In order to establish minimum uniform standards, any MCS provider shall
adhere to the following minimum construction schedule and construction-related
requirements:
A.
Construct, install, maintain, and repair the multichannel
system in accordance with this chapter, and any additional requirements of
the state, county and/or City;
B.
Use streets and public rights-of-ways as set forth in
this chapter, and any other applicable requirements of the state, county,
and/or City;
C.
Where applicable, and when ordered in accordance with
this chapter, remove the MCS provider's equipment, facilities and property
from public streets or rights-of-way, in accordance with this chapter and
applicable state law;
D.
Adopt the construction standards as set forth in this
chapter;
E.
Abide by, and act in strict accordance with all current
technical codes that are standard and customary to the cable television and
multichannel service industry, including construction, fire, safety, health,
and zoning codes that are adopted by the City, or the county, or the state,
or the United States, and as set forth in this chapter as relate to the system
and its operation; and
F.
Maintain all permits and licenses, as required by this
chapter.
During any phase of construction, and with respect to any installation,
maintenance, and repair of the multichannel system, the MCS provider shall
use materials of good and durable quality and all such work shall be performed
in a safe, thorough, and reliable manner, and at all times in compliance with
the provisions of this chapter and other applicable ordinances, codes, rules
and regulations of the City, the county and the state, including those of
the PSC.
A.
To the extent permitted by law, including any applicable
rule or regulation of the PSC, all wires, conduits, cable (whether coaxial,
fiber, or a functional equivalent), and other property and facilities of an
MCS provider shall be so located, constructed, installed, and maintained so
as not to endanger, or unnecessarily interfere with, the usual and customary
use, traffic and travel upon the streets, rights-of-way, easements, and public
ways of the City or any private property adjacent to such.
B.
In the event an MCS provider's system creates a hazardous
or unsafe condition, such being defined as situations not in compliance with
any safety or safety-related code, or an unreasonable interference with public
or private property, the MCS provider shall voluntarily, or upon the request
of the City Council, in a prompt and timely manner remove or modify that part
of the system so as to eliminate such condition from the subject property
in a prompt and expeditious manner and time frame.
C.
An MCS provider shall at no time and under no circumstances
place equipment where it will unduly or impermissibly interfere with the rights
of property owners, or with gas, electric or telephone fixtures, water hydrants
or mains, wastewater lift stations, any traffic control system, or any other
service or facility that benefits or protects the health, safety, or welfare
of the City or its residents.
D.
An MCS provider, either at its own expense or that of
a private contractor, shall protect public property, rights-of-ways and easements,
and shall support or temporarily disconnect or relocate any property of such
MCS provider when necessitated by reason of:
(1)
Traffic conditions;
(2)
Public safety;
(3)
Temporary or permanent street closing;
(4)
Street construction or resurfacing;
(5)
A change in, or establishment of, street grade;
(6)
Installation, repair or modification of sewers, drains,
water pipes, storm drains, lift stations, force mains, power or signal lines,
and any traffic control system; or
(7)
Any improvement, construction, repair or public works
project related to the City's or its residents health safety, or welfare.
E.
It shall be the responsibility of an MCS provider, acting
alone or in conjunction with another person, to locate and mark or otherwise
visibly indicate and alert others to the location of its underground wires
or cable (coaxial, fiber or a functional equivalent) before employees, agents,
or independent contractors of any entity perform work in the intended area.
F.
An MCS provider shall, on the request of any person holding
a building moving permit, temporarily remove, raise or lower the wires and
facilities of the multichannel system to allow the moving of the building.
The expense of temporary removal shall be paid by the person requesting it,
and the MCS provider may require payment in advance. The affected MCS provider
shall be given not less than 14 days' notice of a contemplated move to arrange
for temporary wire changes.
This section is applicable to any MCS provider whose system occupies
public property or rights-of-way.
A.
Unless the City, or another MCS provider, indicates its
lawful intent to use the multichannel system (such as in the event of the
sale and purchase of the system) under the continuity provisions outlined
in this chapter, the affected MCS provider shall promptly remove its multichannel
system, including any facilities, equipment and property, or any abandoned
portion of the system, from the streets, public ways, and private property
located within the City, at its sole expense, within 90 days of the date of
expiration, or the date of revocation and termination, of its operating authority,
or a lawful order or directive from the City, whenever any of the following
occurs:
(1)
The MCS provider ceases to operate all, or part, of the
multichannel system for a continuous period of 90 days;
(2)
The MCS provider fails to construct the multichannel
system as outlined in an initial application, a proposal for renewal, a renewal
of the franchise, other agreement, license or permit, or an amended franchise,
other agreement, license or permit;
(3)
The City Council elects to, and affirmatively acts not
to, renew the franchise, other agreement, license or permit, pursuant to the
provisions set forth in this chapter; or
(4)
The MCS provider's franchise, other agreement, license
or permit is revoked pursuant to the provisions set forth in this chapter.
C.
If not removed voluntarily by the MCS provider, then
the City may notify the MCS provider that if removal of the property is not
accomplished within 90 days, or substantial progress towards removal is not
made within 75 days, then the City may direct its officials or representatives
to remove the MCS provider's property, facilities, equipment, cable and wires
at the MCS provider's expense.
D.
If officials or representatives of the City remove, or
cause to have removed, an MCS provider's property, facilities, equipment,
cable and wires, and such MCS provider does not claim the property within
90 days of its removal, then the City may take whatever steps are permissible
under state law to declare the property surplus, and sell it, with the proceeds
of such sale going to the City, if permitted by state law.
E.
When such MCS provider removes its multichannel system
and property, facilities, equipment, cable and wires from the streets and
public rights-of-way within the City, the MCS provider shall, at its own expense,
and in a manner approved by the City, replace and restore such public or private
property to a condition comparable to that which existed before the work causing
the disturbance was done.
A.
Methods of construction, installation, maintenance, and
repair of any multichannel system shall comply with the most current editions
of the National Electrical Safety Code (NESC) and the National Electrical
Code (NEC) as regards the construction, installation, and maintenance of electrical
supply and communication lines and attachments and supports, including, but
not limited to cable television systems. To the extent that these are inconsistent
with other provisions of a franchise, other agreement, license or permit,
or state or local law, state law shall apply unless the state permits the
local law or ordinance to control, in which case the local law and this chapter
shall control.
B.
Any MCS provider, when engaged in any construction, installation,
maintenance, and repair activities, shall treat the aesthetics of property
as a priority, shall not substantially change or affect the appearance or
the integrity of the structure and the property on which it is situated in
a negative manner, which specifically includes prohibiting the installation
of a drop and associated components on the bias across the side of a residence
or other structure without the property owner's permission. This specifically
means that, unless impracticable, all drop material attached to a dwelling
or business must follow the perimeter lines or roof lines of the dwelling
or business to the extent possible, and result in the minimum visual effect
reasonably possible, taking into account the reasonable desires of the subscriber.
C.
To the extent not physically or commercially impracticable,
all underground drops shall follow property lines, and shall cross property
only at right angles, unless otherwise permitted by the property owner, or
unless required due to the physical characteristics of the subsurface or surface
obstructions.
D.
Underground installations shall be constructed in accordance
with the specifications and requirements of the City and the National Electrical
Safety Code and the National Electrical Code, including, but not limited to
depth of burial. In the event that the National Electrical Code does not at
any time address depth of burial for individual service drops, the required
minimum depth shall be such that a 10 inch long spade traditionally used in
normal landscaping and yard maintenance would not damage the drop.
E.
For existing multichannel systems, the provisions of Subsection C of this section shall apply only at the time a scheduled upgrade or rebuild of the MCS provider's multichannel system is actually commenced and in progress. For newly served areas, the provisions of Subsection C of this section shall apply at the time of initial construction and/or installation.
F.
For an MCS provider operating a multichannel system in
the City at the date of adoption of this chapter, the MCS provider shall be
required to bring all service drops into compliance with the requirements
of this section within 24 months from the date of adoption of this chapter.
G.
In instances where either electrical or telephone utilities
install wire or cable aerially, the MCS provider may construct its multichannel
system aerially, unless otherwise required by state law; provided, however,
that all minimum separations between facilities as required by applicable
code, rule or regulation must at all times be complied with, and there shall
at no time be a conflict with or any contact between the MCS provider's wires
and cable or other equipment and facilities and those of a utility.
For MCS providers subject to this section, the franchise, other agreement,
license or permit between the City and/or City Council and the franchised
MCS provider shall contain either a system expansion schedule for any area
not provided multichannel service as of the date of the franchise, other agreement,
license or permit, or an explanation acceptable to the City as to why a particular
area will not be served.
An MCS provider shall obtain, at its own expense, all permits and licenses
required by local law or ordinance, or state rule or regulation, and shall
maintain the same, in full force and effect, for as long as required by the
City or other appropriate governmental entity or agency.
It shall be the responsibility of any MCS provider to comply with the
most current FCC technical standards.
A.
In order to verify that an MCS provider constructs and
maintains the multichannel system in the manner required by this chapter,
and applicable state and federal rules and regulations, including all state
and federally required testing and inspection of the system, as well as the
required preventive maintenance program and safety-related inspections required
by this chapter, including any tests and inspections required by the PSC,
the City reserves the right to inspect all facets of an MCS provider's construction,
placement, operation and maintenance of the system.
B.
The City also reserves the right to require the delivery
to the City, or its designee, of any or all records and documents related
to such tests and inspections for purposes of review, as may deemed necessary
to administer and enforce compliance with this chapter and any franchise,
other agreement, license or permit.
C.
The City shall pay for all of its costs associated with
such inspections or reviews, except for those circumstances occasioned by
an MCS provider's refusal to provide the requested information necessary for
the administration and enforcement of this chapter and any franchise, other
agreement, license or permit, or that is occasioned by the failure to construct,
install, maintain, repair, rebuild, or upgrade in the manner specified and
required by this chapter, or where applicable, a franchise, other agreement,
license or permit. In such instances, the MCS provider shall pay for such
costs incurred by the City that are caused by the MCS provider's refusal or
failure to supply necessary information, or the failure to abide by the rules
subsequent to City notices or directives.
A.
The City requires that any MCS provider's construction,
operation, and maintenance of the multichannel system meet certain threshold
safety levels which are designed to protect the public and lessen the likelihood
of interruption of multichannel service.
B.
Consequently, at a minimum, an MCS provider shall, at
all times and without exception, except for situations involving matters of
force majeure, comply with the following safety and safety-related requirements:
(1)
Emergency alert override activation in the manner set
forth in this chapter;
(2)
Minimum standby power as noted in this chapter;
(3)
The diligent conduct of a preventative maintenance program,
as set forth in this chapter;
(4)
Comply with, and abide by, all FCC rules concerning signal
quality and signal strength, including the FCC's cumulative leakage index
(CLI) rules; and
(5)
Comply with, and abide by, any and all construction,
safety, electrical, health, and fire codes, as specified in this chapter.
A.
In order that subscribers may be alerted in the event
of an impending, imminent or actual natural or other disaster or emergency,
all MCS providers shall ensure that the multichannel system providing multichannel
service to all, or any part, of the City is designed, constructed and installed
with the equipment that will permit an authorized official or designee of
the City to override the audio portion of all channels, by touch-tone phone
(or functional equivalent) from any location.
B.
In addition to any other requirements listed in this
section, an MCS provider shall:
(1)
Designate a channel which will be used for disaster/emergency
broadcasts of both audio and video, though this channel need not be solely
used for emergency broadcasts, and may in fact be used for any lawful purpose;
(2)
Inform subscribers of the designated emergency channel
on a periodic basis, not less than once a day;
(3)
Maintain all-channel video blanking capability to facilitate
the needs of hearing and sight-impaired customer or subscribers;
(4)
Test the disaster emergency override system not less
than once a month, and remedy any problems or operational deficiencies immediately;
(5)
Cooperate with the City on the use and operation of the
emergency alert override system; and
(6)
Develop a plan, with the City's concurrence, to provide
continuity of multichannel service, and response to service calls, in the
event of an emergency.
C.
As one method of providing continuity of multichannel
services in the event of a failure of commercial electrical power, for any
reason whatsoever, including, but not limited to a natural or other disaster
or emergency, an MCS provider shall, unless exempted by the City, install
and diligently maintain automatically activated standby or backup power to
power all active line electronics (e.g., amplifiers) for at least two hours
on all trunk and feeder cable, and additionally install and diligently maintain
an automatically activated standby generator at all headends, hubs, and receive
sites associated with the distribution of cable service to, and throughout,
the City that are owned or under the control of the MCS provider or any affiliate
or parent organization.
A.
It shall be the duty of an MCS provider to devise and
implement a preventative maintenance program for the multichannel system in
order to ensure that there is no material degradation of the operation or
performance of the multichannel system that would affect the citizens' health,
safety, and welfare, or negatively affect the quality or reliability of multichannel
services provided throughout the City.
B.
Before the MCS provider implements such a preventive
maintenance program, it shall provide a copy of such program to the City for
its review and approval. The City shall specifically have the right and authority
to establish the minimum acceptable standards for the preventive maintenance
program.
C.
Although not exhaustive, the following areas and standards
shall at a minimum be included in a preventive maintenance program, and the
results included in any subsequent report:
(1)
Daily inspection, and adjustment if necessary, of the
signal quality of each channel;
(2)
Daily scan, and adjustment if necessary, of carrier levels
with a spectrum analyzer or functional equivalent;
(3)
Daily logging of any and all adjustments made to the
headend electronic or signal processing equipment, any antennas or other reception
equipment, or the distribution system;
(4)
Daily monitoring, and logging, and repair if necessary,
of signal leakage, to ensure that the multichannel system is within FCC allowed
levels;
(5)
Inspection of drops as an integral part of every service
call, and schedule for relocation or replacement, if necessary;
(6)
Inspection and recordation of appropriate signal levels
during each service call;
(7)
Weekly monitoring, and adjustment if necessary, of headend
audio and video carrier levels;
(8)
Weekly monitoring, and adjustment if necessary, of headend
videocipher AGC levels;
(9)
Weekly monitoring, and adjustment if necessary, of satellite
receiver input carrier-to-noise;
(10)
Monthly monitoring, and adjustment if necessary, of headend
audio and video modulation levels;
(12)
Monthly monitoring, and adjustment if necessary, of headend
scrambler levels;
(13)
Monthly testing, and repair if necessary, of the emergency
alert override system;
(14)
Monthly testing and inspection, and repair if necessary,
of 1/3 of all standby power supplies;
(15)
Semiannual monitoring, and adjustment if necessary, of
headend radio frequency (RF) input levels to off-air processors;
(16)
Semiannual inspections, and repair if necessary, of:
(18)
Annual testing for determining compliance with the FCC's
cumulative leakage index (CLI) rules;
(20)
Where required by local or state law, annual inspection
and repair (if necessary) of all MCS provider owned or leased vehicles.
(21)
Notwithstanding anything in the preceding subsections,
the MCS provider shall ensure that all test equipment is properly calibrated
prior to any required testing.
D.
Thirty days after each calendar quarter, an MCS provider
subject to this section shall notify the City of the preventive maintenance
information available for that calendar quarter, and that such information
is available for inspection, examination, and review by the City.
A.
The franchisee or other MCS provider shall at all times
and without exception conduct all of its construction, installation, repair
and maintenance activities in accordance with the fire and safety regulations
of the City, and all local, state and federal safety regulations, and shall
at all times, without limitation or exception, adhere to regulations governing
the security of facilities as promulgated by the City.
B.
The codes referred in the preceding subsection are standard
and customary to the multichannel service industry and include, but are not
limited to, electrical, construction, fire, safety, health, building, and
zoning codes.
C.
To provide for the maximum protection of the health and
safety of persons and property in the City, the intent of this section is
to require 100% compliance with all safety-related codes, rules and regulations
at all times, subject only to force majeure exceptions. For clarification,
this is intended to mean that the City adopts a policy of "zero" tolerance
of safety-related violations associated with any multichannel system in the
City.
D.
It shall be the responsibility and obligation of any
franchisee or other MCS provider to, immediately by phone, and the next day
in writing for purposes of the City's records, report to the City any violations
of safety codes that are identified and are not able to be remedied, or are
not remedied, within 24 hours of their identification, so as enable the City
to take any needed precautions to alert or otherwise protect persons and property
in the City.
E.
It shall further be the immediate and primary responsibility
of the affected or transgressing MCS provider to place appropriate and effective
warning signs and protective devices or barriers at the site of any such safety
violations that create an imminent danger or threat, as in the reasonable
determination of the City may be needed and directed by the City.
F.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in § 309-71, Liquidated damages, there shall be no liquidated damages or other penalty applied or assessed against a franchisee or other MCS provider for safety related violations that are voluntarily and of its own accord and volition reported to the City in accordance with the previous Subsection C, provided that the first report of a situation not in compliance with this section that the City receives is that of the franchisee or other service provider whose facilities are not in compliance with the required safety codes and this chapter.
