5.4 — CABLE TELEVISION FRANCHISE (ADOPTED FROM CONTRA COSTA COUNTY CODE)

This chapter shall be known as the "Cable Television Ordinance" of the County of Contra Costa.

This chapter contains regulations previously applicable to the territory incorporated as the City of Oakley. The City has adopted these regulations and they remain in effect within the City. These regulations shall be jointly enforced by City until amended, repealed, or superseded by subsequent ordinance adopted by the City Council.

For the purpose of this chapter the following terms, phrases, words and their derivations shall have the meaning given herein, or as otherwise defined in Title 4, Chapter 6 of this Code. Words not defined shall be given their common and ordinary meaning.

References to:

• a. "Contra Costa County" or "county" shall mean City of Oakley;

• b. "Board of Supervisors" or "board" shall mean the City Council of the City of Oakley;

• c. "County Administrator" and any other reference to County officials shall mean the City Manager or his/her designee.

Additional outlet means the wiring and electronics associated with providing basic service to any television set anchor other receiving equipment in addition to the primary outlet serving an individual dwelling unit.

Basic service means any service tier which includes the retransmission of local television broadcast signals, all PEG channels, and all equipment necessary for the proper reception of those signals and channels.

"Cable operator" or "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 such cable system, or (2) who otherwise controls or is responsible for, through any arrangement, the management and operation of such a cable system.

"Cable service" means:

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City of Oakley, CA

OAKLEY CODE

§ 5.4.116

§ 5.4.128

• a. The one-way transmission to subscribers of video programming, radio signals, or other programming service; and

• b. Subscriber interaction, if any, which is required for the selection of such video programming, radio signals, or other programming service.

"Cable system," "cable television system" or "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 which is provided to multiple subscribers within a community, but such term does not include:

• a. A facility that serves only to transmit the television signals of one or more television broad cast 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. The facility of a common carrier which is subject, in whole or in part, to the provisions of Title II of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, except that such facility shall be considered a cable system to the extent such facility is used in the transmission of video programming directly to subscribers;

• d. Any facilities of any electric utility used solely for operating its electric utility systems.

"Commercial use channel" means any channel or portion of a channel available for use by persons unaffiliated with the grantee for the provision of video programming, whether or not for profit.

“Converter and descrambler” refers to equipment the grantee may install for subscribers in order that the subscriber may receive service.

"CPI" refers to the Consumer Price Index, All Items, All Urban Consumers, for San FranciscoOakland-San Jose (1982-84=100), prepared by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, or successor agency. Should this index be revised, the revised index shall be used for purposes of making the computation required by this division. Should this index be entirely discontinued, the county and the grantee shall agree upon a replacement index which most closely approximates the index set forth herein.

"Drop line" or "drop" means the cable and related equipment that carry cable signals between a feeder line and the terminal outside the subscriber’s residence or other facility.

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City of Oakley, CA

BUSINESS REGULATIONS

§ 5.4.128

§ 5.4.134

"FCC" means the Federal Communications Commission and any legally appointed, designated or elected agent or successor.

"Feeder line" means the cable, amplifiers and related equipment that carry cable signals between a trunk line and drop line(s) and that are capable of being tapped by drop line(s) to furnish cable service directly to one or more subscribers.

"Grantee" means the person granted a license by the board under this division to operate a cable system within the county and the lawful successor, transferee or assignee of the person.

• a. "Gross annual receipts" means any and all compensation in whatever form received by the grantee or any other person and derived directly or indirectly from the operation of a cable system under this division. Gross annual receipts shall include, but not be limited to, revenue received from subscribers or users for basic service, optional services, installation and reconnection, additional outlets, commercial use channels, converter or descrambler rental, advertising and home shopping. Gross annual receipts shall not include revenue from:

  • 1. Any taxes on service furnished by the grantee imposed directly upon any subscriber or user by the State or other governmental entity and collected by the grantee on behalf of the State or other govern mental entity, including any sales tax or utility user’s tax;

  • Refundable deposits collected from subscribers or any other person;

• 3. Copyright fees collected by the grantee for payment to the Federal Copyright Royalty Tribunal;
• 4. Reimbursement for damaged equipment or plant;
• 5. VCR (video cassette recorder) and videotape rental or leasing;
• • Studio productions;
• 7. Retail sale of items commonly sold at retail by non-cable businesses in Contra Costa County, including TV Guide magazines, VCRs (video cassette recorders) and videotapes;
• • Reimbursement from developers or utilities;
• • Reimbursement for bad check charges paid to the grantee’s financial institution; and
• 10. Revenue collected by the grantee from subscribers or users of a commercial use channel, which revenue is forwarded by the grantee to the lessee of such channel, but excluding amounts retained by the grantee as rent or compensation for the channel or services provided by the grantee. There shall be deleted from gross annual receipts bad debts written off by the grantee in the usual and ordinary course of

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City of Oakley, CA § 5.4.134

OAKLEY CODE

§ 5.4.146

its business to the extent that the revenue with respect thereto was included in the determination of gross annual receipts. For any item of gross annual receipts not received from subscribers in the county, such as advertising and home shopping revenue, the revenue with respect thereto shall be prorated based upon the number of subscribers in the unincorporated area of the county served by the grantee as of the last day of the period for which the license fee is determined in relation to the aggregate number of subscribers served by the grantee in all areas of the county (including all municipalities served by the grantee’s cable system) as of the last day of such period, and the result obtained thereby shall be included in the determination of gross annual receipts.

unty served by the grantee as of the last day of the period for which the license fee is determined in relation to the aggregate number of subscribers served by the grantee in all areas of the county (including all municipalities served by the grantee’s cable system) as of the last day of such period, and the result obtained thereby shall be included in the determination of gross annual receipts.

• b. The license fee payable by the grantee to the county on gross annual receipts derived from any new, nonprogramming product or service, such as interactive, data, telephone transmission or other communication products or services, shall be at the same rate (but no greater than the license fee authorized by Section 5.4.302) as the fee, tax, assessment or other revenue payable to the county by other providers of the same product or service within the grantee’s license service area. As used in this section, a nonprogramming product or service shall be considered “new” if the grantee was not already providing it as of the date of enactment of this chapter.

"Hub" means a distribution center, generally connected to a headend by a dedicated trunk line, which distributes cable signals to trunk lines.

"Installation" means the connection and/or activation of the system from feeder cable to subscribers’ terminals.

"License" means and includes any nonexclusive authorization granted hereunder to construct, operate and maintain a cable television system in specified areas in the City, including the extension or renewal of such authorization. As provided in Section 5.4.302, any which authorization, in whatever form granted, shall not mean and include any license or permit required for the privilege of transacting or carrying on a business within the county as required by chapters and laws of this county.

"License award resolution" means any and all legally executed documents which award a license, provide for the acceptance thereof, and establish conditions and standards for the grantee’s activities pursuant to the license.

"Optional services" includes all other retransmission, originations or communications, whether digital, video or audio, which the grantee may provide but which are not required to be accepted along with the basic service by the subscriber.

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City of Oakley, CA

BUSINESS REGULATIONS

§ 5.4.146

§ 5.4.164

"PEG channel" means a channel or channels, including channel capacity and channel assignment, required to be made available to the county by the grantee under this division for use in cable casting public, educational and/or governmental programming, as determined by the county in its sole discretion. PEG channel may also be referred to as "community television channel" or "community service channel."

"PEG facilities" means all services, facilities and equipment related to the production or cable casting of PEG programming over PEG channels.

"PEG programming" means public, educational and/or governmental programming, as determined by the county in its sole discretion.

"Primary outlet" means the connection of the cable system by means of a subscriber drop installed on subscriber’s premises for the purpose of delivering basic service to the initial television set and/or other receiving equipment.

"Property of grantee" means all property owned, installed or used within the county by a grantee in the conduct of a cable television system business under the authority of a license granted pursuant to this article.

"Street" means the surface of and the space above and below any public street, public highway, public alley, public sidewalk, public easement or public right-of-way of the county, now or hereinafter existing as such within unincorporated areas of Contra Costa County.

"Subscriber" means any person lawfully receiving cable service or other services from a grantee.

"Terminal" means the external point on the subscriber’s residence or building at which a drop line connects with the cable that provides signals to the subscriber’s television set(s) or other receiving equipment.

"Trunk line" means the cable, power supplies, amplifiers, hubs and related equipment that carry cable signals between a headend and feeder line(s) and that are not capable of being tapped by drop line(s) to furnish cable service directly to one or more subscribers.

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City of Oakley, CA § 5.4.164

OAKLEY CODE

§ 5.4.164

"User" means a party utilizing a cable television system channel for purposes of production or transmission of material to subscribers, as contrasted with receipt thereof in a subscriber capacity.

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City of Oakley, CA

BUSINESS REGULATIONS

§ 5.4.202

§ 5.4.210