Susanville Municipal Code Div. 4 Construction and Technical Standards

All construction (including, but not limited to, the initial construction of the cable system and any rebuild, expansion, replacement, repair or maintenance of all or any part of the cable system) shall be performed in compliance with this chapter. At least 90 days prior to initiating any major construction (other than routine maintenance or repair, installation of subscriber drops or minor line extensions), a cable operator shall submit a construction plan to the city. The construction plan shall include a description of the work, equipment specifications, existing and proposed locations of all facilities, traffic control plans, resident and business notification plans and a detailed construction schedule. The city may approve, conditionally approve or deny the construction plan. The city may require the posting of construction bonds. Additional construction requirements may be specified in a franchise agreement.

(Ord. 02-883 § 2, 2002)

A. A cable operator shall construct, install, operate and maintain its system consistent with all of the following:

1. All ordinances and construction standards of the city;

2. National Electrical Safety Code;

3. National Electrical Code;

4. Rules, regulations and orders of the Federal Communications Commission;

5. Rules, regulations and orders of the California Public Utility Commission;

6. All other applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations.

B. A cable operator shall construct, install and maintain its cable system in an orderly and professional manner, using due diligence and materials of good and durable quality. All such work shall be performed in close coordination with other public and private utilities following accepted construction procedures and practices and working through existing committees and organizations. All cable and wires shall be installed, where possible, parallel with and in the same manner as electric and telephone lines on the same poles. Multiple cable configurations shall be arranged in parallel and bundled with due respect for engineering considerations.

C. A cable operator shall, at its own cost and expense, install and maintain shielding, filtering and grounding at affected installations with the system to eliminate television interference encountered from overload by amateur radio transmissions which are in compliance with FCC regulations.

D. A cable operator shall maintain equipment capable of providing standby power to be engaged automatically in the event of a power failure for 24 hours at all headends serving the city, including without limitation all switching facilities, towers, electronics and heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems and equipment located at such headends and such switching facilities. The cable operator shall also maintain on its distribution system alternative power sources (battery back-up) so that both the subscriber and the institutional networks (if any) may be maintained at full power for at least two hours beyond the time when normal power sources serving the cable system have ceased.

E. If the city reasonably believes that the cable system is not in technical compliance with the foregoing standards, the city may require the cable operator to conduct its own technical testing of the system, and the cable operator shall disclose the results of such tests to the city upon their completion. Any deficiencies shall be cured by the cable operator promptly and no later than 30 days following completion of testing. The city shall also have the right to observe any system performance tests conducted by the cable operator and to obtain copies of the results of such tests.

F. A cable operator shall comply with all of the same standards and codes, including but not limited to the payment of inspection fees, to construct and maintain its system within private rights-of-way as are required by the city's public streets.

(Ord. 02-883 § 2, 2002)