This chapter is known and may be cited as the "Cable, Video
and Telecommunications Service Providers Ordinance" of the city of
Malibu.
(Ord. 296 § 1, 2006)
A.
The
city council finds and determines as follows:
1.
The
development of cable, video and telecommunications services and systems
may provide significant benefits for, and have substantial impacts
upon, the residents of the city.
2.
Because
of the complex and rapidly changing technology associated with cable,
video and telecommunications services and systems, the public convenience,
safety, and general welfare can best be served by the city's exercise
of its regulatory powers.
3.
This
chapter adopts provisions that authorize the city to regulate cable,
video and telecommunications service providers to the extent authorized
by federal and state law, including but not limited to the federal
Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984, the federal Cable Television
Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992, the federal Telecommunications
Act of 1996, applicable regulations of the Federal Communications
Commission, and applicable California statutes and regulations.
4.
The
cable, video and telecommunications services that are addressed in
this chapter include services provided by cable television systems,
open video systems, master antenna television systems, satellite master
antenna television systems, direct broadcast satellite systems, multichannel
multipoint distribution systems, local multipoint distribution systems,
and other providers of video programming, whatever their technology.
B.
The
purpose and intent of this chapter is to provide for the attainment
of the following objectives:
1.
To
enable the city to discharge its public trust in a manner consistent
with rapidly evolving federal and state regulatory policies, industry
competition, and technological development.
2.
To
authorize and to manage reasonable access to the city's public rights-of-way
and public property for cable, video and telecommunications purposes
on a competitively neutral and nondiscriminatory basis, and in a manner
consistent with all applicable federal and state statutes and regulations.
3.
To
obtain fair and reasonable compensation for the city and its residents
for authorizing the private use of the public rights-of-way and public
property.
4.
To
promote competition in cable, video and telecommunications services,
minimize unnecessary local regulation of cable, video and telecommunications
service providers, and encourage the delivery of advanced and competitive
cable, video and telecommunications services on the broadest possible
basis to local government and to the businesses, institutions, and
residents of the city.
5.
To
establish clear local guidelines, standards, and time frames for the
exercise of local authority with respect to the regulation of cable,
video and telecommunications service providers.
6.
To
encourage the deployment of advanced cable, video and telecommunications
infrastructure that satisfies local needs, delivers enhanced government
services, and provides informed consumer choices in an evolving cable,
video and telecommunications marketplace.
7.
To
maintain and to enhance public, educational, and governmental programming
opportunities that will enable the city to communicate with its residents
and to provide them with alternate means of dissemi-nating information.
(Ord. 296 § 1, 2006)
A.
"Affiliate"
"Cable service"
"Cable system," or "cable communications system" or "cable television
system,"
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
"Cable system operator"
"CFR"
"City"
"Communications Act"
"FCC" or "Federal Communications Commission"
"Franchise"
"Franchise fee"
1.
2.
3.
4.
"Franchise service area" or "service area"
"Grantee"
"Gross annual cable service revenues"
"Multichannel video programming distributor" or "video programming
distributor"
"Open video system"
"Open video system operator"
"Person"
"Public, educational or government access facilities" or "PEG
access facilities,"
"State franchisee"
"Street" or "public way"
"Subscriber" or "customer" or "consumer"
"Telecommunications"
"Telecommunications equipment"
"Telecommunications service"
"Telecommunications service provider"
"U.S.C. Section"
"Video programming provider"
"Video provider"
The
words, terms, phrases, and their derivations set forth in this chapter
have the meanings set forth below. Words used in the present tense
include the future tense, and words in the singular include the plural
number:
means, when used in relation to any person, another person
who owns or controls, is owned or controlled by, or is under common
ownership or control with, such person. For purposes of this definition,
the term "own" means to own an equity interest, or its equivalent,
of 10% or more.
means the one-way transmission to subscribers of video programming,
or other programming services, and subscriber interaction, if any,
that is required for the selection or use of that video programming
or other programming service. For the purposes of this definition,
"video programming" means programming provided by, or generally considered
comparable to programming provided by, a television broadcast station;
and "other programming service" means information that a cable system
operator makes available to all subscribers generally.
means a facility, consisting of a set of closed transmission
paths and associated signal generation, reception, and control equipment
that is designed to provide cable service that includes video programming
and that is provided to multiple subscribers within a community. The
term "cable system" does not include:
A facility that serves only to retransmit the television signals
of one or more television broadcast stations;
A facility that serves subscribers without using any public
right-of-way;
A facility of a common carrier that is subject, in whole or
in part, to the provisions of Title II of the Communications Act,
except that such facility will be considered a cable system (other
than for purposes specified in Section 621(c) of the Communications
Act) to the extent such facility is used in the transmission of video
programming directly to subscribers, unless the extent of such use
is solely to provide interactive on-demand services;
An open video system that complies with Section 653 of the Communications
Act; or
Any facilities of an electric utility that are used solely for
operating its electric utility system.
means any person or group of persons:
means the Code of Federal Regulations. Thus, the citation
of "47 CFR 80.1" refers to Title 47, Part 80, Section 1, of the Code
of Federal Regulations.
means the city of Malibu as represented by its city council
or by any delegate acting within the scope of its delegated authority.
means the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. Sections
151, et seq.), as amended by the Cable Communications Policy Act of
1984, the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act
of 1992, and the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
means the federal administrative agency, or any lawful successor,
that is authorized to regulate telecommunications services and telecommunications
service providers on a national level.
means an initial authorization, or the renewal of an initial
authorization, granted by the city council, whether such authorization
is designated as a franchise, agreement, permit, license, resolution,
contract, certificate, or otherwise, that authorizes the construction
or operation of a cable system or an open video system.
means any tax, fee or assessment of any kind that is authorized
by state or federal law to be imposed by the city on a grantee as
compensation in the nature of rent for the grantee's use of the public
rights-of-way. The term "franchise fee" does not include:
Any tax, fee, or assessment of general applicability (including
any such tax, fee, or assessment imposed on both utilities and grantees
or their services);
Capital costs that are required by the franchise to be incurred
by a grantee for public, educational, or governmental access facilities;
Costs or charges that are incidental to the award or enforcement
of the franchise, including payments for bonds, security funds, letters
of credit, insurance, indemnification, penalties, or liquidated damages;
or
Any fee imposed under Title 17, United States Code.
means the entire geographic area of the city as it is now
constituted, or may in the future be constituted, unless otherwise
specified in the resolution granting a franchise, or in a franchise
agreement.
means any person that is awarded a franchise in accordance
with this chapter, and that person's lawful successor, transferee,
or assignee.
means, as applied to the grantee of a cable television franchise,
the annual gross revenues received by a grantee from all operations
of its cable television system to provide cable services within the
city, excluding uncollected bad debt, refundable deposits, rebates
or credits, and further excluding any sales, excise, or other taxes
or charges that are required to be collected for direct passthrough
to the local, state, or federal government. Revenues identified and
collected from subscribers as franchise fees may not be excluded from
a grantee's gross annual cable service revenues, unless otherwise
provided by federal law.
means a person such as, but not limited to, a cable system
operator, an open video system operator, a multichannel multipoint
distribution service, a direct broadcast satellite service, or a television
receive-only satellite program distributor, who makes available multiple
channels of video programming for purchase by subscribers or customers.
means a facility consisting of a set of transmission paths
and associated signal generation, reception, and control equipment
that is designed to provide cable service, including video programming,
and that is provided to multiple subscribers within the city, provided
that the FCC has certified that such system is authorized to operate
in the city and complies with 47 CFR 1500 et seq., entitled "open
video systems."
means any person or group of persons who provides cable service
over an open video system and directly or through one or more affiliates
owns a significant interest in that open video system, or otherwise
controls or is responsible for the management and operation of that
open video system.
means an individual, partnership, limited liability company,
association, joint stock company, trust, corporation, or governmental
entity.
means the total of the following:
means any holder of a state-issued video franchise operating
in the city, as defined in Public Utilities Code Section 5830(p).
means each of the following that has been dedicated to the
public and maintained under public authority or by others and is located
within the city limits: streets, roadways, highways, avenues, lanes,
alleys, sidewalks, easements, rights-of-way, and similar public property
that the city from time to time authorizes to be included within the
definition of a street.
means any person who, for any purpose, subscribes to the
services provided by a multichannel video programming distributor
and who pays the charges for those services.
means the transmission, between or among points specified
by the user, of information of the user's choosing, without change
in the form or content of the information as sent and received.
means equipment, other than customer premises equipment,
used by a telecommunications service provider to provide telecommunications
service, including software that is integral to that equipment.
means the offering of telecommunications directly to the
public for a fee, or to such classes of users as to be effectively
available directly to the public, regardless of the equipment or facilities
that are used.
means any provider of telecommunications service.
means the United States Code. Thus, the citation of "47 U.S.C.
Section 153" refers to Title 47, Section 153, of the United States
Code.
means any person or group of persons who has the right under
the federal copyright laws to select and to contract for the carriage
of specific video programming on a cable system or an open video system.
means any person, company, or service that provides one or
more channels of video programming to a residence, including a home,
multifamily dwelling complex, congregate-living complex, condominium,
apartment, or mobilehome, where some fee is paid for that service,
whether directly or as included in dues or rental charges, and whether
or not public rights-of-way are used in the delivery of that video
programming. A "video provider" includes, without limitation, providers
of cable television service, open video system service, master antenna
television, satellite master antenna television, direct broadcast
satellite, multipoint distribution services, and other providers of
video programming, whatever their technology.
B.
Unless
otherwise expressly stated, words, terms, and phrases not defined
in this chapter will be given their meaning as used in Title 47 of
the United States Code, as amended, and, if not defined in that code,
their meaning as used in Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(Ord. 296 § 1, 2006; Ord. 311 § 1, 2007)
