Inglewood Municipal Code § 8-63 Cable, Video and Telecommunications Service Providers

This Section 8-63 et seq., of Chapter 8 of the Inglewood Municipal Code is known and may be cited as the "Cable, Video, and Telecommunications Service Providers Ordinance" of the City of Inglewood.

(Ord. 07-11 6-5-07)

[1]

Prior ordinance history: 2006, 2341, 2348, 96-21, 03-19, 07-08.

This Section is enacted by the City of Inglewood pursuant to the Communications Act, the City's police powers under its Charter, its authority to control the use of the public rights-of-way within the City, and all other applicable laws.

(Ord. 07-11 6-5-07)

(a) For the purposes of this Section, the words, terms, phrases, and abbreviations have the meanings set forth below. When not inconsistent with the context, words used in the present tense include the future tense, and words in the singular include the plural number.

"Administrative Officer"

means the Administrative Officer of the City of Inglewood, or the Administrative Officer's designee.

"Affiliate"

means, when used in relation to any person, another person who owns or controls, is owned or controlled by, or is under common ownership or control with, such person.

"Cable service"

means the one-way transmission to subscribers of video programming, or other programming services, and subscriber interaction, if any, that is required for the selection or use of that video programming or other programming service. For the purposes of this definition, "video programming" means programming provided by, or generally considered comparable to programming provided by, a television broadcast station; and "other programming service" means information that a cable system operator makes available to all subscribers generally.

"Cable system," or "cable communications system" or "cable television 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 that includes video programming and that is provided to multiple subscribers within a community. The term "cable system" does not include:

(1)

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

(2)

A facility that serves subscribers without using any public rights-of-way; or

(3)

A facility of a common carrier that is subject, in whole or in part, to the provisions of Title II of the Communications Act, except that such facility will be considered a cable system (other than for purposes specified in Section 621(c) of the Communications Act) to the extent such facility is used in the transmission of video programming directly to subscribers, unless the extent of such use is solely to provide interactive on-demand services; or

(4)

an open video system that complies with Section 653 of the Communications Act; or

(5)

Any facilities of an electric utility that are used solely for operating its electric utility system.

"Cable system operator" or "cable operator"

means any person or group of persons:

(1)

Who provides cable service over a cable system and directly or through one or more affiliates owns a significant interest in that cable system; or

(2)

Who otherwise controls or is responsible for, through any arrangement, the management and operation of that cable system.

"CFR"

means the Code of Federal Regulations. Thus, the citation of "47 CFR 80.1" refers to Title 47, part 80, section 1, of the Code of Federal Regulations.

"City"

means the City of Inglewood, California as represented by its City Council or by any delegate acting within the scope of its delegated authority.

"Communications Act"

means the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. §§ 153, et seq.), as amended by the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984, the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992, and the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

"CPUC" or "PUC"

means the California Public Utility Commission.

"FCC" or "Federal Communications Commission"

means the Federal administrative agency, or any lawful successor, that is authorized to regulate cable and telecommunications services and cable and telecommunications service providers on a national level.

"Franchise"

means a local cable franchise granted by the City Council, unless otherwise specified.

"Franchise fee"

means any fee or assessment of any kind that is authorized by state or Federal law to be imposed by the City on a Grantee as compensation in the nature of rent for the Grantee's use of the public rights-of-way. 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 that are required by the franchise to be incurred by a Grantee for public, educational, or governmental access facilities;

(3)

Requirements or charges that are incidental to the award or enforcement 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.

"Franchise service area" or "service area"

means the entire geographic area of the City as it is now constituted, or may in the future be constituted, unless otherwise specified in the ordinance or resolution granting a franchise, or in a franchise agreement.

"Grantee"

means any person that is awarded a franchise in accordance with this Section, and that person's lawful successor, transferee, or assignee.

"Gross Revenues" or "Gross Receipts."

For holders of state video franchises the following definition applies: "gross revenues" means all revenue actually received by the holder of a state franchise, as determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, that is derived from the operation of the holder's network to provide cable or video service within the jurisdiction of the local entity, including all of the following:

(1)

All charges billed to subscribers for any and all cable service or video service provided by the holder of a state franchise, including all revenue related to programming provided to the subscriber, equipment rentals, late fees, and insufficient fund fees.

(2)

Franchise fees imposed on the holder of a state franchise by this Section that are passed through to, and paid by, the subscribers.

(3)

Compensation received by the holder of a state franchise that is derived from the operation of the holder's network to provide cable service or video service with respect to commissions that are paid to the holder of a state franchise as compensation for promotion or exhibition of any products or services on the holder's network, such as a "home shopping" or similar channel, subject to paragraph (4) of this subsection.

(4)

A pro rata portion of all revenue derived by the holder of a state franchise or its affiliates pursuant to compensation arrangements for advertising derived from the operation of the holder's network to provide video service within the jurisdiction of the local entity, subject to paragraph (1) of this subsection. The allocation shall be based on the number of subscribers in the local entity divided by the total number of subscribers in relation to the relevant regional or national compensation arrangement.

"Gross Revenue"

set forth in this subsection does not include any of the following:

(1)

Amounts not actually received, even if billed, such as bad debt; refunds, rebates, or discounts to subscribers or other third parties; or revenue imputed from the provision of cable services or video services for free or at reduced rates to any person as required or allowed by law, including, but not limited to, the provision of these services to public institutions, public schools, governmental agencies, or employees, except that forgone revenue chosen not to be received in exchange for trades, barters, services, or other items of value shall be included in gross revenue.

(2)

Revenues received by any affiliate or any other person in exchange for supplying goods or services used by the holder of a state franchise to provide cable services or video services. However, revenue received by an affiliate of the holder from the affiliate's provision of cable or video service shall be included in gross revenue as follows:

"Gross Receipts"

means all monies received by Grantee attributable to the operation of the Grantee's business within the City of Inglewood and derived by the Company from all services generated by the System Facilities including, but not limited to, charges to Subscribers for Basic, Premium Programming, FM Services, installation charges, any and all revenue received from Subscribers for use of the System Facilities for the transmission of electronic or microwave impulses.

"Gross Revenue"

means all revenue, that is received, directly or indirectly, by Grantee from or in connection with the distribution of any cable service within the franchise service area, and any other service provided within the franchise service area that may, under existing or future Federal law, be included in the Communications Act definition for the purpose of calculating and collecting the maximum allowable franchise fee for operation of the system, whether or not authorized by any franchise, including, without limitation, leased or access channel revenue received, directly or indirectly, from or in connection with the distribution of any cable service. It is intended that all revenue collected by the Grantee from the provision of cable service over the system, whether or not authorized by the franchise, be included in this definition. Gross revenue also specifically includes any revenue received, as reasonably determined from time to time by the City, through any means that is intended to have the effect of avoiding the payment of compensation that would otherwise be paid to the City for the franchise granted, including the fair market value of any nonmonetary (i.e., barter) transactions between Grantee and any person, but not less than the customary prices paid in connection with equivalent transactions. Gross revenue also includes any bad debts recovered, payments received for the lease or license to third parties of excess capacity in fiber optic cables or similar transmission facilities, and all revenue that is received by Grantee, or its subsidiaries or affiliated companies, directly or indirectly, from or in connection with the distribution of any service over the system or the conduct of any service-related activity involving the system, including without limitation revenues derived from advertising sales, the sale of products or services on home shopping channels, and the sale of program guides. Gross revenue does not include: (1) the revenue of any person to the extent that such revenue is also included in the gross revenue of Grantee; (2) taxes imposed by law on subscribers that Grantee is obligated to collect; (3) amounts that must be excluded pursuant to applicable law; bad debt; and (4) deposits and refunds.

"Multichannel video programming distributor" or "video programming distributor"

means a person such as, but not limited to, a cable system operator, an open video system operator, a multichannel multipoint distribution service, a direct broadcast satellite service, or a television receive-only satellite program distributor, who makes available multiple channels of video programming for purchase by subscribers or customers.

"Open video system"

means a facility consisting of a set of transmission paths and associated signal generation, reception and control equipment that is designed to provide cable service, including video programming, and that is provided to multiple subscribers within the City, provided that the FCC has certified that such system is authorized to operate in the City and complies with 47 CFR 1500 et seq., titled "Open Video Systems."

"Open video system operator"

means any person or group of persons who provides cable service over an open video system and directly or through one or more affiliates owns a significant interest in that open video system, or otherwise controls or is responsible for the management and operation of that open video system.

"Person"

means an individual, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint stock company, trust, corporation or governmental entity.

"Public, educational or government access facilities," "PEG access facilities," or "PEG access"

means the total of the following:

(1)

Channel capacity designated for noncommercial public, educational, or government use; and

(2)

Facilities and equipment for the use of that channel capacity.

"Subscriber" or "customer" or "consumer"

means any person who, for any purpose, subscribes to the services provided by a multichannel video programming distributor and who pays the charges for those services.

"State video franchise"

means a state franchise to provide video services issued by the California Public Utilities Commission pursuant to the Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act of 2006.

"State franchise holder"

means a person which holds a state video services franchise issued by the California Public Utilities Commission pursuant to the Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act of 2006.

"Street" or "public right-of-way"

means each of the following that has been dedicated to the public and maintained under public authority or by others and is located within the City limits: streets, roadways, highways, avenues, lanes, alleys, sidewalks, easements, rights-of-way and similar public property that the City from time to time authorizes to be included within the definition of a street.

"Telecommunications"

means the transmission, between or among points specified by the user, of information of the user's choosing, without change in the form or content of the information as sent and received.

"Telecommunications equipment"

means equipment, other than customer premises equipment, used by a telecommunications service provider to provide telecommunications service, including software that is integral to that equipment.

"Telecommunications service"

means the offering of telecommunications directly to the public for a fee, or to such classes of users as to be effectively available directly to the public, regardless of the equipment or facilities that are used.

"Telecommunications service provider"

means any provider of telecommunications service.

"_____ U.S.C. § _____"

means the United States Code. Thus, the citation of "47 U.S.C. § 153" refers to Title 47, section 153, of the United States Code.

"Video programming provider"

means any person or group of persons who has the right under the Federal copyright laws to select and to contract for the carriage of specific video programming on a cable system or an open video system.

"Video provider"

means any person, company, or service that provides one or more channels of video programming to a residence, including a home, multi-family dwelling complex, congregate-living complex, condominium, apartment or mobile home, where some fee is paid for that service, whether directly or as included in dues or rental charges, and whether or not public rights-of-way are used in the delivery of that video programming. A "video provider" includes, without limitation, providers of cable television service, open video system service, master antenna television, satellite master antenna television, direct broadcast satellite, multipoint distribution services and other providers of video programming, whatever their technology.

(b) Unless otherwise expressly stated, words, terms, phrases, and abbreviations not defined in this Section will be given their meaning as used in Title 47 of the United States Code, as amended, and, if not defined in that Code, their meaning as used in Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(Ord. 07-11 6-5-07)

It is unlawful for any person to construct, install, maintain, or operate a cable television system within any street or public way in the City without first obtaining a franchise under the provisions of this Section or, if applicable, under the provisions of the Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act of 2006; provided, however, that any cable operator authorized to provide cable service under a franchise granted by the City prior to the effective date of the ordinance codified in this Section may continue to exercise that authority until the expiration or termination of that franchise.

(Ord. 07-11 6-5-07)

Subject to applicable state law, the City may, up until January 2, 2008, by ordinance or resolution grant a franchise to any person, whether or not operating under an existing franchise, or who elects to provide cable service pursuant to the provisions of this Section. The franchise shall be subject to all ordinances and regulations of general application now in effect or subsequently enacted, including, without limitation, those related to encroachment permits, business licenses, zoning, and building.

(Ord. 07-11 6-5-07)

(a) The term of the franchise or of any franchise renewal shall be established in the franchise agreement.

(b) Up until January 2, 2008, a franchise may be renewed by the City upon application of the Grantee pursuant to procedures established by the City, subject to applicable Federal and state law. In the event the City does not establish such renewal procedures, the franchise renewal procedures set forth in Federal law shall apply. After January 2, 2008, all video service franchises will be granted and renewed under state law unless otherwise preempted by Federal law.

(Ord. 07-11 6-5-07)

(a) A franchise granted under this Section shall be nonexclusive.

(b) The grant of a franchise, right, or license to use public rights-of-way for purposes of providing cable service shall not be construed as a right or license to use such public rights-of-way for any other purpose.

(c) Any right or privilege claimed by a Grantee under a franchise in public rights-of-way or other public property shall be subordinate to any prior or subsequent lawful occupancy or use thereof, or easement therein, by the City or other governmental entity.

(d) A franchise granted under this Section shall not relieve a Grantee of any obligation to obtain pole space from any City department, utility company, or others maintaining poles in the public rights-of-way.

(Ord. 07-11 6-5-07)

(a) Subject to any restrictions that are mandated by state or Federal law, neither the granting of any franchise nor any provisions of this Chapter shall be construed to preclude the City from granting additional franchises.

(b) By its acceptance of a franchise, a Grantee agrees to comply with all lawful ordinances and regulations of general application now in effect or subsequently enacted; provided, however, that such ordinances and regulations shall not materially affect Grantee's rights or obligations under the franchise.

(c) Neither the granting of a franchise, nor any provisions of this Section, shall constitute a waiver or bar to the City's lawful exercise of any governmental right or power.

(d) This Section shall not be construed to impair or affect, in any way, the right of the City to acquire the Grantee's property through the exercise of the power of eminent domain, in accordance with applicable law.

(e) The City may do all things necessary in the exercise of its jurisdiction under this Section and may determine any question of fact that may arise during the term of any franchise granted under this Section.

(f) Any right or power in, or duty imposed upon any officer, employee, department, or board of the City shall be subject to transfer by the City to any other officer, employee, department, or board of the City.

(Ord. 07-11 6-5-07)

(a) For all franchises in effect prior to January 2, 2007, Grantee may 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 of the rights or privileges therein granted, without the prior written consent of the City. Any attempt to sell, transfer, lease, assign, or otherwise dispose of the franchise without the written consent of the City is null and void. The granting of a security interest in any assets of the Grantee, or any mortgage or other hypothecation, will not be deemed a transfer for the purposes of this Section.

(b) The requirements of paragraph (a) of this Section apply to any change in control of Grantee. The word "control" as used herein is not limited to the ownership of major stockholder or partnership interests, but includes actual working control in whatever manner exercised. If Grantee is a partnership or a corporation, prior authorization of the City is required where ownership or control of twenty-five percent or more of the partnership interests or of the voting stock of the corporation, or any company in the tier of companies controlling the Grantee, whether directly or indirectly, is acquired by a person or a group of persons acting in concert, none of whom, individually or collectively, owns or controls those partnership interests or that voting stock of the Grantee, or Grantee's upper tier of controlling companies, as of the effective date of the franchise.

(c) Unless precluded by Federal law, Grantee must give prior written notice to the City of any proposed foreclosure or judicial sale of all or a substantial part of the Grantee's franchise property. That notification will be considered by the City as notice that a change in control of ownership of the franchise will take place, and the provisions of this Section that require the prior written consent of the City to that change in control of ownership will apply.

(d) For the purpose of determining whether it will consent to an acquisition, transfer, or change in control, the City may inquire about the qualifications of the prospective transferee or controlling party, and Grantee must assist the City in that inquiry. In seeking the City's consent to any change of ownership or control, Grantee or the proposed transferee, or both, must complete Federal Communications Commission Form 394 or its equivalent. This application must be submitted to the City not less than one hundred twenty days prior to the proposed date of transfer. The transferee must establish that it possesses the legal, financial, and technical capability to remedy all then-existing defaults and deficiencies, and during the remaining term of the franchise, to operate and maintain the cable system and to comply with all franchise requirements. If the legal, financial, and technical qualifications of the proposed transferee are determined to be satisfactory, then the City will consent to the transfer of the franchise.

(e) Any financial institution holding a pledge of Grantee's assets to secure the advance of money for the construction or operation of the franchise property has the right to notify the City that it, or a designee satisfactory to the City, will take control of and operate the cable television system upon Grantee's default in its financial obligations. Further, that financial institution must also submit a plan for such operation within ninety days after assuming control. The plan must insure continued service and compliance with all franchise requirements during the period that the financial institution will exercise control over the system. The financial institution may not exercise control over the system for a period exceeding one year unless authorized by the City, in its sole discretion, and during that period it will have the right to petition the City to transfer the franchise to another Grantee.

(f) Unless prohibited by applicable law, Grantee must reimburse the City for the City's reasonable review and processing expenses incurred in connection with any transfer or change in control of the franchise, as provided for in Section 8-63.35.

(g) Except as provided by law, the requirements of this Section do not apply to transfers of state video franchises.

(Ord. 07-11 6-5-07)

(a) The franchise service area shall be established in the franchise agreement.

(b) Territory annexed to the City that is not within the service area of a franchised or licensed cable operator at the time of annexation may be included within the franchise service area of an incumbent cable operator, as determined by City resolution.

(c) Territory annexed to the City that is included within the service area of a franchise or license issued by a local franchising authority other than the City is subject to the following provisions:

(1) If the franchisee or licensee has not commenced construction or installation of a cable system before the annexation becomes effective, then all rights acquired by a cable operator under that franchise or license will terminate by operation of law.

(2) If the franchisee or licensee has commenced construction or installation of a cable system before the annexation becomes effective, then that franchisee or licensee may continue to provide cable service to the annexed territory in accordance with the terms and conditions of the existing franchise or license, provided that all obligations thereunder, including the timely payment of franchise fees and PEG support fees, if any, shall be due and owing to the City by operation of law.

(Ord. 07-11 6-5-07)

Franchise renewals shall be processed in accordance with then-applicable law and with the renewal terms, if any, of the franchise agreement. The City and Grantee, by mutual consent, may enter into renewal negotiations at any time during the term of the franchise.

(Ord. 07-11 6-5-07)

(a) Applicants for state video franchises within the boundaries of the City must concurrently provide to the City complete copies of any application or amendments to applications filed with the CPUC. One complete copy must be provided to the City Clerk.

(b) The City will provide any appropriate comments to the CPUC regarding an application or an amendment to an application for a state video franchise.

(c) In connection with a franchise modification request, a franchise renewal, or a franchise transfer, applicant shall pay an application fee deposit equal to the City's estimated costs in processing and reviewing the application, as such costs may be established from time to time by resolution of the City. Such costs shall include all estimated administrative, consultant, noticing, and document preparation expenses. No application shall be considered without payment of the application fee deposit. If the application fee deposit is less than the City's actual costs, the applicant shall pay such additional costs to the City within thirty days after written notice from the City that such additional payment is required. If payment of such amount is not made within such time, the City shall cease all further proceedings related to the application. If actual costs are less than the application fee deposit, the remaining balance will be refunded to the applicant.

(d) Application fee deposits are exclusive of an applicant's or Grantee's obligation to. pay other costs and fees required by this Section or the franchise agreement, including, without limitation, construction inspection fees, permit fees, and franchise fees.

(Ord. 07-11 6-5-07)

(a) In consideration for the privilege to use the City's public rights-of-way in the operation of its cable system, and pursuant to PUC Section 5810(b) and 5840(q), a Grantee or holder of a state video franchise shall pay to the City a franchise fee in an amount equal to five percent of Grantee's gross revenues, unless a greater amount is authorized by applicable law.

(b) The franchise fee shall be paid quarterly and must be received by the City not later than forty-five days after the close of each calendar quarter.

(c) Concurrent with the payment of franchise fees, Grantee shall provide to the City a statement verified by a financial officer of Grantee that sets forth gross revenues for. the previous calendar quarter, listing every revenue source and describing gross revenue computations.

(d) On an annual basis, Grantee shall file a statement certified by a financial officer that sets forth all gross revenues for the previous calendar year, listing every revenue source and describing gross revenue computations. If the City has any objections relating to that report, the City shall have thirty days to notify Grantee and to request additional information. Grantee shall have thirty days to provide additional information to resolve any objections to the City's satisfaction.

(e) Pursuant to PUC Section 5860(i), not more than once annually, the City may examine and perform an audit of the business records of a holder of a state video franchise to ensure compliance with all applicable statutes and regulations related to the computation and payment of franchise fees.

(f) If any franchise fee payment is not made by the due date, interest shall be charged monthly at a rate of one percent. In addition, if any franchise fee is not paid in full within fifteen days after Grantee's receipt of notice from the City concerning the delinquency of that payment, a late fee in amount of five percent of the delinquent amount shall be assessed.

(Ord. 07-11 6-5-07)

(a) Pursuant to PUC Section 5840(c), any person or corporation that seeks to provide video service in this state for which a franchise has not already been issued, after January 1, 2008, shall file an application for a state franchise with the commission.

(b) In the event that a cable television franchise that exists on December 31, 2006 is extended or renewed as a local franchise consistent with Federal law, then the provisions of a franchise agreement for the operation of a cable television system may relate to or include without limitation to the following subject matters:

(1) The geographical area, duration, and nonexclusive nature of the franchise;

(2) The applicable franchise fee to be paid to the City, including the percentage amount, the method of computation, and the time for payment;

(3) Requirements relating to compliance with and implementation of state and Federal laws and regulations pertaining to the operation of the cable television system;

(4) Requirements relating to the construction, upgrade, or rebuild of the cable television system, as well as the provision of special services, such as outlets for public buildings, emergency alert capability, and parental control devices;

(5) Requirements relating to the maintenance of a performance bond, a security fund, a letter of credit, or similar assurances as determined by the City to secure the performance of the Grantee's obligations under the franchise agreement;

(6) Requirements relating to liability insurance, workers' compensation insurance, and indemnification;

(7) Requirements relating to consumer protection and customer service standards, including the resolution of subscriber complaints and disputes and the protection of subscribers' privacy rights, which requirements may include, without limitation, compliance with the statutes, rules and regulations set forth below in Section 8.63-18;

(8) Requirements relating to the Grantee's support of local cable usage, including the provision of public, educational, or governmental access channels, the coverage of public meetings and special events, interconnection requirements, and financial support for the required access channel facilities and activities that is consistent with this Section;

(9) Requirements relating to construction, operation, and maintenance of the cable system within the public rights-of-way, including compliance with all applicable building codes and permit requirements, the abandonment, removal, or relocation of facilities, and compliance with FCC technical standards;

(10) Requirements relating to recordkeeping, accounting procedures, reporting, periodic audits, performance reviews, and the inspection of Grantee's books and records;

(11) Acts or omissions constituting material breaches of or defaults under the franchise agreement, and the applicable penalties or remedies for those breaches or defaults, including fines, penalties, liquidated damages, suspension, revocation and termination;

(12) Requirements relating to the sale, assignment, or other transfer or change in control of the franchise;

(13) Grantee's obligation to maintain continuity of service and to authorize, under certain specified circumstances, the City's operation and management of the cable system;

(14) Such additional requirements, conditions, policies, and procedures as may be mutually agreed upon by the parties to the franchise agreement and that will, in the judgment of the City, best serve the public interest and protect the public health, welfare, and safety.

(c) If there is any conflict or inconsistency between the provisions of a franchise agreement authorized by the City and provisions of Section 8.63-17, the provisions of the franchise agreement will control.

(Ord. 07-11 6-5-07)

The provisions of Section 8-63.16 apply to an open video system operator that intends to deliver video programming to consumers in the City over an open-video system. Pursuant to PUC Section 5830(n), an "OVS operator" means any person or group of persons that either provides cable service over an open-video system directly, or through one or more affiliates, owns a significant interest in an open-video system, or that otherwise controls or is responsible for, through any arrangement, the management of an open-video system.

(Ord. 07-11 6-5-07)

Pursuant to PUC Section 5840(c), any person or corporation who seeks to provide video service in this state for which a franchise has not already been issued, after January 1, 2008, shall file, an application for a state franchise with the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC).

(Ord. 07-11 6-5-07)

The term "cable system" does not include a facility that serves subscribers without using any public rights-of-way. Consequently, the categories of multichannel video programming distributors identified below are not deemed to be "cable systems" and are therefore exempt from the City's franchise requirements and from certain other local regulatory provisions authorized by Federal law, provided that their distribution or transmission facilities do not involve the use of the City's public rights-of-way:

(a) Multichannel multipoint distribution service ("MMDS"), also known as "wireless cable," which typically involves the transmission by an FCC-licensed operator of numerous broadcast stations from a central location using line-of-sight technology;

(b) Local multipoint distribution service ("LMDS"), another form of over-the-air, wireless video service for which licenses are auctioned by the FCC, and that offers video programming, telephone, and data networking services.

(c) Direct broadcast satellite ("DBS"), also referred to as "direct-to-home satellite services," which involves the distribution or broadcasting of programming or services by satellite directly to the subscriber's premises without the use of ground-receiving or distribution equipment, except at the subscriber's premises or in the uplink process to the satellite. Local regulation of direct-to-home satellite services is further proscribed by the following Federal statutory provisions:

(1) 47 U.S.C. § 303(v) confers upon the FCC exclusive jurisdiction to regulate the provisions of direct-to-home satellite services.

(2) Section 602 of the Communications Act states that a provider of direct-to-home satellite service is exempt from the collection or remittance, or both, of any tax or fee imposed by any local taxing jurisdiction on direct-to-home satellite service. The terms "tax" and "fee" are defined by Federal statute to mean any local sales tax, local use tax, local intangible tax, local income tax, business license tax, utility tax, privilege tax, gross receipts tax, excise tax, franchise fees, local telecommunications tax, or any other tax, license, or fee that is imposed for the privilege of doing business, regulating, or raising revenue for a local taxing jurisdiction.

(Ord. 07-11 6-5-07)

(a) Unless the customer protection and customer service obligations of a video provider are specified in a franchise with the City, a video provider must comply with all applicable provisions of the following state statutes:

(1) The Cable Television and Video Customer Service and Information Act (Government Code Sections 53054, et seq.);

(2) The Video Customer Service Act (Government Code Sections 53088, et seq.);

(3) PUC Code Section 5890(a).

(b) All video providers that are operating in the City on the effective date of the ordinance codified in this Section, or that intend to operate in the City after the effective date of the ordinance codified in this Section, and are not required under applicable law to operate under a franchise, license, lease, or similar written agreement with the City, must register with the City. The registration form must include or be accompanied by the following:

(1) The video provider's name, address, and local telephone numbers.

(2) The names of the officers of the video provider.

(3) A copy of the video provider's written policies and procedures relating to customer service standards and the handling of customer complaints, as required by California Government Code Sections 53054, et seq. These customer service standards must include, without limitation, standards regarding the following:

A. Installation, disconnection, service and repair obligations, employee identification, and service call response time and scheduling.

B. Customer telephone and office hours.

C. Procedures for billing, charges, refunds, and credits.

D. Procedures for termination of service.

E. Notice of the deletion of a programming service, the changing of channel assignments, or an increase in rates.

F. Complaint procedures and procedures for bill dispute resolution.

G. The video provider's written acknowledgement of its obligation under California Government Code Section 53055.1 to provide to new customers a notice describing the customer service standards specified above in subparagraphs (A) through (F) at the time of installation or when service is initiated. The notice must also include, in addition to all of the information described above in subparagraphs (A) through (F), all of the following:

(i) A listing of the services offered by the video provider that clearly describes all levels of service and the rates for each level of service;

(ii) The telephone number or numbers through which customers may subscribe to, change, or terminate service, request customer service, or seek general or billing information;

(iii) A description of the rights and remedies that the video provider may make available to its customers if the video provider does not materially meet its customer service standards.

H. The video provider's written commitment to distribute annually to its employees and customers, and to the City, a notice describing the customer service standards specified above in subparagraphs (A) through (F). This annual notice must include the report of the video provider on its performance in meeting its customer service standards, as required by California Government Code Section 53055.2.

(4) Unless a video provider is exempt under Federal law from its payment, a registration fee in an amount established by resolution of the City Council to cover the reasonable costs incurred by the City in reviewing and processing the registration form.

(5) In addition to the registration fee specified above in subsection (4), the written commitment of the video provider to pay to the City, when due, all costs and expenses reasonably incurred by the City in resolving any disputes between the video provider and its subscribers, which dispute resolution is mandated by California Government Code Section 53088.2(p).

(c) The customer service obligations imposed upon video providers by the Video Customer Service Act California Government Code Sections 53088 et seq., consist of the following:

(1) Every video provider must render reasonably efficient service, make repairs promptly, and interrupt service only as necessary.

(2) All video provider personnel contacting subscribers or potential subscribers outside the office of the provider must be clearly identified as associated with the video provider.

(3) At the time of installation, and annually thereafter, all video providers must provide to all customers a written notice of the programming offered, the prices for that programming, the provider's installation and customer service policies, and the name, address, and telephone number of the City's office that is designated for receiving complaints.

(4) All video providers must have knowledgeable, qualified company representatives available to respond to customer telephone inquiries Monday through Friday, excluding holidays, during normal business hours.

(5) All video providers must provide to customers a toll-free or local telephone number for installation, service, and complaint calls. These calls must be answered promptly by the video providers.

(6) All video providers must render bills that are accurate and understandable.

(7) All video providers must respond promptly to a complete outage in a customer's service. The response must occur within twenty-four hours of the reporting of such outage to the provider, except in those situations beyond the reasonable control of the video provider. A video provider will be deemed to respond to a complete outage when a company representative arrives at the outage location within twenty-four hours and begins to resolve the problem.

(8) All video providers must provide a minimum of thirty days' written notice before increasing rates or deleting channels. All video providers must make every reasonable effort to submit the notice to the City in advance of the distribution to customers. The thirty-day notice is waived if the increases in rates or deletion of channels are outside the control of the video provider. In those cases, the video provider must make reasonable efforts to provide customers with as much notice as possible.

(9) Every video provider must allow every residential customer who pays his or her bill directly to the video provider at least fifteen days from the date the bill for services is mailed to the customer, to pay the listed charges unless otherwise agreed to pursuant to a residential rental agreement establishing tenancy. Customer payments must be posted promptly. No video provider may terminate residential service for nonpayment of a delinquent account unless the video provider furnishes notice of the delinquency and impending termination at least fifteen days prior to the proposed termination. The notice must be mailed, postage prepaid, to the customer to whom the service is billed. Notice must not be mailed until the 16th day after the date the bill for services was mailed to the customer. The notice of delinquency and impending termination may be part of a billing statement. Additionally, no video provider may assess a late fee any earlier than the 22nd day after the bill for service has been mailed.

(10) Every notice of termination of service pursuant to the preceding subsection (9) must include all of the following information:

A. The name and address of the customer whose account is delinquent;

B. The amount of the delinquency;

C. The date by which payment is required in order to avoid termination of service;

D. The telephone number of a representative of the video provider who can provide additional information and handle complaints or initiate an investigation concerning the service and charges in question.

(11) Service may only be terminated on days in which the customer can reach a representative of the video provider either in person or by telephone.

(12) Any service terminated without good cause must be restored without charge for the service restoration. Good cause includes, but is not limited to, failure to pay, payment by check for which there are insufficient funds, theft of service, abuse of equipment or system personnel, or other similar subscriber actions.

(13) All video providers must issue requested refund checks promptly, but no later than forty-five days following the resolution of any dispute, and following the return of the equipment supplied by the video provider, if service is terminated.

(14) All video providers must issue security or customer deposit refund checks promptly, but no later than forty-five days following the termination of service, less any deductions permitted by law.

(15) Video providers must not disclose the name and address of a subscriber for commercial gain to be used in mailing lists or for other commercial purposes not reasonably related to the conduct of the businesses of the video providers or their affiliates, unless the video providers have provided to the subscriber a notice, separate or included in any other customer notice, that clearly and conspicuously describes the subscriber's ability to prohibit the disclosure. Video providers must provide an address and telephone number for a local subscriber to use without toll charge to prevent disclosure of the subscriber's name and address.

(d) As authorized by Government Code Section 53088.2(r), the following schedule of penalties is adopted. These penalties may be imposed for the material breach by a video provider of the consumer protection and service standards that are set forth above in subsection (c), provided that the breach is within the reasonable control of the video provider. These penalties are in addition to any other remedies authorized by this Section or by any other law, and the City has discretion to elect the remedy that it will apply. The imposition of penalties authorized by this subsection (d) will not prevent the City or any other affected party from exercising any other remedy to the extent permitted by law, including, but not limited to, any judicial remedy as provided below in subsection (2).

(1) Schedule of Penalties.

A. For the first occurrence of a violation, a monetary penalty of $500 shall be imposed for each day the violation remains in effect, not to exceed $1500 for each violation.

B. For a second violation of the same nature within twelve months, a monetary penalty of $1000 shall be imposed for each day the violation remains in effect, not to exceed $3000 for each violation.

C. For a third or further violation of the same nature within twelve months, a monetary penalty of $2500 shall be imposed for each day the violation remains in effect, not to exceed $7,500 for each violation.

D. The maximum penalties referenced above may be increased by any additional amount authorized by state law.

(2) Judicial Remedies Not Affected. The imposition of penalties in accordance with the provisions of subsection (1) above does not preclude any affected party from pursuing any judicial remedy that is available to that party.

(3) Administration, Notice, and Appeal.

A. The Administrative Officer is authorized to administer this subsection (d). Decisions by the Administrative Officer to assess penalties against a video provider must be in writing and must contain findings supporting the decisions. Decisions by the Administrative Officer are final, unless appealed to the City Council.

B. If the video provider or any interested person is aggrieved by a decision of the Administrative Officer, the aggrieved party may, within ten days of the written decision, appeal that decision in writing to the City Council. The appeal letter must be addressed to the City Clerk and must be accompanied by any applicable fee established by the City Council for processing the appeal. The City Council may affirm, modify, or reverse the decision of the Administrative Officer.

C. The imposition of monetary penalties under subsection (1) above is subject to the following requirements and limitations:

(i) The City must give the video provider written notice of any alleged material breach of the consumer service standards and must allow the video provider at least thirty days from receipt of that notice to remedy the breach.

(ii) For the purpose of assessing monetary penalties, a material breach will be deemed to have occurred for each day following the expiration of the period for cure specified in subparagraph (i) above that the material breach has not been remedied by the video provider, irrespective of the number of customers affected.

(iii) In assessing monetary penalties under this subsection (d), the Administrative Officer, any designated hearing officer, or the City Council, as applicable, may take into account the nature, circumstances, extent and gravity of the violation and, with respect to the video provider, the degree of culpability, any history of prior violations, and such other matters as may be relevant. If warranted under the circumstances, the monetary penalty to be assessed may be less than the maximum penalty authorized above in subsection (d)(1).

(e) A holder of a state video franchise and any Franchisee, upon request by the City, must prepare quarterly reports showing compliance customer service standards for telephone response performance. Such reports will be due to the City within forty-five days from the end of each calendar quarter. The report should detail customer call center performance within all call centers serving the City showing data tracked and aggregated for the entire market area served by the call centers. The report shall include:

(1) Calls offered to Interactive Voice Router (IVR);

(2) Calls handled within IVR;

(3) Percentage of calls handled within IVR;

(4) Calls offered to agents;

(5) Calls handled within thirty seconds;

(6) Service level or percentage of calls answered within thirty seconds;

(7) Number of abandoned calls;

(8) Percentage of calls abandoned;

(9) Average speed to answer a call;

(10) Number of calls reaching a busy signal;

(11) Percentage of busy calls as a function of total calls.

(f) Resident Notification.

(1) Prior to any construction activity related to any cable service or video service, a state franchise holder shall provide public notification as required by Chapter 10 of the Inglewood Municipal Code or as otherwise directed by the Director of Public Works or applicable law.

(2) To the extent practicable, equipment placed on private property shall be placed at the location requested by the property owner. A state franchise holder shall provide the private property owner with reasonable advance written notice of its plans to install equipment, and shall obtain express written consent from the private property owner before installing any equipment. The state franchise holder shall notify the property owner, in writing, that the property owner is not obligated to agree to the placement of equipment on the property or to enter into any agreement with the state franchise holder. Should a property owner notify the state franchise holder of his or her objection to any placement of equipment, the state franchise holder shall confer with the Director of Public Works regarding appropriate location and placement of such equipment.

(Ord. 07-11 6-5-07)

(a) Pursuant to PUC Section 5830(s) "Video service" means video programming services, cable service, or OVS service provided through facilities located at least in part in public rights-of-way without regard to delivery technology, including Internet protocol or other technology. This definition does not include (1) any video programming provided by a commercial mobile service provider defined in Section 322(d) of Title 47 of the United States Code, or (2) video programming provided as part of, and via, a service that enables users to access content, information, electronic mail, or other services offered over the public Internet.

(b) In recognition of and in compliance with statutory requirements that are set forth in state law, the following regulatory provisions are applicable to a telephone corporation that desires to provide telecommunications service by means of facilities that are proposed to be constructed within the City's public rights-of-way:

(1) The telephone corporation must apply for and obtain, as may be applicable, an excavation permit, an encroachment permit, or a building permit ("ministerial permit.")

(2) In addition to the information required by this Cable, Video, and Telecommunications Service Providers Ordinance in connection with an application for a ministerial permit, a telephone corporation must submit to the City the following supplemental information:

A. A copy of the certificate of public convenience and necessity issued by the California Public Utilities Commission ("CPUC") to the applicant, and a copy of the CPUC decision that authorizes the applicant to provide the telecommunications service for which the facilities are proposed to be constructed in the City's public rights-of-way.

B. If the applicant has obtained from the CPUC a certificate of public convenience to operate as a "competitive local carrier," the following additional requirements are applicable:

(i) As required by the CPUC, the applicant must establish that it has filed with the City in a timely manner a quarterly report that describes the type of construction and the location of each construction project proposed to be undertaken in the City during the calendar quarter in which the application is filed, which information is sufficient to enable the City to coordinate multiple projects, as may be necessary.

(ii) If the applicant's proposed construction project will extend beyond the utility rights-of-way into undisturbed areas or other rights-of-way, the applicant must establish that it has filed a petition with the CPUC to amend its certificate of public convenience and necessity and that the proposed construction project has been subjected to a full-scale environmental analysis by the CPUC, as required by Decision No. 95-12-057 of the CPUC.

(iii) The applicant must inform the City whether its proposed construction project will be subject to any of the mitigation measures specified in the Negative Declaration ["Competitive Local Carriers (CLCs) Projects for Local Exchange Communication Service throughout California"] or to the Mitigation Monitoring Plan adopted in connection with Decision No. 95-12-057 of the CPUC. The City's issuance of a ministerial permit will be conditioned upon the applicant's compliance with all applicable mitigation measures and monitoring requirements imposed by the CPUC upon telephone corporations that are designated as "competitive local carriers."

(c) In recognition of the fact that numerous excavations in the public rights-of-way diminish the useful life of the surface pavement and for the purpose of mitigating the adverse impacts of numerous excavations on the quality and longevity of public street maintenance within the City, the following policies and procedures are adopted:

(1) The Administrative Officer is directed to ensure that all public utilities, including telephone corporations, comply with all local design, construction, maintenance and safety standards that are. contained within, or are related to, a ministerial permit that authorizes the construction of facilities within the public rights-of-way.

(2) The Administrative Officer is directed to coordinate the construction and installation of facilities by public utilities, including telephone corporations, in order to minimize the number of excavations in the public rights-of-way. In this regard, based upon projected plans for street construction or renovation projects, the Administrative Officer is authorized to establish on a quarterly basis one or more construction time periods or "windows" for the installation of facilities within the public rights-of-way. Telephone corporations and other public utilities that submit applications for ministerial permits to construct facilities after a predetermined date may be required to delay such construction until the next quarterly "window" that is established by the City.

(d) Subject to applicable provisions of state and Federal law, any video programming provided by a telephone corporation that uses public rights-of-way in the transmission or delivery of that video programming, regardless of the technology used, will be deemed to be a video service subject to the franchise requirements set forth in Section 8-63.04 of this Article.

(e) Telephone corporations that apply for and receive a state franchise to provide video service within all or any part of the City must comply with the provisions of this Section, and all applicable provisions of the Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act of 2006 (Division 2.4 of the California Public Utilities Code, commencing with Section 5800).

(f) Pursuant to PUC Code Section 5820 and Section 5885, the City is the lead agency for any environmental review with respect to network construction, installation, and maintenance in public rights-of-way. The City Engineer shall serve as the City's contact regarding administration of the processes set forth in Division 13 of the Public Resources Code commencing with Section 21000 as established by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

(Ord. 07-11 6-5-07)

(a) PEG Fee. A fee of one percent of Gross Revenues shall be assessed on all video service providers that use the public rights-of-way, including all local franchisees and all holders of state franchises as consistent with state or Federal law. The PEG fee shall be paid quarterly, to be received by the City not later than forty-five days after the close of each quarter of Grantee's fiscal year.

(1) On a quarterly basis, Grantee shall provide the City a complete and accurate statement verified by a financial officer of Grantee indicating Gross Revenues for the past quarter, listing every revenue source, and depicting gross revenue computations.

(2) A video service provider subject to this Section may recover the amount of any fee by billing a recovery fee as a separate line item on the regular bill of each Subscriber.

(b) Channel Designation. All video service providers that use the public rights-of-way shall designate sufficient amount of capacity on their networks to allow the carriage of at least three public, educational, or governmental (PEG) access channels. For the purposes of this Section, a PEG access channel is deemed activated if it is being utilized for PEG access programming within the city for at least eight hours per day.

(1) PEG access channels shall be for the exclusive use of the City or its designees to provide public, educational, or governmental channels.

(2) Advertising, underwriting, or sponsorship recognition may be carried on the PEG access channels for the purpose of funding PEG-related activities.

(3) The PEG access channels shall all be carried on the basic service tier of Grantee.

(4) To the extent feasible, the PEG access channels shall not be separated numerically from other channels carried on the basic service tier and the channel numbers for the PEG access channels shall be the same channel numbers used by the incumbent cable operator unless prohibited by Federal law.

(5) After the initial designation of PEG access channel numbers, the channel numbers shall not be changed without the prior written consent of the City unless the change is required by Federal law.

(6) Each PEG access channel shall be capable of carrying a National Television System Committee (NTSC) television signal.

(7) Requests by the City for additional channel capacity will be made in accordance to PUC Section 5870.

(c) Interconnection. Where technically feasible, a state video franchise holder and incumbent cable operator shall negotiate in good faith to interconnect their networks for the purpose of providing PEG access channel programming. Interconnection may be accomplished by direct cable, microwave link, satellite, or other reasonable method of connection. State video franchise holders and incumbent cable operators shall provide interconnection of the PEG access channels on reasonable terms and conditions and may not withhold the interconnection. If a state video franchise holder and an incumbent cable operator cannot reach a mutually acceptable interconnection agreement, the City may require the incumbent cable operator to allow the state video franchise holder to interconnect its network with the incumbent's network at a technically feasible point on the holder's network as identified by the holder. If no technically-feasible point for interconnection is available, the state video franchise holder shall make an interconnection available to the channel originator and shall provide the facilities necessary for the interconnection. The cost of any interconnection shall be borne by the state video franchise holder requesting the interconnection unless otherwise agreed to by the parties.

(d) Emergency Alert System and Emergency Overrides. A state video franchise holder must comply with the Emergency Alert System requirements of the Federal Communications Commission in order that emergency messages may be distributed over the holder's network. Provisions in City-issued franchises authorizing the City to provide local emergency notifications shall remain in effect, and shall apply to all state video franchise holders in the City for the duration of the City-issued franchise, or until the term of the franchise would have expired had it not been terminated pursuant to subdivision (m) of Section 5840 of the California Public Utilities Code, or until January 1, 2009, whichever is later.

(Ord. 07-11 6-5-07)

Within sixty days after acceptance of any franchise, the Grantee shall proceed with due diligence to obtain all necessary permits and authorizations which are required in the conduct of its business, including, but not limited to, any utility joint use attachment agreements, microwave carrier licenses, and any other permits, licenses and authorizations to be granted by duly constituted regulatory agencies having jurisdiction over the operation of cable systems, or their associated microwave transmission facilities.

(Ord. 07-11 6-5-07)

(a) Map and Plan. Grantee shall submit a construction plan or reconstruction plan which shall be incorporated by reference and made a part of the franchise agreement. The plan shall include cable system design details, equipment specifications, and design performance criteria. The plan shall also include a map of the entire franchise area disclosed in accordance with the terms and conditions of the franchise and shall clearly delineate the following:

(1) Areas within the franchise area where the cable system will be initially available to subscribers including a schedule of construction for each year that construction or reconstruction is proposed; and

(2) Areas within the franchise area where extension of the cable system cannot reasonably be done due to lack of present or planned development or other similar reasons, with the areas and the reasons for not serving them clearly identified on the map.

(b) Early Construction and Extension. Nothing in this Section shall prevent the Grantee from constructing or reconstructing the cable system earlier than planned. However, any delay in the cable system construction beyond the times specified in the plan report timetable shall require application to and consent by the City Council.

(c) Delay in Construction Timetable. Any delay beyond the terms of construction or reconstruction timetable, unless approved by the City Council will be considered a violation of this Chapter for which the provisions of this Section shall apply as determined by the City Council.

(d) Commencement of Construction or Reconstruction. Construction or reconstruction in accordance with the plan submitted by Grantee shall commence and be completed according to the schedule established by the franchise. Failure to proceed expeditiously as required in the franchise may be grounds for revocation of a franchise permit.

(e) Any permit granted herein may be terminated prior to its date of expiration by the City Council in the event that said City Council shall have found, after thirty days' notice of any proposed termination and public hearing, that:

(1) Grantee has failed to comply with any provision of this Section or has, by act or omission, violated any term or condition of any permit issued hereunder; or

(2) Any provision of this Section has become invalid or unenforceable and the Council further finds that such provision constitutes a consideration material to the grant of said permit; or

(f) Standard Drop (Aerial and/or Underground). A Grantee shall make a standard drop, whether aerial or underground, available to all subscribers at a uniform installation fee. A standard drop shall mean a cable connection which requires no more than a one hundred fifty-foot drop measured from the nearest point of a subscriber's home or place of business to the nearest active tap on the cable system, involves only one outlet and standard materials, and does not involve a wall fish. In addition, a "standard drop" shall exclude custom installation work, including specific subscriber requested work that requires non-standard inventory or cable routing requiring construction methods exceeding reasonable underground or aerial work.

(g) Aerial and Underground Drops Exceeding One Hundred Fifty Feet. With respect to requests for connection requiring an aerial or underground drop fine which is in excess of one hundred fifty feet, the Grantee must extend and make available cable service to such subscribers at a connection fee not to exceed the actual installation costs incurred by the Grantee for the distance exceeding one hundred fifty feet. Any work requiring excavation in a street shall be at the total cost of the Grantee.

(Ord. 07-11 6-5-07)

The City shall have the right to specify the methods and materials of construction, together with the horizontal and vertical location of any facility proposed by Grantee within any public property or right-of-way. Methods of construction shall include the City's right to limit the work of the Grantee to assure a minimum of inconvenience to the traveling public.

(Ord. 07-11 6-5-07)

(a) Compliance with Technical Standards. Grantee shall construct, install, operate and maintain its system in accordance with all applicable technical standards established by the Federal Communications Commission and any other applicable law. Grantee shall provide the City, upon request, the opportunity to observe the conduct of, and a written report of the results of, Grantee's annual proof of performance tests. To the extent permitted by applicable law, the City may at reasonable times and at reasonable intervals conduct independent measurements of the system, and Grantee shall pay the costs incurred by the City for any technical assistance deemed necessary by the City for obtaining independent verification of technical compliance with all standards in the event that Grantee is materially out of compliance with such standards.

(b) Additional Specifications. Construction, installation and maintenance of a cable system shall be performed in an orderly and professional manner. All cables and wires shall be installed, where possible, parallel with and in the same manner as electric and telephone lines. Multiple cable configurations shall be arranged in parallel and bundled with due respect for engineering considerations. Underground installations shall be in conformance with all applicable codes. Furthermore, the Grantee shall maintain equipment capable of providing standby power for headend, and trunk amplifiers for a minimum of two hours.

(c) Grantee shall at all times comply with applicable sections of.

(1) National Electrical Safety Code (ANSI) C2-1990;

(2) National Electrical Code (National Bureau of Fire Underwriters);

(3) The Standards of Good Engineering Practices for Measurements on Cable Television Systems (National Cable Television Association, 008-0477);

(4) The City Building Code;

(5) City Subdivision Regulations.

(Ord. 07-11 6-5-07)

(a) Any poles, wires, cable fines, conduits or other properties of the Grantee to be constructed or installed in streets, shall be so constructed or installed only at such locations and in such manner as shall be approved by the Public Works Director acting in the exercise of his or her reasonable discretion.

(b) The Grantee shall not install or erect any facilities or apparatus in or on other public property, places or right-of-way, or within any privately owned area within the City which has not yet become a public street but is designated or delineated as a proposed public street on any tentative subdivision map approved by the City, except those installed or erected upon public utility facilities now existing, without obtaining the proper written approval of the Public Works Director.

(c) In those areas and portions of the City where the transmission or distribution facilities of both the public utility providing telephone service and those of the utility providing electric service are underground or hereafter may be placed underground, then the Grantee shall likewise construct, operate and maintain all of its transmission and distribution facilities underground. For the purposes of this subsection, "underground" shall include a partial underground system, e.g., streamlining. Amplifiers in Grantee's transmission and distribution lines may be in appropriate housings upon the surface of the ground as approved by the Public Works Director.

(Ord. 07-11 6-5-07)

(a) In the event that the use of any part of the cable system is discontinued for any reason for a continuous period of twelve months, or in the event such system or property has been installed in any street or public place without complying with the requirements of Grantee's franchise or this Section, or the franchise has been terminated, cancelled or has expired, the Grantee shall promptly, upon being given ten days' notice, remove from the streets or public places, all such property and poles of such system other than any which the Public Works Director may permit to be abandoned in place. In the event of such removal, the Grantee shall promptly restore the street or other area from which such property has been removed to a condition satisfactory to the Public Works Director.

(b) Any property of the Grantee remaining in place thirty days after the termination or expiration of the franchise shall be considered permanently abandoned. The Public Works Director may extend such time not to exceed an additional thirty days.

(c) Any property of the Grantee to be abandoned in place shall be abandoned in such a manner as the Public Works Director shall prescribe. Upon permanent abandonment of the property of the Grantee in place, the property shall become that of the City, and the Grantee shall submit to the Public Works Director an instrument in writing, to be approved by the City Attorney, transferring to the City the ownership of such property.

(Ord. 07-11 6-5-07)

The Grantee shall, at its expense, protect, support, temporarily disconnect, relocate in the same street or other public place, or remove from the street or other public place, any property of the Grantee when required by the Public Works Director by reason of traffic conditions, public safety, street vacation, freeway and street construction, change or establishment of street grade, installation of sewers, drains, water pipes, power lines, signal lines, and tracks or any other type of structures or improvements by public agencies; provided, however, that the Grantee shall in all such cases have the privileges and be subject to the obligations to abandon any property of the Grantee in place, as provided by City.

(Ord. 07-11 6-5-07)

Upon failure of the Grantee to commence, pursue or complete any work required by law or by the provisions of this Section or by its franchise to be done in any street or other public place, within the time prescribed, and to the satisfaction of the Public Works Director, the Public Works Director may, at his or her option, cause such work to be done and the Grantee shall pay to the City the cost thereof in the itemized amounts reported by the Public Works Director to the Grantee within thirty days after receipt of such itemized report.

(Ord. 07-11 6-5-07)

(a) Appeals to the City Council.

(1) Any person aggrieved by a decision of the Director of Public Works involving the denial of a video service related permit application required by Article 2, Section 10-7 may appeal to the City Council by filing with the City Clerk a written notice of appeal along with an application processing fee payment described at subsection (a)(5) below.

(2) No notice of appeal will be processed unless filed within ten days after service of written notice of the decision from which the appeal is taken; provided that if written notice of the decision has not been served, the appellant may, within ten days after being apprised of that decision, demand service of written notice and will have ten days following that service in which to file the notice of appeal.

(3) For purposes of this Section, service upon the appellant means either personal delivery or placement in the United States mail, postage prepaid, and addressed to the appellant's last known address.

(4) The notice of appeal must specify the specific decision from which the appeal is taken, the specific grounds for the appeal, and the relief or action requested from the City Council. If the notice of appeal fails to set forth any information required by this paragraph, the City Clerk will return the notice to the appellant with a statement of the deficiency, and the appellant will thereafter have five days in which to cure the deficiency and to refile the notice of appeal.

(5) The notice of appeal must be accompanied by such fee as may have been established by resolution of the City Council.

(b) Hearing and Notice. Upon the timely filing of a notice of appeal in proper form, the City Clerk will schedule the matter for hearing by the City Council at a regular meeting, but not later than forty-five days after receipt of the notice of appeal. The City Clerk will cause the notice of hearing to be given to the appellant not less than ten days prior to the hearing, unless that notice is waived in writing by the appellant. The City Clerk will also cause a copy of the notice of appeal and the hearing to be transmitted to the Director of Public Works.

(c) Conduct of Hearings.

(1) At the time of consideration of the appeal by the City Council, the appellant will be limited to a presentation on the specific grounds of appeal and related matters set forth in its notice of appeal. Appellant will have the burden of persuading the City Council that the decision appealed from should be reversed or modified.

(2) The City Council may continue the hearing on the appeal from time to time as deemed necessary by the City Council. The City Council may, by resolution, affirm, reverse, or modify, in whole or in part, the decision appealed from and may take any action that might have been taken in the first instance by the Director of Public Works.

(3) The decision of the City Council will be deemed final and conclusive upon adoption of the resolution. A copy of the resolution adopted by the City Council will be served upon the appellant by placement in the United States mail, postage prepaid, to the appellant's last known address.

(Ord. 07-11 6-5-07)

(a) Indemnification.

(1) Any Grantee of a local franchise that was in effect on January 1, 2007 shall for the remaining term of its Franchise fully indemnify, save and hold harmless, and defend the City, its officers, agents, boards and employees, from and against any liability for damages or claims resulting from tangible property damage or bodily injury (including accidental death), to the extent proximately caused by the Grantee's negligent construction, operation, or maintenance of its cable system, provided that the City shall give the Grantee written notice of its obligation to indemnify the City within ten days of receipt of a claim or action pursuant to this subsection, or fifteen days provided that the Grantee is not prejudiced by the timing of such notice. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Grantee shall not indemnify the City for any damages, liability or claims resulting from the willful misconduct or gross negligence of the City, its officers, agents, employees, attorneys, consultants, independent contractors or third parties, or for any activity or function conducted by any person other than the Grantee in connection with PEG access, or the emergency alert system, or the distribution of any cable service over the cable system.

(2) With respect to a Grantee's indemnity obligations set forth in subsection (a)(1), the Grantee shall provide the defense of any claims brought against the City by selecting counsel of the Grantee's choice to defend the claim, subject to the consent of the City, which shall not unreasonably be withheld. Nothing herein shall be deemed to prevent the City from cooperating with the Grantee and participating in the defense of any litigation by its own counsel at its own cost and expense, provided, however, that after consultation with the City, the Grantee shall have the right to defend, settle or compromise any claim or action arising hereunder, and the Grantee shall have the authority to decide the appropriateness and the amount of any such settlement. In the event that the terms of any such proposed settlement includes the release of the Grantee and the City does not consent to the terms of any such settlement or compromise, the Grantee shall not settle the claim or action, but its obligation to indemnify the City shall in no event exceed the amount of such settlement.

(3) The City is in no manner or means waiving any governmental immunity it may enjoy or any immunity for its agents, officials, servants, attorneys, representatives and/or employees.

(4) All rights of City pursuant to indemnification, insurance, security fund or construction bond(s), as provided for by this Section, are in addition to all other rights the City may have under this Section or any other ordinance, rule, regulation or law.

(5) The City's exercise of or failure to exercise all rights pursuant to any section of the Cable, Video and Telecommunications Service Providers Ordinance shall not affect in any way the right of City subsequently to exercise any such rights or any other right of City under this Section or any other ordinance, rule, regulation or law.

(6) It is the purpose of this Section to provide maximum indemnification to the City under the terms and conditions expressed and, in the event of a dispute, this Section shall be construed (to the greatest extent permitted by law) to provide for the indemnification of the City by the Grantee.

(7) The provisions of this subsection shall not be dependent or conditioned upon the validity of this Section or the validity of any of the procedures or agreements involved in the award or renewal of a franchise, but shall be and remain a binding right and obligation of the City and Grantee even if part or all of this Section, or the grant or renewal of a franchise, is declared null and void in a legal or administrative proceeding. By accepting its franchise a Grantee agrees that the provisions of this Section survive any such declaration and shall be a binding obligation of, and inure to the benefit of, the Grantee and City and their respective successors and assigns, if any.

(b) Comprehensive Liability Insurance. Upon acceptance of its franchise, a Grantee shall file with the City Clerk and shall thereafter during the entire term of such franchise maintain in full force and effect, at its own expense, a general comprehensive liability insurance policy or policies which shall insure Grantee and provide primary coverage for the City, its officers, boards, commissions, agents and employees, against liability for loss or liability for personal injury, death, property damage (both automobile and non-automobile cause), or other damages. Such policy or policies shall be issued by a company qualified to do business in the State of California, with an A-or better rating for financial condition and financial performance by Best's Key Rating Guide, Property/Casualty Edition. The policy or policies shall name the City, its officers, boards, commissions, agents and employees as additional insured (except as to worker's compensation and employer's liability insurance) and contain a provision that a written notice of any cancellation, modification or reduction in coverage of said policy shall be delivered to the City Clerk thirty days in advance of the effective date thereof. No franchise granted under this Section shall be effective unless and until each of the foregoing policies of insurance as required in this subsection has been delivered to the City Clerk. Any substitute policy or policies shall be subject to the same approvals and shall comply with all of the provisions of this subsection.

(Ord. 07-11 6-5-07)

(a) For any Franchises extended or renewed after January 2, 2007, cash security fund required to assure faithful performance shall not be less than twenty-five thousand and no/100ths dollars ($25,000.00) and shall increase commensurately with the number of subscribers served in increments of $25,000 for every five thousand subscribers. Prior to the date on which a Grantee begins to provide commercial service to subscribers in the City, the Grantee shall post with the City security for the performance of its obligations under its franchise agreement in an amount of not less than twenty-five thousand and no/100ths dollars ($25,000.00). A franchise agreement may provide for a security fund greater than the minimum specified in this subsection. The form of this security may, at a Grantee's option, be a performance bond, letter of credit, cash deposit, cashier's check or any other security acceptable to the City. The security fund shall be used to: (1) ensure the faithful performance by the Grantee of its obligations under its franchise agreement and compliance with this Chapter; (2) pay the City sums due under the provisions of its franchise agreement in the event the Grantee fails to do so after notice and the opportunity to cure; and (3) pay liquidated damages assessed against the Grantee due to franchise violations after notice and the opportunity to cure.

(b) Cash Security to be Placed in Interest Bearing Account and Interest Added to Fund During Franchise Term. If a Grantee provides a cash deposit, the City shall place the security deposit in an interest-bearing account. The interest will accrue to the benefit of the Grantee but may not be withdrawn by the Grantee; all interest will be added to and become part of the security fund during the term of the franchise.

(c) Procedure for City to Draw Down. If a Grantee fails to pay the City any fees or taxes, liquidated damages, damages, or costs or expenses incurred by the City by reason of any act or default of the Grantee, or if the Grantee fails to comply with any provision of the franchise agreement or this Section that the City determines can be remedied by an expenditure of the security fund, the City may withdraw that amount with any interest and penalties from the security. The Grantee shall have the right to appeal in a court of law within sixty days of the City Council's decision on withdrawals from the security fund.

(d) Following a Draw Down or Withdrawal from Security Fund Grantee Required to Restore to Full Amount. Within thirty calendar days after written notice to the Grantee that an amount has been withdrawn by the City from the security fund, the Grantee shall deposit a sum of money sufficient to restore the security fund to the total amount in the fund immediately prior to the withdrawal. If the Grantee fails to restore the security fund to the original amount within thirty calendar days, the entire security fund remaining may be forfeited, and/or such failure may be considered material breach of this Chapter and may be used as grounds for revocation of the franchise.

(e) Disposition of Fund, if Franchise is Revoked. The security fund will become the property of the City in the event the franchise is revoked. The Grantee is entitled to the return of the balance of the security fund including interest that remains following expiration of the franchise; provided that there are not outstanding unpaid amounts owed to the City by the Grantee, in which event same may be subtracted from such balance.

(f) City's Right with Respect to Security Fund are in Addition to all Other Rights. The rights reserved to the City with respect to the security fund are in addition to all other rights of the City, whether reserved by this Section or authorized by other law, or the franchise agreement, and no action, proceeding or exercise of a right with respect to such security fund will affect any other right the City may have.

(Ord. 07-11 6-5-07)

(a) Grantee may be required to obtain construction bond in an amount established in franchise agreement or for holders of state video service franchises, in an amount required by the encroachment permit. Within thirty days after the award or renewal of a franchise, a Grantee may be required to obtain and maintain throughout the period of system construction or reconstruction, at its cost and expense, and file with the City Clerk, a corporate surety bond in a company authorized to do business in the State, and found acceptable by the City Attorney, an amount established in a franchise agreement to guarantee the timely construction and/or reconstruction and full activation of the cable system and the safeguarding of damage to private property and restoration of damages incurred with utilities.

(b) The bond shall provide, but not be limited to, the following condition: There shall be recoverable by the City, jointly and severally from the principal and surety, any and all damages, loss or costs suffered by the City resulting from the failure of a Grantee to satisfactorily complete and fully activate the cable system throughout the franchise area pursuant to the terms and conditions of this Section and the franchise agreement.

(c) Bond to be Terminated only after City Council Finds Grantee has Satisfactorily Completed all Work. The construction bond shall be terminated only after the City Council finds that a Grantee has satisfactorily completed initial construction and activation or reconstruction of the Cable system pursuant to the terms and conditions of this Section and the franchise agreement.

(d) Rights with Respect to Construction Bond in Addition to all Other Rights of City. The rights reserved to the City with respect to the construction bond are in addition to all other rights of the City, whether reserved by this Section or authorized by law, and no action, proceeding or exercise of a right with respect to such construction bond shall affect any other rights the City may have.

(e) Endorsement Required. The construction bond shall contain the following endorsement: It is hereby understood and agreed that this bond may not be cancelled by the surety nor the intention not to renew be stated by the surety until sixty days after receipt by the City, by registered mail, of written notice of such intent to cancel or not to renew.

(Ord. 07-11 6-5-07)

(a) Any person who willfully violates any provision of this Section is guilty of a misdemeanor and is punishable as provided for in this Code.

(b) The misdemeanor penalty specified above in. paragraph (a) is not applicable to a violation of any provision of this Section for which another sanction or penalty may be imposed under any franchise, license, lease, or similar written agreement between the City and a multichannel video programming distributor or other telecommunications service provider.

(c) The City may initiate a civil action in any court of competent jurisdiction to enjoin any violation of this Section.

(Ord. 07-11 6-5-07)

Section 15021 of the State CEQA Guidelines establishes a duty for the City for Inglewood, and all its component agencies, to avoid or minimize damage to the environment where feasible within its authority to regulate public or private activities and projects. The City of Inglewood's CEQA process is defined in Section 12-100 et seq., of Chapter 12 of the Inglewood Municipal Code.

(Ord. 07-11 6-5-07)

(a) When not otherwise prescribed herein, all matters herein required to be filed with the City shall be filed with the City Clerk.

(b) The grantee shall pay to the City a sum of money sufficient to reimburse it for all publication expenses incurred by it in connection with the granting of a franchise pursuant to the provisions of this Section. Such payment shall be made to the Administrative Officer within thirty days after the City furnishes the grantee with a written statement of such expenses.

(Ord. 07-11 6-5-07)