Alameda County Municipal Code Art. I General

The county finds that the development of cable television and communications systems has the potential of having great benefit and impact upon the residents of Alameda County. Because of the complex and rapidly changing technology associated with cable television, the county further finds that the public convenience, safety and general welfare can best be served by establishing regulatory powers which should be vested in the county or such persons as the county shall designate. It is the intent of this chapter and subsequent amendments to provide for and specify the means to attain the best possible public interest and public purpose in these matters and any franchise issued pursuant to this chapter shall be deemed to include this finding as an integral part thereof.

(Prior gen. code § 2-118.0)

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the county of Alameda cable communications franchise ordinance. (Prior gen. code § 2-118.1)

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.

"Agency subscriber" means a subscriber who receives a service in a government or public agency, school, or nonprofit corporation.

"Basic cable service" means any service tier which includes the retransmission of local television broadcast signals.

"Basic radio service" means the availability to all subscribers of audio programs at a monthly rate.

"Broadcast signal" means a television or radio signal that is transmitted over the air to a wide geographic audience and is received by a cable communications system off-the-air or by microwave.

"Cable communications system" or "system," also referred to as cable television system, cable system, CATV system or community antenna TV system, means a facility, crossing or using any public right-of-way or easement, 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 the television signals of one or more television broadcast stations;

2. A facility that serves only subscribers in one 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.

"Cablecast signal" means a nonbroadcast signal that originates within the facilities of the cable communications system.

"Cable-mile" means a linear mile of strand-bearing cable as measured on the street or easement from pole to pole or pedestal to pedestal.

"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.

"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 or signal as defined by the Federal Communications Commission.

"Commence construction" means that time and date when construction of the cable communications system is considered to have commenced, which shall be when the first connection is physically made to a utility pole, or undergrounding of cables is initiated, after preliminary engineering (strand mapping) and after all necessary permits and authorizations have been obtained.

"Commence operation" means that time and date when operation of the cable communications system is considered to have commenced which shall be when sufficient distribution facilities have been installed so as to permit the offering of full services to a dwelling unit located within the franchise area and such services are actually subscribed to by a resident of the franchise area.

"Commercial subscriber" means a subscriber who receives a service in a place of business, where the service may be utilized in connection with a business, trade, or profession.

"Commercial use channel(s)" means the channel capacity designated for commercial use as defined and required by federal law.

"Completion of construction" means that point in time when all distribution facilities specified in the franchise agreement have been installed by the grantee so as to permit the offering of cable service to all of the potential subscribers in the franchise area, as well as the provision, in an operational state, of any facilities required by the franchise agreement.

"Converter" means an electronic device which converts signal carriers from one form to another.

"Board" means the governing body of the county of Alameda.

"FCC" means Federal Communications Commission and any legally appointed or elected successor.

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

"Franchise agreement" means a franchise award ordinance, or a contractual agreement, containing the specific provisions of the franchise granted, including referenced specifications, franchise applications, franchise requirements ordinances and other related materials.

"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 grantee 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 the awarding or enforcing of 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.

"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.

"Grantor" or "county" means the county of Alameda as represented by the board of supervisors or any delegate acting within the scope of its jurisdiction.

"Gross annual receipts" means the annual gross revenues received by the grantee from all sources of operations of the cable communications system, 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. Gross annual receipts shall not include revenues which are not related to the structure, operation, or use of the cable system.

"Initial construction" means the construction of a new cable television system by a grantee who has not previously operated a cable system within the franchise area.

"Initial service area" means the area of the county which will receive service initially, as set forth in the franchise agreement.

"Installation" means the connection of the system from feeder cable to subscribers' homes or terminals of their television sets or other devices, and the provision of service.

"Local origination channel" means any channel where the grantee or its designated agent is the primary programmer, and provides video programs to subscribers.

"Nonbroadcast signal" means a signal that is transmitted by a cable communications system and that is not involved in an over-the-air broadcast transmission path.

"Open channel" means any channel that can be received by all subscribers, without the necessity for special equipment.

"Pay-cable," "pay-television" or "pay-per-view" means the delivery to subscribers, over the cable communications system, of television signals for a fee or charge to subscribers over and above the charge for basic cable service, on a per-program, per-channel, or other-subscription basis.

"Penetration" means the result expressed in the percentage obtained by dividing the total number of potential subscribers in the franchise area into the number of subscribers receiving service or any other relevant definition thereof.

"Person" means an individual, partnership, association, joint stock company, trust, corporation, or organizational entity, or any lawful successor, transferee or assignee thereof.

"Private channel," or "closed-circuit channel" means any channel which is available only to subscribers who are provided with special converter or terminal equipment to receive signals on that channel.

"Programmer" means a person or entity who or which produces or otherwise provides program material or information for transmission by video, audio, digital, or other signals, either live or from recorded tapes or other storage media, to subscribers, by means of the cable communications system.

"Public, educational or government access facilities" or "PEG access facilities" means the total of the following:

1. Channel capacity designated for public, educational, or governmental use; and

2. Facilities and equipment for the use of such channel capacity.

"Resident" means any person residing in the county as otherwise defined by applicable law.

"Residential subscriber" means a subscriber who receives a service in an individual dwelling unit with grantee's authorization, where the service is not to be utilized in connection with a business, trade, or profession.

"Sale" means any sale, exchange, or barter.

"Section" means any section, subsection, or provision of this franchise chapter.

"Service area" or "franchise area" means the entire geographic area within the county designated in a franchise agreement to receive cable service.

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

"State" means the state of California.

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

"Subscriber" means any person, firm, corporation, or other entity who or which elects to subscribe to, for any purpose, a service provided and authorized by the grantee by means of or in connection with the cable communications system.

(Prior gen. code §§ 2-119.0—2-119.44)