Escondido Municipal Code Art. 2 Statewide Video Franchises

This article shall be known as the codified version of the "Statewide Video Franchise Ordinance."

(Ord. No. 2009-12, § 3, 6-24-09)

This chapter is applicable to all video service providers who are eligible for, and have received, a statewide video franchise ("state franchise") under DIVCA, to provide video services in any portion of the City of Escondido ("City").

(Ord. No. 2009-12, § 3, 6-24-09)

Pursuant to California Public Utilities Code Section 5840, effective January 1, 2007, the California Public Utilities Commission ("CPUC") has sole authority to grant state franchises. In addition, DIVCA now expressly permits the City of Escondido to retain certain rights and responsibilities with respect to state video franchise holders ("state franchisees"). These include the right to receive a franchise fee and a fee for public, educational and government ("PEG") programming, both based on a percentage of the gross revenues of state franchisees; the establishment and enforcement of penalties for violations of customer service rules; the right to conduct an audit of a video franchisee's gross revenue statements; and the right to impose reasonable restrictions on the use of the city's public rights-of-way under California Public Utilities Code Section 7901.1. DIVCA leaves unchanged the city's authority to regulate the city's current cable franchises in accordance with Chapter 8, Article 1 of the Escondido Municipal Code ("EMC") until such time as the cable franchisee no longer holds a city franchise or is no longer operating under a current or expired city franchise.

(Ord. No. 2009-12, § 3, 6-24-09)

(a) Any state franchisee operating within the public rights-of-way within the boundaries of the city shall pay a fee to the city equal to 5% of the gross revenue of that state franchisee.

(b) Any state franchisee operating within the boundaries of the city shall pay an additional fee to the city equal to 1% of the gross revenue of that state franchisee. The city must use funds derived from this fee for PEG purposes, consistent with state and federal law.

(c) Gross revenue, for the purposes of subsections (a) and (b) of this section, shall have the definition set forth in California Public Utilities Code Section 5860.

(Ord. No. 2009-12, § 3, 6-24-09)

Not more than once annually, the city may examine and perform an audit of the business records of a state franchisee to ensure compliance with EMC section 8-23. The expense of the audit shall be funded pursuant to California Public Utilities Code Section 5860(i).

(Ord. No. 2009-12, § 3, 6-24-09)

(a) The holder of a state franchise shall comply with all applicable state and federal customer service and protection standards pertaining to the provision of video service.

(b) The city manager, or designee, shall monitor complaints from customers of state franchisees doing business in the city, to ensure their compliance with respect to state and federal customer service and protection standards. The city manager, or designee, shall provide the state franchisee(s) written notice of any material breaches of applicable customer service standards, and shall allow the state franchisee(s) 30 days from the receipt of the notice to remedy the specified material breach. Material breaches not remedied within the 30 day time period shall be subject to the following penalties by the city manager, or designee under California Public Utilities Code Section 5900(d):

(1) For the first occurrence of a violation, a fine of $500 shall be imposed for each day the violation occurs, not to exceed $1,500 for each violation.

(2) For a second violation of the same nature within 12 months, a fine of $1,000 shall be imposed for each day the violation occurs, not to exceed $3,000 for each violation.

(3) For a third violation of the same nature within 12 months, a fine of $2,500 shall be imposed for each day the violation occurs, not to exceed $7,500 for each violation.

(c) A state franchisee may appeal any penalty assessed within 60 days by providing written notice to the city manager. Upon receiving the written notice from the state franchisee, the city council shall schedule a public hearing to be noticed in a public agenda. In addition, such public notice shall be mailed, not fewer than 14 days prior to the hearing, to any resident that is directly affected by the actions of the state franchisee which formed the basis for the assessment of penalties by the city manager. After relevant speakers are heard, and any necessary staff reports are submitted, the city council will vote to either uphold or vacate the penalty. The city council's decision on the imposition of a penalty shall be final.

(Ord. No. 2009-12, § 3, 6-24-09)

(a) Applicants for state franchises within the boundaries of the city must concurrently provide complete copies to the city of any application or amendments to applications filed with the PUC pursuant to California Public Utilities Code Section 5840. One complete copy must be provided to the city clerk, and one complete copy to the city manager.

(b) The city manager shall provide any appropriate comments to the PUC regarding an application or an amendment to an application for a state franchise.

(Ord. No. 2009-12, § 3, 6-24-09)