Pleasant Hill Municipal Code Art. III City Administration Of Franchise

The office of the city manager is designated as having primary responsibility for the administration of every cable franchise and this article. Whenever a right may be exercised under this article by the city or the city manager, such right may also be exercised by a designated employee. No such delegation shall be deemed to constitute a delegation of legislative authority.

(Ord. 815 § 1, 2006)

The lowest-priced level of cable service shall be available to all subscribers. No subscriber shall be required to purchase any other service as a prerequisite to purchasing such level of service. Unless otherwise provided in a franchise agreement, the lowest-priced level of service shall include all public, educational and government channels at no extra charge.

(Ord. 815 § 1, 2006)

The city and each cable operator shall hold scheduled performance evaluation sessions to the extent specified in the franchise agreement.

(Ord. 815 § 1, 2006)

A franchise agreement may include provisions regarding installation of service outlets in buildings occupied by public agencies within the franchise area, and provision of service to such facilities, subject to negotiation between the parties and applicable law.

(Ord. 815 § 1, 2006)

Subject to negotiation between the parties and applicable law, a franchise agreement may provide that a cable operator shall make available one or more dedicated channels on its cable system for purposes of public, educational and governmental access, as set forth in the franchise agreement. Such channels shall be available on the lowest tier of basic service, to the extent consistent with the applicable franchise agreement. Such channels shall not be used for any advertisements or commercial programming without the permission of the city.

(Ord. 815 § 1, 2006)

A franchise agreement may include provisions regarding facilities, services and equipment for use in relation to public, educational and governmental access.

(Ord. 815 § 1, 2006)

A franchise agreement may include provisions regarding construction and use of institutional networks.

(Ord. 815 § 1, 2006)

Nothing in this chapter shall prevent the city from delegating to an independent nonprofit entity such as a commission or nonprofit corporation the authority to manage all or any part of the city's PEG facilities, programming and/or funds. The commission or nonprofit corporation may be established jointly with neighboring jurisdictions at the city's sole option.

(Ord. 815 § 1, 2006)

A franchise agreement shall contain provisions related to the interconnection of a cable operator's cable system with other cable systems.

(Ord. 815 § 1, 2006)

To provide an emergency alert capability, each cable operator shall install and maintain an emergency alert system which allows the city to simultaneously override audio signals and broadcast emergency messages on all television channels, as provided by the terms of its franchise agreement.

(Ord. 815 § 1, 2006)

When trimming trees, a cable operator shall comply with all city regulations applicable to utilities.

(Ord. 815 § 1, 2006)

In the event that a franchise is terminated or expires without being renewed, or if all or a portion of a cable system is not used for a period of 90 days, the cable operator shall either remove the cable system or the abandoned portion thereof or shall obtain the permission of the director of community development to abandon the cable system in place within 90 days. The cable operator shall obtain an encroachment permit prior to removing the cable system.

(Ord. 815 § 1, 2006)

Notwithstanding the granting of a franchise, the city retains the right to acquire the cable system at any time by negotiated sale or eminent domain, and retains the right to resell the cable system to any third party. If the city denies the renewal of a franchise, the city may acquire the cable system at a price not to exceed fair market value, determined on the basis of the cable system valued as a going concern but with no value allocated to the franchise. If the city revokes a franchise, the city may acquire the cable system at an equitable price.

(Ord. 815 § 1, 2006)