Lawndale Municipal Code Art. II State Franchises

A. For the purposes of this article "CPUC" means the California Public Utilities Code.

B. For the purposes of this article "franchise holder" means a "holder of a state franchise" as that term is defined at Section 5830 of the CPUC.

C. For the purposes of this article "gross revenues" shall have the definition as set forth at Section 5860 of the CPUC.

(Ord. 1013-08 § 4)

A. Any franchise holder operating within the boundaries of the city, shall calculate and remit to the city a franchise fee of five percent of its gross revenues in accordance with the following:

1. The fee shall be payable to the city quarterly no later than June 1, September 1, December 1 and March 1 for the preceding calendar quarter for which the payment is due. However, in accordance with CPUC Section 5860(a) the first remittance by a franchise holder shall not be due until one hundred eighty days after the provision of service began.

2. As required by Section 5860(h) of the CPUC, the payment shall be accompanied by a summary explaining the basis for the calculation of the franchise fee.

3. Per Section 5860(h) of the CPUC, if the franchise holder does not pay the franchise fee when due, the franchise holder shall pay a late payment charge at a rate per year equal to the highest prime lending rate during the period of delinquency, plus one percent.

B. As required by Section 5870(n) of the CPUC, the city hereby establishes a fee of one percent of a franchise holder's gross revenues to support Public, Educational and Governmental (PEG) facilities, to be paid by any franchise holder operating within the boundaries of the city in accordance with the following:

1. The fee shall be payable to the city quarterly no later than June 1, September 1, December 1 and March 1 for the preceding calendar quarter for which the payment is due.

2. As permitted by Section 5870(o) of the CPUC, any franchise holder operating in the city may recover the PEG fees required herein as a separate line item on the regular bill of each subscriber.

(Ord. 1013-08 § 4)

Not more than once annually, the city manager or his designee may examine and perform an audit of the business records of any franchise holder to ensure compliance with Section 5.32.510 or any other fee or tax as permitted by law.

(Ord. 1013-08 § 4)

A. Any franchise holder shall, at minimum, comply with all applicable state and federal customer service and protection standards pertaining to the provision of video service.

B. The city manager or his or her designee will provide a franchise holder with written notice of any material breach of applicable customer service and protection standards, and will allow the franchise holder at least thirty calendar days from the receipt of the notice to remedy the specified material breach. A material breach that is not remedied by the franchise holder within the remedy period shall subject the franchise holder to the following penalties to be imposed by the city:

1. For the first occurrence of a material breach, a penalty of not more than five hundred dollars for each day of each material breach, not to exceed one thousand five hundred dollars for each occurrence of a material breach.

2. For the second violation of the same nature within twelve months, a penalty of one thousand dollars for each day of each material breach, not to exceed three thousand dollars for each occurrence of the material breach.

3. For a third or further violation of the same nature within twelve months, a penalty of two thousand five hundred dollars for each day of each material breach, not to exceed seven thousand five hundred dollars for each occurrence of the material breach.

C. The franchise holder may appeal any imposition of penalties to the city council. Any appeal must be made within thirty calendar days of the city's delivery of the notice regarding the imposition of penalties. All appeals must be timely submitted in writing to the city clerk to be placed on a city council agenda for consideration. Any appeal must contain a detailed explanation of why the applicant believes that the finding of material breach or the imposition of penalties was inconsistent with statutory requirements or authority.

D. The city council shall hear all evidence and relevant testimony and may uphold, modify or vacate the penalty. The city council's decision on the imposition of a penalty shall be final.

E. The city and any franchise holder may mutually agree to extend the time periods specified herein. Any such agreement shall be in writing and executed by the city manager, or his or her designee, and an authorized representative of the franchise holder.

F. Any penalty imposed on the franchise holder pursuant to this section shall be paid to the city. As provided for in Section 5900(g) of the CPUC, the city shall submit one-half of all penalties received from a franchise holder to the Digital Divide Account established in Section 280.5 of the CPUC.

(Ord. 1013-08 § 4)

A. Applicants for state video franchises within the boundaries of the city must concurrently provide complete copies to the city of any application, or amendments to applications, filed with the California Public Utility Commission. One complete copy must be provided to the city clerk.

B. Within thirty days of receipt of any documents described in subsection A above, the city manager will provide any appropriate comments to the California Public Utility Commission regarding an application or an amendment to an application for a state video franchise.

(Ord. 1013-08 § 4)

All franchise holders shall comply with all other applicable laws including Section 12.04.060 this code.

(Ord. 1013-08 § 4)