within one hour when notified by the city or the alarm company to deactivate a malfunctioning alarm system, to provide access to the premises, or to provide security for the premises;

c.

Not manually activate an alarm for any reason other than an occurrence of an event that the alarm system was intended to report; and

d.

Adjust the mechanism or cause the mechanism to be adjusted so that an alarm signal audible on the exterior of the alarm system will sound for no longer than 15 minutes after being activated. This shall apply to burglary signals only.

5.

Address to be displayed. The alarm user shall cause a properly sized and easy to locate address to be placed at the alarm site as determined by the metro alarm administrator, or his or her designee.

(Code 1985, § 28-128; Ord. No. 4640, § 1, 1-19-1999; Ord. No. 4847, § 4, 2-20-2001; Ord. No. 5527, § 1, 7-16-2013)

Editor's note

Ord. No. 5527, § 7, adopted July 16, 2013, provides that the increase in permit and renewal fees shall take effect January 1, 2014.