Chapter 13.12 — COMMUNITY ANTENNA TELEVISION SYSTEMS

Sections:

• ARTICLE I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

• 13.12.000 Short title.

• 13.12.005 Scope of chapter.

• 13.12.010 Definitions.

• 13.12.020 Franchise to install—Right to grant nonexclusive.

• 13.12.030 Franchise fee.

• 13.12.040 Franchise agreement.

• 13.12.050 Nonexclusivity of franchise.

• ARTICLE II. PROVISIONS FOR AWARD OF FRANCHISE

• 13.12.060 Application for franchise.

• 13.12.065 Procedures for award of franchise.

• 13.12.070 Costs to be borne by grantee.

• ARTICLE III. CONSTRUCTION SYSTEM

• 13.12.080 Installation of system.

• 13.12.085 Standards of construction.

• ARTICLE IV. BONDS, INSURANCE, AND HOLD HARMLESS PROVISIONS

• 13.12.090 Faithful performance bond.

• 13.12.100 Insurance.

• 13.12.105 Indemnification of city.

• ARTICLE V. SYSTEM PERFORMANCE

• 13.12.110 Minimum cable television system services.

• 13.12.120 Technical performance standards.

• 13.12.122 Amateur radio protection.

• 13.12.125 Technical performance testing and reports.

• 13.12.130 Interactive capability and operation.

• 13.12.140 Interconnection.

• 13.12.150 Performance evaluation sessions.

• ARTICLE VI. PROTECTION OF SUBSCRIBERS

• 13.12.160 Rates.

• 13.12.180 Right to privacy of subscribers.

• 13.12.190 Complaint procedure.

• 13.12.195 Local business office.

• ARTICLE VII. ACCEPTANCE, TERM, RENEWAL AND TRANSFER OF FRANCHISE

• 13.12.200 Acceptance of and effective date of franchise.

• 13.12.210 Franchise term.

• 13.12.212 Franchise renewal.

• 13.12.215 Transfer of franchise.

• ARTICLE VIII. MODIFICATION, REMOVAL, AND ABANDONMENT OF FACILITIES

• 13.12.220 Removal and abandonment of property of grantee.

• 13.12.230 Changes required by public improvements.

• ARTICLE IX. VIOLATIONS, REMEDIES AND PENALTIES

• 13.12.240 Procedure to establish violation.

• 13.12.245 Remedies and damages.

• 13.12.250 Other violations.

• ARTICLE X. MISCELLANEOUS SECTIONS

• 13.12.260 Inspection of property and records.

• 13.12.270 Limitations of franchise.

• 13.12.280 Rights reserved to the city.

• 13.12.285 Right of city to acquire.

• 13.12.290 Uses permitted to grantee.

• 13.12.300 No impairments of contract.

• 13.12.305 Force majeure--Grantee's inability to perform.

• ARTICLE I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

This chapter shall be known as the cable system ordinance.

(Ord. 85-07-950 § 1 (part))

Any person, firm or corporation, operating, or seeking to operate, a cable communications system, also known as a community antenna television system (CATV) business within the city, the nature of which requires approval of the city council or of a franchise agreement, shall be subject to all of the regulations contained herein or in any other applicable ordinances of the city. (Ord. 85-07-950 § 1 (part))

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. A. "Active device" means any item of equipment in the cable television plant that requires an external source of electrical energy for its operation. B. "Cable system" means the cable communications system serving the city of Signal Hill. C. "City" means the city of Signal Hill, a municipal corporation of the state of California, in its present incorporated form or in any latter reorganized, consolidated, enlarged or reincorporated form. D. "City engineer" means the city engineer, or his designee, of the city. E. "City manager" means the city administrator, or other designation of the city's chief executive officer, or any designee thereof. F. "Community antenna television system" (CATV), also known as a "cable communications system", means a system of antenna, satellite receiving and transmitting apparatus, coaxial cables, fiber optics, wires, wave guides, and/or other conductors, amplifiers, electronic processors, equipment and facilities designed, constructed or used for the purpose of providing over-the-air, satellite-delivered and locally originated television or FM radio service by cable within the city. Such a definition does not include those services which are classified as MDS (multiple distribution systems), DBS (direct broadcast satellite), or STV (subscription television) services, or other such systems which are delivered via microwave from a central originating point directly to a subscriber without the use of wires. G. "Council" means the governing body of the city or any future board constituting the legislative body of the city. H. "FCC" means the Federal Communications Commission. I. "Franchise" means and include any authorization granted hereunder in terms of a franchise, privilege, permit, license or otherwise, to construct, operate, and maintain a cable communications system within all or a specified area in the city. Any such authorization, in whatever form granted, shall not mean and include any license or permit required for the privilege of transacting and carrying on a business within the city as required by other ordinances and laws of this city. J. "Grantee" means the person, firm or corporation granted a franchise by the council under this chapter, and the lawful successor, transferee or assignee of said person, firm or corporation. K. "Gross receipts" means any and all compensation, in whatever form, grant, subsidy, exchange, or otherwise, directly or indirectly received by a grantee, not including any taxes on services furnished by the grantee, imposed directly on any subscriber, user, lessee or advertiser by a city, county, state or other governmental unit, and collected by the grantee for such entity for services rendered within the city. Gross receipts shall include, but not be limited to:

1. "Gross annual basic subscriber receipts" means any and all compensation and other consideration received directly or indirectly by the grantee from subscribers or users for services rendered within the city in payment of the regularly furnished service of the cable television system in the transmission of broadcast television, radio signals, satellite delivered programming, and original cable-cast programming of the grantee designated as the "basic service."
2. "Gross annual nonbasic service receipts" means any and all compensation and other consideration received directly or indirectly by the grantee from subscribers or users for services rendered within the city in payment for the receipt of signals whether for "pay television," "facsimile transmission," "security services," "return" or "response communication," and whether or not transmitted encoded or processed to permit reception by only selected subscribers, and designed as an optional service, or nonbasic service.
3. "Gross annual advertising receipts" means any income, compensation and other consideration received by grantee from any advertisers located in the city cable television system.
4. "Gross annual lease receipts" means any fees or income received by grantee for the lease or rental, and compensation for any service in connection therewith, such as studio and equipment rental, production costs, and air time of any channel permitted or designated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to be so leased or rented by subscribers, users, lessees, or advertisers located in the city.

L. "Institutional network" means that cable or series of cables, either separate from or integrated with the "subscriber network," which provide services between institutions, and/or institutions and subscribers in the case of a switchable network, and where the services delivered are primarily nonentertainment in nature. M. "Interactive" means the transmission and reception of downstream (originating from the cable headend) and upstream (originating from any other point in the cable system) audio and video signals. N. "Passive device" means any item of equipment in the cable television plant that does not require an external source of electrical energy for its operation. O. "Person" means any natural person and all domestic and foreign corporations, associations, syndicates, joint stock corporations, partnerships of every kind, clubs, business or common law trusts, and societies. P. "Property of grantee" means all property owned, installed, or used within the city by a grantee in the conduct of a cable communications system business under the authority of a franchise granted pursuant to this chapter. Q. "Street" means the surface, the air space above the surface and the area below the surface of any public street, other public right-of-way or public place, including public utility easements. R. "Subscriber" or "user" means any person or entity receiving for any purpose any service over grantee's cable communications system including, but not limited to, the conventional cable television system service of retransmission of television broadcast, satellite broadcast, radio signals, grantee's original cablecasting, and other locally originated programming and services, such as leasing of channels, data and facsimile transmission, pay television, public service communication, and other services which may arise during the course of the franchise. S. "Subscriber network" means that cable or series of cables which provide programming services to subscribers as part of a package of "basic" and "premium" channel services and where the services delivered are primarily those services classified as entertainment services. (Ord. 85-07-950 § 1 (part))

A. A nonexclusive franchise to install, construct, operate, and maintain a cable television system on or within streets, parkways, alleys and other city rights-of-way within all or a specific portion of the city may be granted by the council to any person, whether operating under an existing franchise, who or which offers to furnish and provide such system under and pursuant to the terms and provisions of this chapter. B. No provision of this chapter may be deemed or construed as to require the granting of a franchise when in the opinion of the council it is in the public interest to restrict the number of grantees to one or more. (Ord. 85-07-950 § 1 (part))

A. Any grantee granted a franchise under this chapter shall pay to the city, during the life of such franchise, a sum equal to three percent of the annual total gross receipts and in addition thereto, such other sums as may be provided for elsewhere in this chapter. If, during any part of the franchise term, there is in effect a federal or state limit regulating the franchise fee percentage to a lesser or greater amount, such a limitation shall supersede the amount stated above but only for that time period such limit is legally operational. Franchise fee payment by the grantee to the city shall be made annually by delivery of the same to the director of finance. B. The grantee shall file with the director of finance, within ninety days after the expiration of the grantee's fiscal year or portion thereof during which such franchise is in force, a balance sheet and statement of profit and loss certified to by a certified public accountant, or person otherwise satisfactory to the director of finance, showing in detail the gross receipts, as defined in Section 13.12.010K, of grantee during the preceding fiscal year, or portion thereof. It shall be the duty of the grantee to pay to the city, within fifteen days after the time of filing such statements, the sum hereinabove convered by such statements unless extended by the city. Payments made after the time specified above shall be subject to a late fee of fifteen percent of the amount due unless such late fee is waived by the city. C. Upon reasonable notice, the city shall have the right to inspect and audit the grantee's fiscal records. The grantee shall assume all reasonable costs for said audit. No acceptance of any payment shall be construed as a release or as an accord and satisfaction of any claim the city may have for further additional sums payable under this section or for the performance of any other obligation hereunder. (Ord. 85-09-954 § 1; Ord. 85-07-950 § 1 (part))

Each grantee awarded a franchise hereunder will provide a copy of the submitted proposal for a cable communication system for the city in the case of new franchisees, or a memorandum of understanding, or agreement, for franchise renewals, transfers, or extensions, as approved by the city council, and the proposal, memorandum of understanding, or agreement will be adopted and referenced by ordinance, or by resolution as the case may be, and will specify the

condition(s) of the franchise award, transfer, renewal, and/or extension and each and every provision of said document will be thereby incorporated by reference in this chapter as though the same were set out in full and all provisions included therein, as well as those specified herein, shall be binding upon grantee. (Ord. 85-07-950 § 1 (part))

Every franchise granted under this chapter shall be nonexclusive. Neither the granting of any franchise hereunder nor any of the provisions contained herein shall be construed to prevent the city from granting any identical or similar franchise to any other person, firm, or corporation, within all or any portion of the city. (Ord. 85-07-950 § 1 (part))