Agoura Hills Municipal Code Part 1 General Provisions

(a) Pursuant to Government Code Section 53066, the City of Agoura Hills is authorized to grant one (1) or more nonexclusive revocable franchises to construct, operate, maintain and reconstruct cable television systems within the city limits.

(b) The city council finds that the development of cable television and communications systems has the potential of having great benefit and impact upon the people of the City of Agoura Hills. Because of the complex and rapidly changing technology associated with cable television, the city council further finds that the public convenience, safety and general welfare can best be served by establishing regulatory powers which should be vested in the city or such persons as the city shall designate. It is the intent of this chapter and subsequent amendments to provide for and specify the means to attain the best possible cable television service to the public, and any franchises issued pursuant to this chapter shall be deemed to include this finding as an integral part thereof.

(Ord. No. 198, § 1, 10-9-91)

For the purpose of this chapter, the following terms, phrases, words and their derivations shall have the meaning given herein. Words used in the present tense include the future, words in the plural number include the singular number, and words in the singular number include the plural number. Words not defined shall be given their common and ordinary meaning.

(a) Approval or consent or agree or derivations of said words or words of similar import mean, unless otherwise expressly provided in this chapter or the grantee's franchise, the prior approval, consent or agreement of the person holding the right to approve, consent or agree with respect to the matter in question, and "require" or "judgment" or "satisfy" or derivations of said words or words of similar import mean the requirement, judgment or satisfaction of the person who may make a requirement or exercise judgment or who must be satisfied, which approval, consent, agreement, requirement, judgment or satisfaction shall, unless otherwise expressly provided in this chapter or the grantee's franchise, not be unreasonably withheld by the person holding the right to approve, consent or agree or make a requirement or judgment or who must be satisfied.

(b) Basic cable service means any service tier which includes retransmission of local television broadcast signals.

(c) Cable communications system or system," also referred to as "cable television system" or "cable system," means a facility consisting of a set of closed transmission paths and associated signal generation, reception, and control equipment, that is designed to provide cable service which includes video programming and which is provided to multiple subscribers within a community, but such term does not include:

(1) A facility that serves only to retransmit television signals of one (1) or more television broadcast stations;

(2) A facility that serves only subscribers in one (1) or more multiple unit dwellings under common ownership, control, or management, unless such facility uses any public right-of-way;

(3) A facility of a common carrier, except that such facility shall be considered a cable system to the extent such facility is used in the transmission of video programming directly to subscribers; or

(4) Any facilities of any electric utility used solely for operating its electric utility system.

(d) Cable service means the total of the following:

(1) The one-way transmission to subscribers of video programming or other programming service; and

(2) Subscriber interaction, if any, which is required for the selection of such video programming or other programming service.

(e) Channel or cable channel means a portion of the electromagnetic frequency spectrum which is used in a cable system and which is capable of delivering a television channel as defined by the Federal Communications Commission.

(f) City means the City of Agoura Hills.

(g) Council means the city council of the City of Agoura Hills.

(h) Franchise means an initial authorization or renewal thereof issued by the city council, whether such authorization is designated as a franchise, permit, license, resolution, contract, certificate, agreement, or otherwise, which authorizes construction or operation of a cable system.

(i) Franchise agreement means a franchise award ordinance, or contractual agreement, containing specific provisions of the franchise granted, including referenced specifications, requirements and other related matters.

(j) Franchise fees means any tax, fee or assessment of any kind imposed by a franchising authority or other governmental entity on a grantee or cable subscriber, or both, solely because of their status as such. The term "franchise fee" does not include:

(1) Any tax, fee or assessment of general applicability (including any such tax, fee or assessment imposed on both utilities and cable operators or their services, but not including a tax, fee or assessment which is unduly discriminatory against cable operators or cable subscribers);

(2) Capital costs which are required by the franchise to be incurred by grantee for public, educational or governmental access facilities;

(3) Requirements or charges incidental to awarding or enforcing the franchise, including payments for bonds, security funds, letters of credit, insurance, indemnification, penalties, or liquidated damages; or

(4) Any fee imposed under Title 17, United States Code.

(k) Grantee means any "person" receiving a franchise pursuant to this chapter and under the granting franchise ordinance or agreement, and its lawful successor, transferee or assignee.

(l) Grantor means the City of Agoura Hills as represented by the city council or any delegate acting within the scope of its jurisdiction.

(m) Gross annual receipts means the total annual gross receipts received by a grantee from all sources of operations of its cable communications system within the city utilizing public streets and rights-of-way for which a franchise is required in order to deliver such cable service, excluding refundable deposits, except that any sales, excise or other taxes collected for direct pass-through to local, State, or Federal government shall not be included. In computing the gross annual receipts from sources other than grantee's subscribers, including without limitation receipts derived from the sale of advertising or the lease of channel capacity by grantee on its cable system, the aggregate of gross receipts received by grantee from such other sources during the period in question shall be multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which shall be the arithmetic average of the number of subscribers in the city as of the first and last day of such period, and the denominator of which shall be the arithmetic average of the number of subscribers within all areas served by grantee as of the first and last day of such period. Results obtained thereby shall be included in the determination of grantee's gross annual receipts for the purpose of computing the franchise fee due the city for such period.

(n) Initial service area means the area of the city which will receive service initially, as set forth in the franchise agreement.

(o) Installation means connection of the system from feeder cable to subscribers' terminals, and provision of service.

(p) Other programming service means information that a cable operator makes available to all subscribers generally.

(q) Person means an individual, partnership, association, joint stock company, trust, corporation, or governmental entity.

(r) Public, educational or government access facilities or PEG access facilities means the total of the following:

(1) Channel capacity designated for public, education or governmental use; and

(2) Facilities and equipment for use of such channel capacity.

(s) Section means any section, subsection, or provision of this chapter.

(t) Service area or franchise area means the entire geographic area within the city designated in a franchise agreement to receive cable service.

(u) Service tier means a category of cable service or other services provided by a grantee and for which a separate rate is charged by grantee.

(v) State means State of California.

(w) Street means each of the following which have been dedicated to the public or are hereafter dedicated to the public and maintained under public authority or by others and located within city limits: streets, roadways, highways, avenues, lanes, alleys, sidewalks, easements, rights-of-way and similar public property and areas that grantor shall permit to be included within the definition of street from time to time.

(x) Subscriber means any person who or which elects to subscribe to, for any purpose, a service provided by grantee by means of or in connection with the Cable Communications System.

(y) Video programming means programming provided by, or generally considered comparable to programming provided by, a television broadcast station.

(Ord. No. 198, § 1, 10-9-91)

A franchise granted by the city under provisions of this chapter shall encompass the following purposes:

(a) To engage in the business of cable television service and distribution and sale of such service to subscribers within the designated service area.

(b) To erect, install, construct, repair, rebuild, reconstruct, replace, maintain, and retain poles, cable, fiber, wire, conductors, conduit, vaults, amplifiers, television antennas, supporting structures, appurtenances and other property in connection with operation of a cable system in, on, over, under, upon, along and across streets or other public places within the designated service area.

(c) To maintain and operate said franchise properties for origination, collection, transmission, amplification, distribution and reception of television and radio signals and for delivery of cable services and other services directly related thereto which may lawfully be provided through such cable system.

(d) To set forth obligations of a grantee under the franchise.

It shall be unlawful for any person to construct, install or operate a cable television system in the city within any street or within any other right-of-way within the city which has not yet been dedicated to the city but is designated or delineated for public use on any tentative subdivision map approved by the city and, in each such case, to construct or install any equipment or facilities for a cable system, whether or not operational, without a properly granted franchise awarded pursuant to provisions of this chapter, which franchise is in full force and effect.

(Ord. No. 198, § 1, 10-9-91)

(a) Term. A franchise granted hereunder shall be for a term established in the franchise agreement, commencing on the date of grantor's adoption of an ordinance authorizing the franchise.

(b) Renewal. A franchise granted hereunder may be renewed upon application by grantee pursuant to provisions of applicable state and federal law and this chapter.

(Ord. No. 198, § 1, 10-9-91)

Any franchise shall be within all or a specified portion of the territorial limits of the city, and within any area henceforth added to the territorial limits of the city during the term of the franchise.

(a) In the event any new territory shall become annexed to the city, then grantor shall determine at a public hearing which grantee or grantees, if any, shall serve such new territory, provided that if grantor shall make no such determination within ninety (90) days following the date such new territory shall become annexed to the city, such new territory shall be deemed a part of the service area of any grantee authorized to serve the entire geographic area from time to time constituting the city and of any grantee authorized to serve any area contiguous to such new territory.

(b) In the event any portion of unincorporated territory covered by an existing franchise or license granted by the County of Los Angeles is annexed to the city after grantee thereof has commenced or completed construction and installation of a cable system within said territory, the rights reserved under such franchise or license to the County of Los Angeles or to any officer thereof shall inure to the benefit of the city, and all regulatory provisions of this chapter and any other rules and regulations applicable to cable systems operating within the city, whether then in effect or subsequently adopted, shall be applicable to and binding upon said grantee. In addition, grantee shall be obligated to pay to the city the percentage of its gross receipts set forth in said franchise or license with the County of Los Angeles at the times and in the manner set forth in said franchise or license with the County of Los Angeles.

(c) In the event any portion of the unincorporated territory covered by an existing franchise or license granted by the County of Los Angeles is annexed to the city prior to the time that the grantee of such county franchise or license has commenced installation of a cable system within said territory, all rights acquired by said grantee under its county franchise or license shall terminate by operation of law as of the date on which annexation to the city becomes effective. In such case, grantee shall become subject to the provisions of this chapter and to any other rules and regulations applicable to cable systems within the city. If such grantee does not then have a franchise from the city authorizing it to provide cable service within the city, grantee shall comply with the requirements of Part II of this chapter if it wishes to secure a franchise authorizing it to provide cable service to the unincorporated territory which has been annexed to the city. If such grantee has a franchise from the city authorizing it to provide cable service within the city, the provisions of subsection (a) of this section shall apply.

(Ord. No. 198, § 1, 10-9-91)

This chapter shall be construed in a manner consistent with all applicable federal and state laws. Whenever the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") or Public Utilities Commission ("PUC") of the State of California or any other federal or state agency shall now or hereafter exercise any paramount jurisdiction over any specific provisions of this chapter, such paramount jurisdiction shall preempt or preclude exercise of like jurisdiction by the city. Any modification of such Federal or State law shall, to the extent applicable, be considered a part of this chapter as of the effective date of such modification.

In the event that the FCC elects to deregulate any area of cable communication over which it currently exercises jurisdiction in such manner as to expand rather than limit municipal regulatory authority, the city may, if it so elects, adopt rules and regulations in these areas, provided that such rules or regulations shall not apply to any franchise issued pursuant to this chapter prior to adoption of such rules and regulations to the extent they materially adversely affect such franchise, including without limitation, requirements with respect to system rebuilds, channel capacity, system design, construction and performance requirements, public, educational or governmental access facilities, support for any such facilities, interconnect commitments, activation of interactive capability or institutional networks. Such new municipal regulatory powers may, however, affect existing franchises with respect to franchise renewal procedures, franchise fees, consumer protection provisions, regulation of rates, technical standards and related provisions.

(Ord. No. 198, § 1, 10-9-91)

(a) Grantee shall not sell, transfer, lease, assign, sublet or dispose of, in whole or in part, either by forced or involuntary sale or by ordinary sale, contract, consolidation or otherwise, the franchise or any rights or privileges therein granted, without prior consent of the council, and then only upon such terms and conditions as may be prescribed by the council, which consent will not be unreasonably denied or delayed. Any attempt to sell, transfer, lease, assign or otherwise dispose of the franchise without consent of the council shall be null and void. No such consent shall be required for a transfer (1) to any affiliate of grantee which is entirely owned or controlled by grantee or any person controlling, controlled by or under common control with grantee, in each case as of the effective date of grantee's franchise, or (2) in trust, mortgage or other hypothecation, in whole or in part, to secure an indebtedness, except when such hypothecation exceeds fifty (50) percent of the market value of the property of franchisee being so hypothecated.

(b) The requirements of subsection (a) shall apply to any change in control of grantee. The word "control" as used herein is not limited to major stockholders or partnership interests, but includes actual working control in whatever manner exercised. If grantee is a corporation, prior council approval shall be required where ownership or control of more than ten (10) percent of the voting stock of grantee is acquired by a person or group of persons acting in concert, none of whom own or control the voting stock of grantee as of the effective date of the franchise, singularly or collectively. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary set forth in this section, consent of council shall not be required with respect to transfers of voting stock of grantee between or among shareholders of grantee holding issued and outstanding voting stock of grantee as of the effective date of grantee's franchise.

(c) Grantee shall notify the city in writing of any foreclosure or any other judicial sale of all or a substantial part of the franchise property of grantee or upon termination of any lease or interest covering all or a substantial part of said franchise property. Such notification shall be considered by the city as notice that a change in control or ownership of the franchise has taken place, and the provisions under this section governing consent of the city to such change in control or ownership shall apply.

(d) For the purpose of determining whether it shall consent to such change, transfer, or acquisition of control, grantor may inquire into qualifications of the prospective transferee or controlling party, and grantee shall assist grantor in any such inquiry. In seeking grantor's consent to any change of ownership or control, grantee shall have the responsibility of ensuring that transferee completes an application in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the city, which application shall include the information required under subsections (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (m), (n), and (o) of section 6910 of this chapter. An application shall be submitted to grantor not less than sixty (60) days prior to the date of transfer, and the proposed transferee's qualifications shall be reviewed on the same basis as if transferee were an initial applicant. Grantee or its proposed transferee shall reimburse the city all its costs associated with processing and evaluating the proposed transfer. Transferee shall be required to establish that it possesses the qualifications and financial and technical capability to operate and maintain the system and comply with all franchise requirements for the remainder of the term of the franchise.

(e) Any financial institution having a pledge of the franchisee or its assets for advancement of money for construction and/or operation of the franchise shall have the right to notify grantor that it or its designee satisfactory to grantor shall take control of and operate the cable communications system in the event of a grantee default in its financial obligations. Further, said financial institution shall also submit a plan for such operation within thirty (30) days of assuming such control that will insure continued service and compliance with all franchise requirements during the term the financial institution exercises control over the system. The financial institution shall not exercise control over the system for a period exceeding one (1) year unless extended by grantor in its discretion, and during said period of time it shall have the right to petition grantor to transfer the franchise to another grantee. If, after considering legal, financial, character, technical, and other public interest qualities of the applicant and determining that they are satisfactory, grantor finds that such transfer is acceptable, grantor shall transfer and assign the rights and obligations of such franchise as in the public interest. Consent of grantor to such transfer shall not be unreasonably denied or delayed.

(Ord. No. 198, § 1, 10-9-91)

Grantee shall design, construct, and maintain the cable television system to pass every single-family dwelling unit and multiple-family dwelling unit in its service area in accordance with the requirements set forth in grantee's franchise. Hospitals, rest homes, boarding houses, schools, commercial facilities, and institutional and governmental buildings within the area of the franchise shall be provided cable service in accordance with requirements therefor set forth in grantee's franchise.

After service has been established by activating trunk and/or distribution cables for any area, grantee shall provide service to any requesting subscriber within that area within thirty (30) days from the date of request; provided that grantee is able to secure all rights-of-way necessary to extend service to such subscriber within such thirty-day period on reasonable terms and conditions.

(Ord. No. 198, § 1, 10-9-91)

Any franchise granted shall be nonexclusive. Grantor specifically reserves the right to grant, at any time, such additional franchises for a cable communications system or any component thereof as it deems appropriate; provided, however, that such additional grants shall not operate to modify, revoke, or terminate any rights then held by any grantee.

(Ord. No. 198, § 1, 10-9-91)