Ione Municipal Code Art. I General Provisions

This chapter shall be known and cited as the "city of Ione cable television ordinance" and shall be referred to herein as "this chapter."

(Ord. 320 §1, 1991)

For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms, phrases, words, abbreviations and their derivations shall have the meaning given herein. When not inconsistent with the context, words used in the present tense include the future tense, words in the plural number include the singular number and words in the singular number include the plural number.

"Cable system" means a facility consisting of a set of closed transmission paths and associated signal generation, reception and control equipment that is designed to provide cable service, which includes video programming and FM radio service, and which is provided to multiple subscribers within a community, and shall include (a) a facility that serves only to retransmit the television signals of one or more television broadcast stations; (b) a facility that serves only subscribers in one or more multiple unit dwellings under common ownership, control or management, unless such facility or facilities uses any public right-of-way; (c) a facility of a common carrier which is subject, in whole or in part, to the provisions of Title II of the Cable Act, except that such facility shall be considered a cable system, other than for purposes of Federal Section 541(c), to the extent such facility is used in the transmission of video programming directly to subscribers; or (d) any facilities of any electric utility used solely for operating its electric utility systems.

"City" means the city of Ione, a municipal corporation of the state of California, in its present incorporated form or in any later reorganized, consolidated, enlarged or re-incorporated form.

"Council" means the present highest governing body of the city of any future board constituting the legislative body of the city.

"Federal section" refers to the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984, and any amendments thereto as codified in Title 47 of the United States Code, Section 521 et seq.

"Franchise" means and includes any authorization granted pursuant to this chapter in terms of a franchise, privilege, permit, license or otherwise to construct, operate and maintain a cable system in the city, including a satellite master antenna television system.

"Franchise agreement" means an agreement between the city and grantee, approved by resolution of the council, containing the specific provisions of the franchise granted, including any referenced specifications, franchise applications and other related material within such agreement.

"Franchise fee" means the tax, fee or assessment to be paid by grantee to grantor solely because of grantee's status as a cable operator within the franchise territory. Such fee does not include any capital costs which are required by the franchise to be incurred by the grantee for public, educational, or governmental access facilities nor does it include any utility users tax, franchise application fee or consulting fee reimbursements by the grantee to the city.

"Franchise territory" means that portion of the city defined in the franchise agreement for which a franchise is granted.

"Grantee" means the person or entity to whom or which a franchise, as defined above, is properly granted by the council under this chapter, and the lawful successor, transferee or assignee of said person or entity, as referenced in Section 5.04.170 hereto.

"Gross receipts" means compensation collected or received from subscribers from the operation of its cable system in the city. "Gross receipts" shall not include: (a) deposits (for which interest is ultimately paid to the payor), uncollected amounts or accounts receivables; and (b) refunds or rebates made by grantee. Copyright fees made by grantee under the Copyright Royalty Act of 1976 shall be deducted from gross receipts in computing the franchise fee under Section 5.04.100 herein.

"Property of grantee" means all property owned, installed or used by a grantee in the conduct of a television business in the city under the authority of a franchise.

"Street" means the surface of and the space above and below any public street, road, highway, freeway, lane, path, alley, court, sidewalk, parkway or drive, easements, licenses, permits, rights-of-way of any kind or nature whatsoever and public property and areas now or hereafter existing as such within the city.

"Subscriber" means any person or entity receiving for any purpose cable system service from a grantee.

(Ord. 320 §2, 1991)