Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the contrary,
nothing in this chapter shall be deemed to require any person or entity
to obtain a franchise issued by the City, to the extent that such
person or entity is authorized to provide cable service or video services
under a cable franchise or video services franchise issued by another
government entity under applicable law, including, but not limited
to, Section 5800 et seq., of the California Public Utilities Code.
The requirements and provisions of this chapter shall not apply or
be enforced to the extent that they actually conflict with applicable
State or Federal law.
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Sections 5.03.010 through 5.03.080 of this chapter are designed to regulate video service providers holding State video franchises and operating within the City. As of January 1, 2007, the State of California has the sole authority to grant State video franchises pursuant to the Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act of 2006 (Act). Pursuant to the Act, the City of Claremont shall receive a franchise fee from all State video franchise holders operating within the City. Additionally, the City has the responsibility to establish and enforce penalties, consistent with State law, against all State video franchise holders operating within the City for violations of customer service standards, but the Act grants all authority to adopt customer service standards to the State. The Act leaves unchanged the City's authority to regulate the City's current cable franchise in accordance with this chapter and the cable franchise currently in effect, until such time as the cable franchisee no longer holds a City franchise or is no longer operating under a current or expired City franchise.
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For any State video franchise holder operating within the boundaries
of the City of Claremont, there shall be a fee (State franchise fee)
paid to the City equal to five percent of the gross revenue of that
State video franchise holder. Gross revenue, for the purposes of this
section, shall have the definition set forth in California Public
Utilities Code Section 5860. The State franchise fee shall be paid
to the City quarterly, within 45 days after the end of each calendar
quarter. If the State franchise fee is not paid when due, the State
video franchise holder shall pay a late payment charge at a rate per
year equal to the highest prime lending rate during the period of
delinquency, plus one percent.
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Not more than once annually, the City Manager or designee may
examine and perform an audit of the business records of all holders
of a State video franchise operating within the boundaries of the
City of Claremont to ensure compliance with this chapter.
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A.
Any
holder of a State video franchise operating within the boundaries
of the City of Claremont shall comply with all applicable State and
Federal customer service and protection standards pertaining to the
provision of video service.
B.
The
City Manager shall monitor the compliance of holders of a State video
franchise operating within the boundaries of the City of Claremont
with respect to State and Federal customer service and protection
standards. The City Manager, or designee, will provide the State video
franchise holder written notice of any material breaches of applicable
customer service standards, and will allow the State video franchise
holder 30 days from the receipt of the notice to remedy the specified
material breach. Material breaches not remedied within the 30-day
time period will be subject to the following penalties to be imposed
by the City:
1.
For
the first occurrence of a violation, a fine of $500.00 shall be imposed
for each day the violation remains in effect, not to exceed $1,500.00
for each violation.
2.
For
a second violation of the same nature within 12 months, a fine of
$1,000.00 shall be imposed for each day the violation remains in effect,
not to exceed $3,000.00 for each violation.
3.
For
a third or further violation of the same nature within 12 months,
a fine of $2,500.00 shall be imposed for each day the violation remains
in effect, not to exceed $7,500.00 for each violation.
C.
A holder
of a State video franchise operating within the boundaries of the
City of Claremont may appeal a penalty assessed by the City Manager
to the City Council within 60 days of the initial assessment. The
City Council shall hear all evidence and relevant testimony and may
uphold, modify or vacate the penalty. The City Council's decision
on the imposition of a penalty shall be final.
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A.
Applicants
for State video franchises, or amendments to existing franchises,
that will authorize the applicant to operate within the boundaries
of the City of Claremont must concurrently provide complete copies
to the City of any application or amendments to applications filed
with the Public Utilities Commission. At a minimum, one complete copy
must be provided to the City Manager.
B.
Within
30 days of receipt, the City Manager will provide any appropriate
comments to the Public Utilities Commission regarding an application
or an amendment to an application for a State video franchise.
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A.
Any
holder of a State video franchise, or City-issued cable franchise,
operating within the boundaries of the City of Claremont, that proposes
to install above-ground facilities in the public right-of-way shall,
no less than 20 days prior to installing such facilities, provide
written notice to the owner of the private or public property (excluding
the public right-of-way) nearest to the proposed facility. For purposes
of this subsection, "above-ground facilities" shall include only those
facilities that are located on the ground or on a base or pedestal
that is on the ground, and shall exclude aerial or pole-mounted facilities.
B.
Any franchisee to which this section applies shall provide the City with a copy of the proposed form of notice to be used in compliance with subsection A, no less than 10 days prior to mailing or delivering the notice. The City may require the franchisee to amend the form of the notice. Once the City has approved the form of notice, the franchisee shall not be required to obtain additional approvals of notice from the City, so long as the franchisee does not materially deviate from the form of notice approved by the City.
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A.
For
purposes of this section, an "encroachment permit" means any permit
issued by the City relating to construction or operation of facilities
for cable services or video services pursuant to this chapter.
B.
Prior to commencing any work for which an encroachment permit is required by this Municipal Code, a State video franchise holder shall obtain a permit in accordance with the provisions of this Municipal Code, including, but not limited to, Chapter 12.04. A permit application is complete when the applicant has complied with all applicable laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, all City administrative rules and regulations and all applicable requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and preparation of plans and specifications as required by City staff.
C.
City
staff shall, in the exercise of reasonable discretion as permitted
by State law, either approve or deny a State video franchise holder's
application for an encroachment permit within 60 days of receiving
a complete permit application.
D.
If City
staff denies a State video franchise holder's application for an encroachment
permit, City staff shall, at the time of notifying the applicant of
the denial, provide to the applicant a detailed explanation of the
reasons for the denial.
E.
A State video franchise holder may appeal any decision of City staff or any condition imposed by City staff pertaining to an encroachment permit by following the appeal procedures set forth in Chapter 16.321.
F.
Any
time limit provided by this section may be extended by mutual agreement
of the State video franchise holder and the City.
G.
The
issuance of an encroachment permit to a State video franchise holder
is not a franchise and does not grant any vested rights in any location
in the public rights-of-way, or in any particular manner of placement
within the public rights-of-way. A permit to place cabinets and similar
appurtenances aboveground may be revoked and the permittee required
to place facilities underground, upon reasonable notice to the permittee.
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