[HISTORY: Adopted by the Common Council of
the City of Linwood 11-12-2014 by Ord. No. 21-2014. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The municipality hereby grants to Comcast renewal
of its nonexclusive municipal consent to place in, upon, across, above,
over and under highways, streets, alleys, sidewalks, easements, public
ways and public places in the municipality, poles, wires, cables,
underground conduits, manholes and other television conductors, fixtures,
apparatus and equipment as may be necessary for the construction,
operation and maintenance in the municipality of a cable television
and communications system.
For the purpose of this ordinance, the following
terms, phrases, words and their derivations shall have the meaning
given herein. Such meaning or definition of terms is supplemental
to those definitions of the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC")
rules and regulations, 47 CFR 76.1 et seq., and the Cable Communications
Policy Act, 47 U.S.C. §521 et seq., as amended, and the Cable
Television Act, N.J.S.A. 48:5A-1 et seq., and shall in no way be construed
to broaden, alter or conflict with the federal and state definitions:
APPLICATION
The company’s application for renewal of municipal
consent.
BASIC CABLE SERVICE
Any service tier, which includes the retransmission of local
television broadcast signals as defined by the FCC.
BOARD or BPU
The Board of Public Utilities, State of New Jersey.
COMPANY
The grantee of rights under this ordinance, and is known
as "Comcast of South Jersey, L.L.C."
FCC
The Federal Communications Commission.
PRIMARY SERVICE AREA or PSA
Consists of the area of the municipality currently served
with existing plant as set forth in the map annexed to the company’s
application for municipal consent.
Public hearings conducted by the municipality,
concerning the renewal of municipal consent herein granted to the
company were held after proper public notice pursuant to the terms
and conditions of the Act and the regulations of the Board adopted
pursuant thereto. Said hearings, having been fully open to the public,
and the municipality, having received at said public hearings all
comments regarding the qualifications of the company to receive this
renewal of municipal consent, the municipality hereby finds that the
company possesses the necessary legal, technical, character, financial
and other qualifications and that the company's operating and construction
arrangements are adequate and feasible.
A. The nonexclusive municipal consent granted herein
shall expire 15 years from the date of expiration of the previous
certificate of approval issued by the Board, with a ten-year automatic
renewal as provided by N.J.S.A. 48:5A-19 and 48:5A-25, and N.J.A.C.
14:18-13.6.
B. In the event that the municipality shall find that
the company has not substantially complied with the material terms
and conditions of this ordinance, the municipality shall have the
right to petition the OCTV, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 48:5A-47, for appropriate
action, including modification and/or termination of the certificate
of approval; provided, however, that the municipality shall first
have given the company written notice of all alleged instances of
noncompliance and an opportunity to cure same within 90 days of that
notification.
Pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Act, the company
shall, during each year of operation under the consent granted herein,
pay to the municipality 2% of the gross revenues from all recurring
charges in the nature of subscription fees paid by subscribers for
cable television reception service in the municipality or any higher
amount permitted by the Act or otherwise allowable by law, whichever
is greater.
The consent granted under this ordinance to the renewal of the
franchise shall apply to the entirety of the municipality and any
property subsequently annexed hereto.
The company shall be required to proffer service to any residence
or business along any public right-of-way in the primary service area,
as set forth in the company's application. Any extension of plant
beyond the primary service area shall be governed by the company's
line extension policy, as set forth in the company's application.
A. Restoration. In the event that the company or its
agents shall disturb any pavement, street surfaces, sidewalks, driveways,
or other surface in the natural topography, the company shall, at
its sole expense, restore and replace such places or things so disturbed
in as good a condition as existed prior to the commencement of said
work.
B. Relocation. If, at any time during the period of this
consent, the municipality shall alter or change the grade of any street,
alley or other way or place, the company, upon reasonable notice by
the municipality, shall remove, relay or relocate its equipment, at
the expense of the company.
C. Removal
or trimming of trees. During the exercise of its rights and privileges
under this franchise, the company shall have the authority to trim
trees upon and overhanging streets, alleys, sidewalks or other public
places of the municipality so as to prevent the branches of such trees
from coming in contact with the wires and cable of the company. Such
trimming shall be only to the extent necessary to maintain proper
clearance of the company's wire and cables.
In providing services to its customers, the company shall comply
with N.J.A.C. 14:18-1 et seq. and all applicable state and federal
statutes and regulations. The company shall strive to meet or exceed
all voluntary company and industry standards in the delivery of customer
service and shall be prepared to report on it to the municipality
upon written request of the Municipality Administrator or Clerk.
A. The company shall continue to comply fully with all
applicable state and federal statutes and regulations regarding credit
for outages, the reporting of same to regulatory agencies and notification
of same to customers.
B. The company shall continue to fully comply with all
applicable state and federal statutes and regulations regarding the
availability of devices for the hearing impaired and the notification
of same to customers.
C. The company shall use every reasonable effort to meet
or exceed voluntary standards for telephone accessibility developed
by the National Cable Television Association (NCTA).
D. Nothing herein shall impair the right of any subscriber
or the municipality to express any comment with respect to telephone
accessibility to the complaint officer, or impair the right of the
complaint officer to take any action that is permitted under law.
The Office of Cable Television is hereby designated
as the complaint officer for the municipality pursuant to N.J.S.A.
48:5A-26, Subdivision b. All complaints shall be received and processed
in accordance with N.J.A.C. 14:17-6.5. The municipality shall have
the right to request copies of records and reports pertaining to complaints
by municipality customers from the OCTV.
During the term of this franchise, and any renewal
thereof, the company shall maintain a business office or agent in
accordance with N.J.A.C. 14:18-5.1 for the purpose of receiving, investigating
and resolving all local complaints regarding the quality of service,
equipment malfunctions, and similar matters. Such a business office
shall have a publicly listed toll-free telephone number and be open
during standard business hours.
During the life of the franchise, the company
shall give to the municipality a bond in the amount of $25,000. Such
bond shall be to insure the faithful performance of all undertakings
of the company as represented in its application for municipal consent
incorporated herein.
The rates of the company shall be subject to
regulation as permitted by federal and state law.
A. The company
shall provide expanded basic cable television service on one outlet
at no cost to each qualified existing and future school in the municipality,
public and private, elementary, intermediate and secondary, provided
the school is within 175 feet of active cable distribution plant.
Each additional outlet installed, if any, shall be paid for on a materials-plus-labor
basis by the school requesting service. Monthly service charges shall
be waived on all additional outlets.
B. The company
shall provide expanded basic cable television service at no cost on
one outlet to each qualified existing and future police, fire, and
emergency management facility, public library and City Hall in the
municipality, provided the facility is located within 175 feet of
active cable distribution plant. Each additional outlet installed,
if any, shall be paid for on a materials-plus-labor basis by the municipality.
Monthly service charges shall be waived on all additional outlets.
C. The Communications
Act of 1934, as amended [47 U.S.C. § 543(b)], allows the company
to itemize and/or identify: 1) the amount on the subscriber bill assessed
as a franchise fee and the identity of the governmental authority
to which the fee is paid; 2) the amount on the bill assessed to satisfy
any requirements imposed on the company by the cable franchise to
support public, educational, and/or governmental access channels or
the use of such channels; and 3) any grants or other fees on the bill
or any tax, assessment, or charge of any kind imposed by any governmental
authority on the transaction between the operator and the subscriber.
The company reserves these external cost, pass-through rights to the
extent permitted by law.
D. Within
six months of the issuance of a renewal certificate of approval, the
company shall provide to the municipality a one-time technology grant
in the amount of $20,000 to help meet the technology- and/or cable-related
needs of the community.
A. The company
will comply with the Emergency Alert System (“EAS”) rules
in accordance with applicable state and federal statutes and regulations.
B. The company
shall in no way be held liable for any injury suffered by the municipality
or any other person, during an emergency, if for any reason the municipality
is unable to make full use of the cable television system as contemplated
herein.
The company shall at all times maintain a comprehensive
general liability insurance policy with a single limit amount of $1,000,000
covering liability for any death, personal injury, property damages
or other liability arising out of its construction and operation of
the cable television system, and an excess liability (or "umbrella")
policy in the amount of $5,000,000.
All of the statements and commitments contained
in the application or annexed thereto and incorporated therein, and
any amendment thereto, except as modified herein, are binding upon
the company as terms and conditions of this consent. The application
and other relevant writings submitted by the company shall be annexed
hereto and made a part hereof by reference, provided same do not conflict
with applicable state or federal law.
Should the municipality grant a franchise to
construct, operate and maintain a cable television system to any other
person, corporation or entity on terms materially less burdensome
or more favorable than the terms contained herein, the company may
substitute such language that is more favorable or less burdensome
for the comparable provision of this ordinance, subject to the provisions
of N.J.A.C. 14:17-6.7.
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause,
phrase or portion of this ordinance is for any reason held invalid
or unconstitutional by any court or federal or state agency of competent
jurisdiction, such portion shall be deemed a separate, distinct and
independent provision, and its validity or unconstitutionality shall
not affect the validity of the remaining portions of the ordinance.
Nothing in this franchise or in any prior agreement is or was
intended to confer third-party beneficiary status on any member of
the public to enforce the terms of such agreements or franchise.
This ordinance shall take effect immediately upon issuance of
a renewal certificate of approval from the BPU.