Article 5

OPERATIONAL, TECHNICAL AND CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS

• a. Any license granted pursuant to this article is subject to all provisions, regulations and conditions prescribed by Federal, State, County and Local Law heretofore and hereafter enacted or established during the term of any license granted and shall be in addition to any electrical, encroachment or other county permit required by Title 7 or 10. As applicable, the grantee shall at all times comply with:

  • 1. United States Department of Transportation requirements for the construction, marking, and lighting of antenna structures;
  • 2. Standards of California Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal/OSHA), or any successor agency, installation and maintenance of all working facilities and conditions used in the cable system;
  • 3. Federal, State and local regulations, including without limitation FCC rules and regulations for must-carry signals, technical standards and RF leakage;
  • 4. Standards specified in the license award resolution and this Article, which standards are incorporated by reference in this article.

• b. For all new construction, the grantee shall comply with Division 76 of the Contra Costa County Code, as amended from time to time.

• a. The grantee shall put, keep, and maintain all parts of the system in good condition throughout the entire license period.

• b. The grantee shall render efficient service, make repairs promptly, and interrupt service only for good cause and for the shortest time possible. Such interruptions, insofar as possible, shall be preceded by notice and shall occur during periods of minimum system use.

• c. The grantee shall ensure that all work is performed in an orderly and workmanlike manner.

• d. The grantee shall not allow its cable or other operations to interfere with television reception of persons not served by the grantee, nor shall the system unreasonably interfere with, obstruct or hinder the operation of the various utilities serving the residents within the confines of Contra Costa County.

• e. The grantee shall continue, through the term of the license, to maintain the technical standards and quality of service set forth in this article and the license award resolution.

• f. The grantee shall, on the request of any person holding a building moving permit issued by the county, temporarily raise or lower its wires to permit the moving of buildings. The expense of such temporary removal, raising or lowering of wires shall be paid by the person requesting the same, and the grantee shall have the authority to require such payment in advance. The grantee shall be given not less than 15 days advance notice to arrange for such temporary wire changes.

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City of Oakley, CA

BUSINESS REGULATIONS

§ 5.4.504

§ 5.4.508

• g. The grantee shall not remove any tree or trim any portion, either above, at or below ground level, of any tree within any public place without the prior consent of the county. Except for tree trimming or removal necessary to eliminate a safety hazard, the county shall first give written notice to the grantee and allow the grantee at least 15 days to perform the tree trimming or removal around the grantee’s facilities. If the grantee fails to perform such tree trimming or removal within such 15-day period, the county shall have the right to do the trimming at the cost of the grantee.

• h. When tree trimming or removal is necessary to eliminate a safety hazard, the county shall have the right without prior notice to do the tree trimming around the grantee’s facilities at the cost of the grantee.

• a. The grantee shall comply with all technical standards adopted by the FCC from time to time, as set forth in 47 CFR Section 76.605 or other applicable sections. If at any time the FCC withdraws such technical standards, the standards set forth in 47 CFR Section 76.605 or other applicable sections immediately preceding such action of withdrawal shall be the technical standards for all purposes of this article.

• b. Such technical standards shall apply only to the grantee’s cable system and shall not apply to any distribution system provided by the county for delivery of access programming, including without limitation any interconnect established for such purposes pursuant to this article.

• c. Not less frequently than semi-annually, or on such other schedule as may be established by the FCC, the grantee shall conduct a performance test or tests of the technical quality of the cable system. The tests shall be performed according to applicable FCC procedures and shall document full compliance of the system with the technical standards described in this section.

• a. Any construction plan submitted and approved as part of a franchising process and referred to in the license award resolution shall be binding upon the grantee.

• b. The grantee’s construction plan provided to the county in connection with the grant, renewal or expansion of the grantee’s franchise, if any, shall be made available for public inspection during normal business hours at the main local office at grantee’s expense.

• c. Prior to commencement of any construction, the grantee shall apply for all necessary permits, licenses, certificates and authorizations.

• d. Construction in accordance with the plan submitted by grantee shall commence as specified in the grantee’s license award resolution. Failure to commence, perform or complete construction in strict accordance with this section shall be grounds for revocation of a license.

• e. Nothing in this section shall prevent the grantee from constructing the system earlier than planned. However, any delay in the system construction beyond the times specified in the plan shall require application to and consent by the board. The county may not withhold consent when grantee has shown good cause for the delay, including without limitation any

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City of Oakley, CA

OAKLEY CODE

§ 5.4.508

§ 5.4.510

delay occasioned by any cause or event beyond the grantee’s control as more particularly set forth in Section 5.4.1004, but the county may attach reasonable conditions to ensure performance.

• a. The grantee’s system, poles, wires, and appurtenances shall be located, erected in accordance with the standards adopted by the county and approved by the county prior to commencement of work on public rights-of-way and maintained so that none of its facilities shall endanger or interfere with the lives of persons, or unreasonably interfere with any improvements the county may deem proper to make or unnecessarily hinder or obstruct the free use of the streets, alleys, bridges, easements or public property. All construction and maintenance work on public rights-of-way shall require an encroachment permit in accordance with Title 6, Chapter 2 of this code.

• b. All cables and wires shall be installed, where possible, parallel with electric and telephone lines where the cable system is installed on the same aerial facilities as such electric and telephone lines. Multiple cable configurations shall be arranged in parallel and bundled with due respect for engineering considerations.

• c. All transmission and distribution structures, lines and equipment erected by the grantee within the county shall be so located as to cause minimum interference with the proper use of streets, alleys, and other public ways and places, and to cause minimum interference with the rights or reasonable convenience of property owners who adjoin any of the said streets, alleys or other public ways and places.

• d. In case of any disturbance of pavement, side walk, driveway, public improvements or other surfacing, the grantee shall, at its own cost and expense, replace or restore all paving, sidewalk, drive way, or public improvement or surface of any street or alley disturbed, in as good condition as before said work was commenced and in accordance with standards for such work set by the county.

• e. The grantee shall ensure that the installation or construction of cable facilities does not adversely affect the safety of public or private property and is done in such a manner and location as to reasonably preserve the utility and appearance of the public and private property on which such installation or construction occurs. All work shall be performed in an orderly and workmanlike manner.

• f. No additional poles or other similar aerial structures shall be erected by the grantee in public rights-of-way without prior approval of the county with regard to location and height. However, no location of any pole or similar aerial structure of the grantee shall be a vested interest and such poles or structures shall be removed or modified by the, grantee, at its own expense, whenever the board determines that the public convenience would be enhanced thereby.

• g. Any such license granted shall not relieve the grantee of any obligation involved in obtaining pole space or other right to use facilities from any department of the county, utility company, or from others maintaining poles or other facilities. in streets.

• h. The grantee shall use existing poles or other similar existing aerial structures and will not install any additional poles, unless the county determines that terms of the use available to the grantee are unjust or unreasonable.

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City of Oakley, CA

BUSINESS REGULATIONS

§ 5.4.510

§ 5.4.514

• i. 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 county by reason of traffic conditions, public safety, street vacation, freeway or 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 structure or improvements by public agencies; provided, however, that grantee shall in all such cases have the privileges and be subject to the obligations to abandon any property of the grantee as provided in this article.

• j. The county shall notify the grantee that its facilities may have to be protected, supported, temporarily disconnected, relocated, or removed as soon as the project enters into a design stage or as soon as maintenance work is contemplated. The county shall coordinate with the grantee on the project design to minimize impacts to the grantee and to provide grantee with the up-to-date drawings for the grantee’s use. Grantee shall protect, support, temporarily disconnect, relocate to a new location, or remove its facility that is in conflict with the county’s planned work within six weeks of the county’s notice to relocate. Grantee shall bear all costs including right-of-way delay cost resulting from the grantee’s failure to protect, support, temporarily disconnect, relocate or remove its facility that is in conflict with the work.

• a. Underground cables shall be installed at the grantee’s cost where all existing utilities, excluding high voltage transmission lines, are already underground.

• b. In cases of new construction or property development where utilities, except high voltage transmission lines, are to be placed underground, the grantee shall install all cable underground.

• c. In cases where existing aerial utilities are required, pursuant to Public Utilities Commission (PUC) Rule 20a, Rule 32a or any successor rules, to be relocated underground, the grantee shall, at its sole expense, relocate all existing underground in conjunction with the utility undergrounding.

• d. In cases where existing aerial utilities are required, pursuant to Planning Utilities Commission Rule 20b, Rule 32b. or any successor rules, to be relocated under-ground, the grantee shall relocate all existing aerial cable underground in conjunction with the utility under-grounding, and the grantee shall receive payment from the county for its cable undergrounding on the same terms and conditions as the affected utilities.

• e. The requirement that all cable be installed underground shall not apply to amplifiers, bridges, line extenders, stand-by power supplies, taps or optical equipment, which may be installed on the ground surface in housings or pedestals at a location at least five feet from the face of curb or edge of pavement or at least one foot from the outside edge of sidewalk, whichever distance is the furthest away from the road.

• a. In the absence of an agreement to the contrary between grantee and any involved developer or property owner, the provisions of this section shall govern. In cases of new construction or property development where utilities are to be placed under-ground, the developer,

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City of Oakley, CA § 5.4.514

OAKLEY CODE

§ 5.4.522

property owner or joint trench coordinator shall give the grantee reasonable notice of such construction or development, and of the particular date on which open trenching should be available for the grantee’s installation of its conduit, pedestals and/or vaults, and laterals to be provided at the grantee’ s expense. The grantee shall also provide at its expense specifications to the developer, property owner or joint trench coordinator as needed for trenching.

• b. Except as provided in this section, 50% of the costs of common joint. trenching shall be borne by the grantee and 50% by the developer or property owner but both shares are to be exclusive of any portion of the trenching costs to be borne by any public utility or other party. If the grantee fails to install its conduit, pedestals and/or vaults, and laterals within two working days after notification by the joint trench coordinator or other party controlling the trenching that the trenches are available, and if the trenches are closed after the two-day period, the cost of new trenching is to be borne by the grantee.

Except as specifically exempted by the board, should the grantee upgrade, rebuild or otherwise improve the system or services in any license area within the county contiguous to and served by the same headend as the area covered by the county license, such upgrades or improvements shall also be made concurrently or sequentially in the county licensed area, provided that the grantee is permitted to adjust rates as necessary to recover the reasonable, proportionate capital cost of such work, including a return on investment comparable to that allowed by the contiguous jurisdiction, but in no event less than that specified by the FCC in cost of service showings applicable to the regulated rates of cable operators.

The grantee shall interconnect its system with other cable systems and transmission/reception facilities operated by other grantees or the county as set forth in that certain Agreement for the Delivery of Access Programming in Contra Costa County dated July 20, 1993 by and between the county, on the one hand, and the cable operators identified therein, on the other.

To provide an emergency alert capability, the grantee shall install and maintain equipment which allows the county to simultaneously override audio signals and broadcast emergency messages on all television channels. In case of public emergency, the county may, as directed by the administrator of emergency services or other authorized official, activate and use such emergency override system for the duration of the emergency. Citylicensed areas shall be subject to a county override only to the extent authorized by agreements between the county and cities or authorized by State Law. The grantee shall assist and cooperate with the county in periodic testing of the emergency override system.

• a. In the event that the use of any material part or the cable system is discontinued for any reason for a continuous period of twelve months, or the license for such system has been terminated, forfeited, revoked, canceled or has expired without extension or renewal, the grantee shall promptly, upon being given notice, in the same manner as provided in Section 5.4.806, remove from the streets or public places all such property and poles of such system

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City of Oakley, CA

BUSINESS REGULATIONS

§ 5.4.522

§ 5.4.524

other than any which the county may permit to be abandoned in place. The county may extend such time not to exceed an additional 120 days. In the event of such removal, the grantee shall promptly restore the street or other area from which such property has been removed to such condition as existed immediately prior to removal and otherwise in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, whether Local, State or Federal.

• b. Any property of the grantee remaining in place six months, or such a longer period of time approved by the board, after the termination, forfeiture, revocation, cancellation or expiration of the license without extension or renewal shall be considered permanently abandoned.

• c. Any property of the grantee to be abandoned in place shall be abandoned in such a manner as the county shall prescribe. Upon permanent abandonment of the property of the grantee in place, the property shall become that of the county and the grantee shall submit to the county an instrument in writing, to be approved by the county counsel, indicating county ownership of such property.

No person, firm or corporation shall make any unauthorized connection, whether physically, electrically, acoustically, inductively or otherwise, with any part of a licensed cable system within the unincorporated area of this county for the purpose of taking or receiving television signals, radio signals, pictures, programs, or sound. Also no person, without the consent of the owner, shall tamper with, remove or injure any cables, wires or equipment used for distribution of television signals, radio signals, pictures, programs or sound.

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City of Oakley, CA

BUSINESS REGULATIONS

§ 5.4.602

§ 5.4.612