“Alarm business” means the business by any individual, partnership, corporation, or other entity of selling, leasing, maintaining, servicing, repairing, monitoring, altering, replacing, moving or installing any alarm system or causing to be sold, leased, maintained, serviced, repaired, monitored, altered, replaced, moved or installed any alarm system in or on any building, structure or facility.

“Alarm system” means any assembly of equipment, mechanical or electrical, arranged to signal the occurrence of an illegal entry or other activity requiring urgent attention and to which law enforcement officers are alerted.

“Alarm user” means the person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company or organization of any kind which owns, controls or occupies any building, structure or facility wherein an alarm system is maintained.

“Automatic dialing device” means a device which is interconnected to a telephone line and is programmed to elect a predetermined telephone number and transmit by voice message or code signal an emergency message indicating a need for emergency response. Such a device is an alarm system.

“Bureau of Emergency Communications” means the City/County facility used to receive emergency and general information from the public to be dispatched to the appropriate police departments utilizing the bureau.

“Burglary or Robbery alarm system” An automated or manual alarm signaling a robbery, an entry or attempted entry into the area protected by the system.

“Commercial Alarm System” An alarm system maintained in a building, structure or facility that is not primarily used as the alarm system user’s residence.

“Economically disadvantaged person” means a person receiving public assistance and/or food stamps.

“False alarm” means an alarm signal, eliciting a response by police when a situation requiring a response by the police does not in fact exist. An alarm is not considered false if the alarm signal is caused by violent conditions of nature or other extraordinary circumstances not reasonably subject to control by the alarm business operator or alarm user, including but not limited to, evidence of a crime or an attempted crime: notice from the alarm business that the system is faulty before the officers arrives on the scene or notice from alarm business operator that the system or the user erred before an officer arrives on the scene.

“Interconnect” means to connect an alarm system including an automatic dialing device to a telephone line, either directly or through a mechanical device that utilizes a telephone, for the purpose of using the telephone line to transmit a message upon the activation of the alarm system.

“No response” means law enforcement officers will not be dispatched to investigate a report of an alarm signal.

“Residential Alarm System” An alarm system maintained in a building, structure or facility that is primarily used as the alarm system user’s residence.

“Sheriff” means the Sheriff of Multnomah County or designee.

“System becomes operative” means when the alarm system is capable of eliciting a response by police. (Ord. 8-2010, 2010; Ord. 5-1989 § 3, 1989.)