Diamond Bar Municipal Code Div. 5 Service, Rates and Consumer Protection

Footnotes:

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Cross reference— Revenue and finance, tit. 3.

(a) The franchisee shall, within one year after acceptance of franchise, obtain all necessary permits, certifications and authorizations as may be required in the conduct of its business. The franchisee shall notify the director when all such permits, authorizations and certifications have been obtained. Should the franchisee be unable to comply with the requirements of this subsection within the time specified in this section, the franchise granted by this chapter shall become null and void, and the franchisee shall have no rights thereunder; provided, however, that the city may, for good cause shown by the franchisee, grant extensions of time to comply with this requirement.

(b) Within 90 days after obtaining the necessary permits, certifications and authorizations, the franchisee shall commence construction and installation of the cable television system. The franchisee shall notify the director, in writing, within ten days thereof of the date of commencement of construction and installation work.

(c) The franchisee shall extend and complete the cable television system throughout the designated service area with reasonable diligence. Within two years after complying with the requirements of subsection (a) of this section, the franchisee shall be capable of providing basic service to every residence within the franchise service area notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (d) of this section; provided, however, that the director may, for good cause shown by the franchisee, grant extensions of time to comply with this requirement.

(d) Upon a reasonable request for basic service to any residence within the franchisee's service area, the franchisee shall promptly furnish the requested service to such residence; service shall be provided to a residence passed by franchisee's cable plant within 30 days of request for service. Notwithstanding the above, if the franchisee can show that permits or other authorizations must be obtained or that the provision of such service is impractical, technically unfeasible, economically noncompensatory or will impose an undue hardship, the director may waive or defer the franchisee's obligation to provide service to such residence.

(e) For purposes of determining compliance with the provisions of this section, and to provide for a reasonable and nondiscriminatory policy governing provision of cable service to franchise service areas within the city, the franchisee shall provide service to new subscribers at the normal installation charge and monthly rate for customers of that classification under the following terms and conditions:

(1) Where the new subscriber, or nearest subscriber of a group of new subscribers, is located within 100 feet of existing aerial or underground trunk or distribution feeder cable; and

(2) Where the number of homes to be passed by such new extension cable plant bears the same or proportional ratio to the total amount of new cable plant as the average number of homes passed per mile of existing cable plant; or in the alternative, the ordinance granting the franchise may specify the number of homes to be passed per mile, for aerial and underground construction, which shall require mandatory provision of service.

(f) If the requirements of subsection (e) of this section are not met, the franchisee shall provide service to new subscribers at the normal monthly rate for customers of that classification and the installation cost per subscriber shall be determined as follows:

(1) Within ten days of request from a potential subscriber, the franchisee shall provide a written cost estimate to potential subscribers whose residence or commercial place of business is located in excess of 100 feet from the closest trunk or feeder cable. This estimate is to indicate the franchisee's cost for labor and material plus ten percent for overhead costs for excessive footage from energized trunk source and/or concealed wiring and/or nonstandard underground drops. In addition, the estimate may include the costs of use of utility poles for aerial cable, if applicable.

(2) If there are less than the average number of homes per mile to be passed by cable than are at present in the total plant, cable service will be supplied at a cost based on the following formula for both aerial and underground construction:

(g) The franchisee shall not be responsible for providing service in those areas meeting the density requirements in this section or in the ordinance granting the franchise if the franchisee is precluded by the property owner, instrument of record, or contract from providing cable services or constructing and installing facilities and equipment.

(Ord. No. 14(1989), § 2(16.68.010), 6-27-89)

(a) Prior to the commencement of and during construction or reconstruction of the system, the franchisee shall be required to notify all residents and property owners, at the franchisee's expense, of the intended construction or reconstruction. All notices shall be personal or in writing, and shall be issued as follows:

(1) At least 45 days prior to the intended construction or reconstruction, a general notice indicating the type of construction, projected construction schedule and proposed construction areas.

(2) The franchisee shall provide notice at least 20 days prior to entering private property or public ways or public easements adjacent to or on such private property.

a. Should there be aboveground or underground installations, excluding aerial cable lines utilizing existing poles and existing cable paths, which will affect the property, such notice shall be in writing and shall contain specific information regarding any aboveground or underground installations, excluding aerial cable lines utilizing existing poles and existing cable paths, which shall affect the property.

b. Should the property owner or resident notify the franchisee of his objection to placement of any such aboveground or underground installations, excluding aerial cable lines utilizing existing poles and existing cable paths, the franchisee shall make a good faith effort to comply with the property owner/resident's preferences, if any, on location of placement of the appurtenances, consistent with sound engineering practices.

(3) The franchisee shall provide notice three days in advance of entering private property or public ways or public easements adjacent to or on such private property.

(b) In addition to any other notice of proposed entry required under this chapter, the franchisee's personnel shall make a reasonable attempt to give personal notice to resident immediately preceding entry on private property or public ways or public easements adjacent to or on such private property.

(Ord. No. 14(1989), § 2(16.68.015), 6-27-89)

The franchisee, its employees, agents, contractors and subcontractors shall be properly identified prior to and during entry on private and public property. Identification shall include the name and telephone number of the franchisee on all trucks and vehicles used by installation personnel.

(Ord. No. 14(1989), § 2(16.68.017), 6-27-89)

After performance of any work, the franchisee shall restore the private and public property as nearly as possible to its condition prior to construction. Any disturbance of landscaping, fencing or other improvements upon private or public property shall, at the sole expense of the franchisee, be promptly repaired or restored, including replacement of such valuables as shrubbery and fencing, to the reasonable satisfaction of the property owner.

(Ord. No. 14(1989), § 2(16.68.018), 6-27-89)

The franchisee shall, upon written request from the city, provide and maintain, at no cost to city, at least one cable television drop and free basic service to each city facility, whether an owned or a leased facility, law enforcement facility, fire station, public school or other public facility located within the authorized franchise service area.

(Ord. No. 14(1989), § 2(16.68.020), 6-27-89)

(a) The franchisee shall provide and maintain, at no cost to the city or school, at least one cable television drop and free basic service to each private, nonprofit school site within the authorized franchise service area.

(b) As used in this section, the expression "private, nonprofit schools" means schools that satisfy the requirements of Education Code § 12154, and which are exempt from taxation under Revenue and Taxation Code § 214.

(Ord. No. 14(1989), § 2(16.68.030), 6-27-89)

A franchisee shall incorporate into its cable television system the capability to permit the city in times of emergency to override the audio portion of all channels simultaneously. In addition, if feasible, the franchisee may be required to designate a channel, which may be a PEG channel, to be used for emergency broadcasts of both audio and video. The franchisee shall cooperate with the city in the use and operation of the emergency alert override system.

(Ord. No. 14(1989), § 2(16.68.035), 6-27-89)

(a) The city reserves the right to require the franchisee to interconnect its cable television system with any other cable television system operating within the city. For good cause shown, the city may waive or defer this requirement to interconnect, or grant reasonable extensions of time to comply with this requirement.

(b) For the purpose of this section, the word "interconnection" shall be defined as reception of or connection to those electronic signals which are delivered to the franchised cable television system by any foreign source for distribution via the cable television system. Such electronic signals shall be in a format acceptable within the state-of-the-art technology for unattended processing into radio frequency energy for retransmission into the cable television system.

(Ord. No. 14(1989), § 2(16.68.040), 6-27-89)

The franchisee shall retain full responsibility for the quality of cable television service to all recipients of redistributed service i.e., through microwave, master antennae or satellite redistribution. The franchisee shall be presumed to have retained such responsibility together with all obligations arising from the franchise, including, but not limited to, charges to the ultimate recipient for service.

(Ord. No. 14(1989), § 2(16.68.050), 6-27-89)

(a) A franchisee shall at all times comply with the rules and regulations governing community antenna television system (CATV) operations promulgated by the FCC, specifically, but not limited to, those set out in part 76 of the FCC Rules and Regulations. This shall particularly include adherence by the franchisee to FCC Rules and Regulations. This shall particularly include adherence by the franchisee to FCC rules regarding technical and engineering specifications involved in the construction of the CATV system, and signal carriage therein.

(b) Any modifications of section 76.31 of the FCC Rules and Regulations resulting from amendment thereto by the FCC shall, to the extent applicable, be considered as a part of the franchise as of the effective date of the amendment.

(Ord. No. 14(1989), § 2(16.68.060), 6-27-89)

A franchisee shall dedicate one channel for exclusive use by the city. The franchisee may utilize the exclusive city use channel until such time as the director provides the franchisee with 60 days' prior written notification of intention to use the channel; provided, however, that prior to any such use by franchisee, the franchisee shall give 60 days' prior written notice by certified mail to the director of such use.

(Ord. No. 14(1989), § 2(16.68.070), 6-27-89)

(a) In addition to the exclusive city use channel, as provided for in section 13.12.1310, a franchisee shall dedicate a minimum of six channels for public, educational and governmental uses. Use of each type of such channels shall be in accordance with city policies and procedures. The city reserves the right to change, delete or amend such policies and procedures during the term of the franchise.

(b) If less than six PEG channels are to be activated initially, activation of channels beyond those required for initial activation shall be according to a formula which shall be expressed in the ordinance granting the franchise.

(c) Channels activated for public or educational access uses shall contain daily notice of the name, address and telephone number of the party to contact for information regarding access uses, and advisement that other channels, if any, are available for PEG uses. The language of the notices shall be approved by the director, prior to carriage, and the notices shall be provided on a scheduled basis as determined by the director. In addition, if not all PEG channels are activated and utilized for PEG uses, the franchisee shall issue periodic written notice, at least once a year, to subscribers informing them that additional channels are dedicated for public, educational and governmental uses and are temporarily being used for other programming purposes until needed for community and governmental uses. Information shall also be provided regarding whom to contact regarding PEG uses.

(d) The franchisee may utilize PEG channels dedicated for, but not yet utilized for, PEG uses, for programming of their choice until such time as utilized for PEG uses; provided, however, that prior to the franchisee's use of any such PEG channels, the franchisee give 60 days' written notice by certified mail to the director of such use. The director shall give franchisee 60 days' prior written notice of intention to use such channels for PEG uses; provided, further, however, that should the franchisee utilize such channels with programming which provides for local ad-avails, the franchisee shall be required to provide PEG informational notices as required in subsection (c) of this section on any such channel.

(e) Underutilized PEG channels activated for PEG uses may also be utilized by the franchisee for compatible type programming, subject to rules and procedures established and as may be modified by the city throughout the term of the franchise.

(f) The franchisee shall not be permitted to use a dedicated PEG channel if other channel capacity on the system has not been programmed.

(g) The director may, for good cause shown by the franchisee, waive or modify the requirements of this section.

(Ord. No. 14(1989), § 2(16.68.080), 6-27-89)

(a) A fee paid to the city is hereby established for the support of public, educational, and governmental (PEG) access facilities and activities within the city, which fee shall be paid by any new city-franchised cable operator and by state video franchise holders operating within the city. Unless a higher percentage is authorized by applicable state or federal law, this PEG fee shall be one percent of a franchisee's gross revenues derived from the provision of video services within the city. The term gross revenues shall be defined as set forth in California Public Utilities Code Section 5860.

(b) The PEG fee established by this section shall be remitted quarterly to the city's finance director and must be received not later than 90 days after the end of the preceding calendar quarter. The fee payment shall be accompanied by a summary that describes all sources of the gross revenues upon which the fee is based, which summary must be verified by a responsible financial officer or employee of the video service provider.

(Ord. No. 01(2018), § 1, 3-6-18)

The franchisee shall agree that the provision of PEG channels, free cable drop and free basic service, as specified in sections 13.12.1250, 13.12.1260, 13.12.1310 and 13.12.1320, shall not be considered as within the meaning of the terms "franchise fee" or "payments in kind" as used in section 622(g) of the Cable Act.

(Ord. No. 14(1989), § 2(16.68.085), 6-27-89)

When required by the director, the franchisee shall provide return capability channels for use in connection with the exclusive city use channel and/or PEG channels. Such return capability may be provided on PEG channels.

(Ord. No. 14(1989), § 2(16.68.090), 6-27-89)

A franchisee shall provide leased access channels as required pursuant to section 612 of the Cable Act. Total system capacity shall be calculated inclusive of PEG channels. The franchisee shall submit information regarding leased access channel rates to the city when requested. Leased access channel rates shall be available for public inspection.

(Ord. No. 14(1989), § 2(16.68.095), 6-27-89)

To the extent authorized by law, every franchisee shall carry a public broadcast station on a cable channel within channels 2 through 13, inclusive, or on its current broadcast channel identification number, or on a cable channel number as otherwise agreed to by the director and the franchisee. The franchisee may not change the cable channel placement of the public broadcast station without the director's written approval. This requirement shall apply to all franchises granted, renewed, assigned or modified after the effective date of County Ordinance No. 88-0192.

(Ord. No. 14(1989), § 2(16.68.097), 6-27-89)

(a) A franchisee shall construct a cable television system with a capability of delivering not less than 40 video channels with associated audio, with a technical capability for two-way operational communication with audio-video return on a minimum of four channels, to residential subscribers. The director may, for good cause shown by the franchisee, waive or modify the requirements of this subsection.

(b) The city may require the franchisee to deliver to subscriber terminals those television broadcasts and cablecast signals which are now or hereafter authorized for carriage by the FCC. The signals produced by the system shall be of high quality throughout the system with no difference perceptible to viewers whether in close proximity to the headend or at the furthest extension of the trunk line.

(c) The franchisee shall distribute in color those television signals which it receives in color. The system, as installed, shall be capable of passing standard black and white and color video channels with associated audio signals without material degradation and with no phase shift and no effect on color fidelity and intelligence.

(d) A franchisee shall render such service to subscriber as will meet technical and performance requirements of the franchise. At a minimum, the franchisee shall provide the broad categories of services and mix, quality, and level of programming represented to the city in the application and made a part of the franchise agreement by attached exhibit. As an aid to the city in monitoring signal strength and quality, a franchisee shall provide the city with copies of all FCC signal performance reports. Should the FCC no longer require signal performance reports, the franchisee shall make and submit such performance tests and reports in response to written request by the city. Any time the signal does not meet FCC standards or the standards of the franchisee's application as incorporated in the ordinance granting the franchise, the franchisee shall make a pro rata rebate, in money or in services, to each subscriber based upon the percentage by which the signal falls below standard and upon the length of time that such condition has existed. Such rebate shall be made to the satisfaction of each subscriber, or of the city if agreement with the subscriber cannot be reached. The director may for good cause shown by the franchisee waive or modify the requirements of this subsection.

(e) The franchisee shall provide program origination if so required by the FCC or the ordinance granting the franchise.

(f) The franchisee shall render efficient service, making repairs promptly and interrupting service only for good cause and for the shortest possible time; any scheduled interruptions, insofar as possible, shall be preceded by notice given to subscribers at least 24 hours in advance and shall occur during periods of minimum use of the system.

(g) The franchisee must retain and have available emergency personnel capable of performing emergency repairs and maintenance 24 hours a day, every day, including weekends and holidays. The director may waive or modify this requirement if the franchisee can demonstrate that it is not economically feasible to provide such emergency personnel.

(h) The franchisee shall promptly notify the cable television section of the department when the cable television system is down, when the system is having technical difficulties which may affect services to the subscriber, or when the franchisee's telephone lines are out of service, in order that the department is able to advise those subscribers who contact the department due to inability to reach the cable operator. In addition, the franchisee shall advise the cable television section of the department, by telephone and in writing, of all scheduled maintenance which will cause disruptions to service, and of any outages of more than four hours duration.

(i) Credits shall automatically be given on a pro rata basis to any subscribers affected by interruptions of service for more than two hours due to actions or outages under the control of the franchisee, exclusive of scheduled repairs or maintenance that the franchisee has provided advance notice of to subscribers. For such interruptions of service not under the control of the franchisee, credits shall be given on a pro rata basis upon the request of the subscribers.

(j) The franchisee shall maintain and upgrade the system and services to reflect feasible technical and economic developments occurring during the term of the franchise which will benefit the public in terms of new and more effective and efficient service and to provide a state-of-the-art cable television system which meets the interests and needs of the community during the term of the franchise.

(k) The franchisee shall provide and maintain continuous service to subscribers unless allowed otherwise by the FCC. The franchisee may petition the FCC to authorize the suspension or abandonment of service upon such reasonable terms and conditions as may be prescribed by the FCC. A copy of any such petition shall be filed with the city engineer concurrently with the filing of the petition with the FCC.

(l) Upon the request of a subscriber or potential subscriber, the franchisee shall provide a morning (before 12:00 noon) or afternoon (after 12:00 noon) service call or installation appointment. Should the franchisee be unable to keep the appointment, the subscriber shall be notified at the earliest possible opportunity, and shall be rescheduled on a priority basis.

(Ord. No. 14(1989), § 2(16.68.100), 6-27-89)

A franchisee shall provide the director with complete technical documentation of the cable television system as installed. Such documentation shall include, but is not limited to, headend equipment and location, satellite location and technical parameters, and the backbone cable routing, but need not include each subscriber drop. Such documentation shall be sent to the director within 60 days of initiation of subscriber service and shall be updated as necessary.

(Ord. No. 14(1989), § 2(16.68.110), 6-27-89)

(a) Response to subscriber complaints shall be initiated within one business day of receipt, and the resolution of subscriber complaints shall be effected by the franchisee not later than three business days after receipt of the complaint. Should a supervisor not be available when requested by a subscriber, a supervisor shall return the subscriber's telephone call at the earliest possible time and, in no event, later than the end of the next business day. If a subscriber has notified the franchisee in writing that a bill is in dispute, the franchisee shall not terminate service pending resolution of the dispute, nor shall the account be turned over or reported to a collection agency, provided that the remaining balance of the bill is current. A bill shall not be considered to be in dispute solely by reason of nonpayment by subscriber.

(b) Upon complaint by any subscriber, the franchisee shall have the burden to satisfy the director that a signal is being delivered which is of sufficient strength and quality to meet standards contained in the FCC rules and regulations, as well as the city standards in effect during the term of the franchise.

(c) The franchisee shall maintain a written complaint record containing the following information:

(1) Date and time of subscriber complaint;

(2) Identification of the complainant by name, address and telephone number;

(3) Description of the nature of the complaint; and

(4) A record of when and what action was taken by the franchisee to resolve the complaint.

(d) The complaint record shall be kept at the franchisee's local office for a period of two years after receipt of any such complaint. A copy of the complaint record shall be submitted by the franchisee to the director upon the franchisee's application for extension of service areas, modification, transfer or renewal of the franchise and within ten days following receipt of a written request therefor from the director. If required by the director, the complaint record shall contain a semiannual (through June 30 and through December 31) breakdown indicating the total number of complaints received for the preceding reporting period, and shall indicate the major classifications of complaints as follows: construction, billing, customer relations/service, miscellaneous.

(e) Throughout the term of the franchise, the franchisee shall maintain an outage log showing the date, approximate time and duration, type and probable cause of all head-end, trunk or distribution line service failures. The log shall also include information relating to routine testing or scheduled maintenance outages. A copy of the outage log shall be submitted by the franchisee to the city within ten days following the receipt of a written request therefor from the city.

(Ord. No. 14(1989), § 2(16.68.120), 6-27-89)

When complaints have been made, evidence indicates an unresolved controversy or significant noncompliance with franchise standards, or when circumstances exist which, in the judgment of the director, cast doubts upon the reliability or quality of cable service, the director may require a franchisee, at the franchisee's cost, to test, analyze and provide a written report on the performance of the system. Such report shall be delivered to the director, no later than 14 days after the franchisee is notified, in writing, of the required report and shall include the following information: nature of the complaints which precipitated the special tests; what system component was tested, the equipment used, and procedures employed in the testing; the results of such test; and the method in which the complaints were resolved. The director may require that tests and analyses are supervised by an independent professional engineer acceptable to the city. The tests shall be forwarded to the director with a report interpreting the results of the tests and recommending actions to be taken.

(Ord. No. 14(1989), § 2(16.68.122), 6-27-89)

A franchisee shall, upon reasonable request or complaint by a subscriber, perform such tests as necessary at the subscriber's terminal to establish whether a signal of requisite quality is being delivered to the subscriber's premises. The results of such test shall be given to the subscriber as soon as the test is completed and evaluated, and in no event later than ten days after the test is conducted.

(Ord. No. 14(1989), § 2(16.68.124), 6-27-89)

The director shall have the right to conduct periodic reviews of the performance and quality of the system during the term of the franchise. The record of subscriber complaints, the record of performance tests and other tests or surveys conducted shall be included in the review.

(Ord. No. 14(1989), § 2(16.68.126), 6-27-89)

(a) Prior to or at the time of installation, the franchisee shall provide each new subscriber with written information regarding:

(1) A listing of all services, packages and rates available at the time, including billing options and dispute procedures, refund procedures, and company policies regarding disconnection and reconnection services and charges. If the franchisee has elected to utilize line item charges for franchise fees, copyright and other fees as permitted under section 634 of the Cable Act, any such listings, whether written or oral, shall disclose to the prospective subscriber the total costs associated with receiving cable services. Prior to the issuance of any such notices, a copy shall be submitted to the director for review and approval of the notices.

(2) The availability of any devices required by federal, state or local law, such as, but not limited to, parental lock box device and a switching device (A/B switch), and any fees or charges associated with receiving the devices.

(3) The address, telephone number and hours of business of the franchisee's local office for service and resolution of complaints for the franchise area.

(4) Identification of the department, including address and telephone number, as the referral agency, in a form of language to be provided by the director.

(5) A separate, written notice containing information regarding protection of subscriber privacy rights as specified under section 631 of the Cable Act. Such notice to subscribers regarding protection of privacy rights shall be issued in a separate, written notice at least once a year thereafter.

(6) Other appropriate information regarding the franchisee's system, as required by the city.

(b) A franchisee shall also provide a separate, written notice to all subscribers every six months or as required by the director, which identifies the department as required in subsection (a)(4) of this section. Semiannually, the director shall provide the language of the notice to be issued to new and current subscribers. Failure to circulate the notice every six months as required in this subsection shall result in the franchisee being assessed a fine of $1.00 per subscriber, per month, until such time as notification is made to subscribers as required.

(c) The notices required in subsections (a)(5) and (b) of this section may be included in the mailing of the subscriber's billing statement, but shall not be accompanied by any promotional materials. The franchisee shall place the department (attn: Cable TV Franchising Section) on a mailing list for the notices required in subsections (a)(5) and (b) of this section.

(Ord. No. 14(1989), § 2(16.68.130), 6-27-89)

(a) A franchisee shall maintain a local business office within the city and provide the director with the name, address and telephone number of the persons who will act as the franchisee's agents for general management of the system and to receive complaints regarding quality of service, equipment malfunctions, and similar matters. The franchisee shall advise the city of a change of franchisee's agents within five working days of any such change. The local office shall be open to receive inquiries or complaints from subscribers during normal business hours. A toll-free phone number shall be available to all subscribers located within the franchised area for the reporting of service problems on a 24 hours per day, seven days per week, 365 days per year basis.

(b) The franchisee shall provide sufficient telephone lines, either adequately staffed or with answering capability, providing, at the minimum, emergency referral information. The franchisee shall return calls for services or complaints received during normal business hours within four business hours of receipt, and shall promptly investigate and resolve all calls for service and complaints. During periods when answering service or machine is used, the franchisee shall provide on-call personnel who shall contact the answering service/machine, at a minimum, every four hours to check on requests for service and complaints.

(c) In order to determine whether sufficient telephone lines are provided, the director may require that a busy study, traffic study or other study be conducted, at the franchisee's expense, if any, by the local telephone company. Should the franchisee have its own telephone equipment which can report on telephone line usage, the franchisee may submit such report from its own system.

(d) Should the director determine that insufficient telephone lines or inadequate staff exists, the franchisee shall take necessary steps to ensure that adequate telephone lines or staffing are available for normal, daily activities. Consideration shall be given for periods of promotional activities or outages. The monthly billing period shall be considered as a normal, daily activity for purposes of determining adequate telephone lines and/or staffing.

(Ord. No. 14(1989), § 2(16.68.140), 6-27-89)

(a) Except to the extent preempted by federal or state laws and regulations, the procedures and standards set forth in this section shall prevail except as modified by the ordinance granting the franchise.

(1) For new and newly renewed franchises, during the first year of operational service offered to subscribers, the franchisee shall charge a subscriber no more for its services than the rates and charges initially approved by the city council when granting the franchise. The franchisee shall not change rates or charges unless such changes are approved or authorized in the manner provided in this section.

(2) For existing franchises and after the first year of operative service to subscribers, for new and newly renewed franchises, the franchisee shall notify the director of any proposed change in rates or charges. The notification shall include a written list showing the rates and charges currently in effect and the proposed changes. The notice shall also include the justification for the proposed change. Within 30 days after submission of the franchisee's proposed changes, the director, in his sole discretion, shall either approve or disapprove of the proposed changes, or any of them, and shall notify the franchisee of his decision. To the extent that any proposed change is disapproved, the director shall set forth in writing his findings of fact with respect thereto. The franchisee shall not take any action to change rates or charges until authorized to do so by the director, or as a result of an appeal taken as indicated in this section.

(b) The franchisee may, within ten days after mailing of the notification of decision, appeal such decision to the city council. Upon receipt of the appeal, the city council may take any one of the following actions:

(1) Approve the decision;

(2) Refer the matter back to the director with or without instruction; or

(3) Set the matter for public hearing before itself; such public hearing shall be held de novo as if no hearing previously had been held.

(Ord. No. 14(1989), § 2(16.68.150), 6-27-89)

The franchisee shall provide at least ten days' written notice to a subscriber prior to discontinuance of service for nonpayment. The notice shall contain the date, time and place by which payment must be made in order to prevent disconnection of service.

(Ord. No. 14(1989), § 2(16.68.160), 6-27-89)

If the franchisee has improperly or inadvertently disconnected cable services to a subscriber, the franchisee shall provide for restoration without charge to subscriber within two business days of discovery of disconnection.

(Ord. No. 14(1989), § 2(16.68.165), 6-27-89)

The franchisee shall notify subscribers at least 30 days prior to the first inclusion of franchise fees and/or other line items on their statements, as permitted in section 622(f) and (g) of the Cable Act. Such notice shall explain the election to use line item designations and the effects such designations shall have on the total costs associated with receiving cable services. No such notice shall be issued to subscribers until the city has reviewed and approved the notice. Any designation of franchise fees as a separate line item on the statement shall use the term "franchise fee."

(Ord. No. 14(1989), § 2(16.68.170), 6-27-89)

Whether or not the franchise is subject to rate regulation by the city, the franchisee shall provide notice to subscribers and the city of changes in rates, charges, tiering or carriage as provided in this section:

(1) The franchisee shall notify all subscribers, in writing, of any proposed changes in subscriber rates, charges, tiering or carriage at least 60 days in advance of the effective date of such proposed changes. In no event shall a subscriber be billed for service at the increased rate or charge prior to the delivery of the notification to the subscriber.

(2) The franchisee shall notify the director, in writing, of any proposed changes in subscriber rates and charges, tiering or carriage at least 90 days in advance of the effective date of such proposed changes. The notification to the director shall include a list showing the rates and charges currently in effect and the proposed changes. Only those rates and charges that are on file with the department may be charged to subscribers.

(3) If it is impractical or impossible for a franchisee to provide such notifications due to conditions beyond the franchisee's control, the franchisee shall give reasonable notice to the subscribers and the director.

(4) In the event of a rate increase, retiering or other changes in service by a franchisee, subscribers may downgrade or disconnect service without charge; provided, however, that charges may be imposed for failure to return converter boxes, remote controls or other equipment owned by the franchisee.

(Ord. No. 14(1989), § 2(16.68.180), 6-27-89)

(a) Upon termination of service to any subscriber, the franchisee shall promptly remove all its facilities and equipment from the premises of such subscriber upon subscriber's request, except as provided in subsection (b) of this section. Upon termination of services, should the franchisee not promptly collect its equipment from the premises of the subscriber, the subscriber shall not be charged for continued services, nor for failure to return any equipment.

(b) Should a franchisee require the subscriber to return the equipment, the franchisee shall establish convenient hours, which must include convenient evening and weekend hours, for the return of equipment, and the subscriber shall have a reasonable length of time in which to return the equipment. The subscriber shall be advised of the date by which the equipment must be returned before a charge may be imposed for failure to return equipment.

(Ord. No. 14(1989), § 2(16.68.185), 6-27-89)

A franchisee shall not grant any preference or advantage to any person or group, nor subject any person or group to prejudice or disadvantage as to rates, charges, services, service facilities, rules and regulations or in any other respect relative to the rights granted under the franchise. Nothing in this section shall prohibit the franchisee from offering limited, promotional specials, nor from offering bulk or discount billings where practical.

(Ord. No. 14(1989), § 2(16.68.190), 6-27-89)

Provided the subscriber does not violate any federal, state or local laws regarding the reception of cable services, makes payments for such services in a timely fashion to the franchisee, and maintains the franchisee's equipment in good working order, the franchisee may not refuse cable service to a subscriber.

(Ord. No. 14(1989), § 2(16.68.192), 6-27-89)

The city reserves the right to modify, during the term of the franchise, the existing consumer standards contained within the ordinance granting the franchise, and to establish additional consumer service standards from time to time, as may be necessary to protect the subscriber, the franchisee and the city.

(Ord. No. 14(1989), § 2(16.68.195), 6-27-89)