Loading...
Ordinance 1783ORDINANCE NO. 1783 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF EDMONDS, WASHINGTON, REGULATING THE OPERATION OF COMMUNITY ANTENNAE TELEVISION SYSTEMS; PRO- VIDING FOR PERMITS THEREFOR; PRESCRIBING PENALTIES FOR VIOLATION; ESTABLISHING PERMIT FEES; PROVIDING FOR THE REGULATION OF RATES AND SUBSCRIBER FEES; REGULATING CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE OF SAID SYSTEMS AND THEIR APPURTENANCES; PROVIDING FOR LEGAL PRO- TECTION FROM CLAIMS; AND ESTABLISHING CRITERIA FOR ISSUANCE, EXPIRATION AND REVOCATION OF SAID PERMITS AND PERIODIC REVIEW OF SUBSCRIBER FEES; AND REPEALING ORDINANCE NO. 1126 CODIFIED AS CHAPTER 4.68 OF THE EDMONDS CITY CODE. THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF EDMONDS, WASHINGTON, DO ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. Definitions A. A community antenna television system is defined as a facility utilizing a receiving antenna or antennas, connecting wire, cable or relay facilities and associated equipment for the reception by subscribing members of the public of the television and radio signals of one or more broadcast stations and of other audio and/or visual or other radio -frequency signal transmissions. B. The term "person" shall include one or more persons of either sex, corporations, partnerships, associations, or any other entity capable of having an action at law brought against such entity. .C. The "permittee" is defined as any person who has a current permit from the City of Edmonds to install, operate and maintain a community antenna television system. Section 2. It shall be unlawful for any person to operate or maintain a community antenna television system or any part thereof, in the City of Edmonds unless that person shall have first secured a permit therefor in the manner provided in this chapter, Section 3_ A. Any person desiring to secure a permit to operate and maintain a community antenna television system shall apply therefor in writing to the City Clerk, B. Said application shall be in writing and shall state the name of the applicant, and if the applicant is a corporation or partnership, the names of its officers or partners, and the application shall also state in detail the information called for by the standards and criteria governing the issuance of a permit as set forth in paragraph D of this section. C. Upon filing an application with the City Clerk as provided herein, the applicant shall pay an application fee of $1,000.00 which shall be refunded only to those applicants which are not granted a permit, provided, however, that said application fee shall not be required upon renewal of a permit hereunder. D. The standards and criteria governing the issuance of a permit are as follows: 1. The experience, legal, character, financial, technical and other qualifications of the applicant; 2. The staff, equipment and facilities available to the applicant for the service, and the adequacy and feasibility of its construction arrangements; 3. The capability of the applicant to serve the inhabitants of the city with signals of the highest quality which the state of the art will allow; 4. The rates contemplated to be charged by permittee for all subscriber service, initial installation, installation of extra outlets and Fh; o+atlets, reconnection and relocation of existing drops; 5. The extent, type, variety and range of service and programming contemplated to be rendered by the per7ittee. A. Such permit, including the rates to be charged to subscribers, shall be approved by the City Council as part.of a full public proceeding affording due process and full consideration of the criteria set forth in Section 3.D above, and shall remain in force until revoked as elsewhere set forth in the Ordinance, but in no event shall such permit be in effect for any period greater than fiftEen (15) years from the date of issue without a renewal thereof. At the termination of the permit by expiration 6: or revocation, permittee shall at its own cost and expense remove all construction and installations hereby authorized and shall place all portions of streets and other public property that have been disturbed in as good condition as the abutting portions thereof. B. Such permit shall approve the rates and charges to be made by the permittee for installation and all service rendered by it to its customers as contained in the original application or any amendment thereof, but such approval shall not be required for permittee's charges for auxiliary services, Pay -TV, advertising, or leased channels, unless regulation of any such rate is authorized by the Federal Communications Commission and then only upon determination by the City Council after an appropriate public hearing that regulation of any such rate will be in the public interest. No rates or charges approved by such permit shall be changed by permittee from those approved in said permit until the same shall have been approved by the City Council, after a public proceeding affording due process on the matter; provided, however, that 1. After not less than one (1) year since its last change in rates, the permittee is hereby authorized to increase any or all of its rates by an amount not exceeding the percentage by which the National Consumer Price Index for the Seattle, Washington, area published by the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (or similar Index by which said Index shall be replaced)shall have increased since the permittee's last increase or reduction in such rate; 2. No such rate increase shall be in an amount less than two percent (2%) nor more than eight percent (8%) of the then existing rate; 3. Permittee, not less than one (1) month before putting such rate increase into effect, shall deliver to the City written notice that it is making any such increase, the effective date thereof, and the computations by which such increase was derived; and 4. This provision having been approved after a public hearing affording due process, each of such aforesaid increases shall be deemed to have been approved by the City Council pursuant to such public proceeding. C. If the permittee has increased any rate in the manner 3 specified in the last sentence of Subparagraph B. above, and if the aforesaid National U. S. Consumer Price Index for the Seattle, Washington, area (or similar Index) shall have declined since the permittee last increased any such rate in such manner or reduced any such rate in the manner specified in this Subparagraph C., the permittee shall reduce each such affected rate, subject to all of the following conditions: 1. The reduction shall be an amount equal to the percentage by which the Index has declined since the Index upon which such most recent increase or reduction was computed, the amount of such reduction to be rounded to the nearest five cents (5�). 2. The effective date of any such rate reduction shall be the first day of the second month next following the date when the relevant Index was published. 3. No such reduction shall be required within less than twelve (12) months after the permittee has either increased such rate in the manner specified in Subparagraph B. above or reduced such rate in the manner specified in this Subparagraph C., and unless the amount of such reduction shall be at least two percent (2%) of the then existing rate; nor shall any such rate reduction or the total of a series of reductions exceed the total amounts by which the permittee has increased any such rate during the prededing fifteen (15) months period in the manner specified in Subparagraph B. above. 4. Permittee shall notify the City each time it is obligated to make any such -rate reduction, state the amount and the effective date thereof, and provide the computations by which the amount of each such rate reduction was derived. 5. Such notices and computations shall be delivered to the City not less than thirty (30) days before the effective date of the computed reduction; and upon written instructions from the City, received by the permittee not less than ten (10) days prior to the said effective date, the City may refuse. 4 permission for the permittee to make any such reduction, and when permission is so refused, permittee shall not put such reduction into effect; however, 6. Each month after such refusal, within one (1) week after publication of said Consumers Price Index for each succeeding month, until (a) permission is granted by failure of the City to refuse permission or (b) the amount of such reduction would be less than one percent (1%) of the then existing rate or rates, whichever event occurs first, permittee shall submit a new notice, effective date, and computations for reduction of such rate or rates, based on the most recently published Index; and each month in the manner afore- said, the City may refuse permission by giving written notice to permittee or, by failing to give such notice, shall permit the reduction to become effective in accordance with the permittee's latest notice. D. Every three (3) years during the term of any permit issued here- under, the City Council shall make a complete review of the permittee's schedule of rates. E. The permittee shall maintain a local office, with a toll -free listed phone number, so located that maintenance service shall be promptly available to subscribers upon request, Procedures shall be adopted by the permittee and the City for the investigation and resolution of all complaints regarding permittee's community antenna television system operations. These procedures shall be contained in the City's administrative regulations and a copy thereof shall be available at the permittee's local office. Any person having a complaint regarding permittee's operations may direct such complaint to the permittee, or if not satisfied with the permittee's disposition of such complaint, to the Mayor, or to such other City official as may be designated by the Mayor, Civic Center, Edmonds, Washington (98020), who shall have primary responsibility for the continuing administration of any permit granted hereunder and implementation of complaint procedures, Permittee shall give notice of the procedures for reporting and resolving complaints to each subscriber at the time of initial subscription to the cable service, Section 5, The annual permit fees for such person shall be payable quarterly at the rate of three (3) percent of the gross receipts collected by permittee for the sale of its service in the City of Edmonds 5 in the preceeding calendar quarter and shall be paid within twenty (20) days after the end of each calendar quarter. "Gross receipts" as herein used is hereby defined as monthly service charges, including installation and reconnection charges therefor and charges for relocation of subscriber connections, plus, at the option of the City, the permittee's revenue from access and origination channels; but shall not include permittee's compensa- tion for auxiliary services, Pay -TV (programs for which subscribers pay an additional charge for non -broadcast, non -mandated programs), advertising, leased channels, deposits on or payments for converters or special equipment provided by the permittee in connection with Pay -TV or other auxiliary services, or local, State or Federal taxes levied directly upon gross subscriber charges, unless it is found by the City that any such additional charges will increase the City's administrative costs, in which case the City shall notify permittee to be heard at a full public proceeding affording due process and full consideration of the inclusion of such additional items consistent with the rules of the Federal Communications Commission relating thereto. All permittees shall make available to the City, upon reasonable request, the permittee's books and customer list for verification of permit fees. to: Section 6. Permittee shall have the privilege, right and authority A. Construct, install, maintain and operate a coaxial cable subscriber system for television, radio and other audio-visual or other electrical or radio -frequency signal distribution, in, over, on and under the streets, alleys, public highways and public places of the City of Edmonds, with the necessary manholes and other appurtenances therefor; B. And to erect, construct, install, maintain and operate, antenna towers, lines, cables, necessary wiring and other apparatus for the purpose of receiving, originating, amplifying, and distributing television, electronic, electrical and radio signals to persons, business establishments and public places in the City of Edmonds; and to erect and maintain poles, with or without cross arms subject to first obtaining the written permission to erect each such pole from the Mayor of the City of Edmonds. N. C. To distribute, supply and sell television, radio and other electronic and audio-visual and radio -frequency signals in the City of Edmonds to parsons, business establishments and public places inhabitant thereof, as well as to persons, business establishments and public places beyond the present or future corporate limits thereof; D. To charge its customers both a connection or installation fee to bring the service to their properties, and a monthly fee for their continued use of the service; in connection with the establishment of its fee, the permittee shall have the right to require all of its customers to permit it to make reasonable entry upon the customer's property for the purpose of installing, servicing or removing its equipment and connections. Section 7. Permittee shall make use of existing poles, except that in any district in which telephone, telegraph and electric wires and cables are laid underground or permittee cannot make use of poles, permittee's coaxial cable and wires must in said areas or districts, be run underground; and permittee, at its own expense, shall likewise place underground its existing cables in those districts whenever designated as a district requiring other utilites to place their wires and cable underground. Wherever wires or cables of electric power, telegraph or telephone utilities are placed or permitted to remain on poles, the wires and cables of permittee are hereby authorized to be placed or permitted to remain on poles; and should the City require or subscribers request that permittee's wires and cables be laid underground in areas where power and telephone utilities are not required to be underground, the permittee is hereby authorized, in addition to its regular installation charge, to require subscribers served by such underground system to pay contributions in aid of construction in amounts which approximately equal the difference in the cost of placing such cable, wires and related facilities underground and the estimated cost if they had been placed or permitted to remain on poles, such contributions to be paid in equal proportions by all subscribers requesting such under- ground service at the time it is requested. Such contributions in aid of construction shall become the permanent property of permittee and shall not 7 be subject to proration to or among subsequent subscribers along such under- ground system or along any subsequent extension thereof. In the event that any affected citizen shall feel that the permittee's computation of the required contributions in aid of construction are not fair and reasonable, said citizen may appeal to the City Council, which shall have the authority, after hearing arguments by both sides, to order such revisions, not in conflict herewith, as it shall deem necessary in order to make the com- putations fair and reasonable to all parties. Section 8. A permittee's facilities shall be so located and so erected as not to interfere with traffic over said streets, averues, alleys, highvrays, bridges, easements and other public places and that reasonable egress from and ingress to abutting property, provided, however, that permittee shall not break up, excavate or block any street or alley or public thoroughfare without permission from the City Engineer. When any portion of a street is excavated by permittee in the location, relocation, replacement or repair of any of its facilities, including underground conduit or poles to carry said coaxial cables, the portion of the street so excavated shall within a reasonable time and as early as practicable after said excavation be replaced by the permittee at its expense and in as good a condition as it was at the time of such excavation, all being in accordance with the applicable rules and regulations of the Engineering Department, Snohomish County Health District and other interested agencies of the City and the officials thereof. Section 9. Before permittee shall lay underground said coaxial cable or erect poles for the carrying thereof above the ground or stretch cables or wires on any existing poles above the ground in any street, avenue, alley, highway or other public place within the present or future corporate limits of the City, permittee shall file with the City Engineer a map showing the proposed location, height and depth thereof in such street, avenue, alley, easement, highway or other public place by surveyed measurements. If the location proposed does not interfere with the existing or contemplated sewers, water pipes or other public utilities, or violate ordinances of the City of Edmonds, said Engineer shall approve said map, and the same shall thereafter be considered the official location of said coaxial cable or conduits, but if said proposed location would interfere with said existing or contemplated sewers, water pipes or other public utilities or violate any ordinance of the City of Edmonds, said Engineer shall furnish the permittee with available data by which a map of location of such conduits or cables may be filed. The City shall not be held liable for any disturbance of permittee's installations, resulting from the altering, repair- ing or installation of streets or sewer or water installations. Section 10. The City reserves the right to see that any system is constructed and maintained in a safe condition, and if an unsafe condition is found to exist, to order the permittee to make necessary repairs and alterations forthwith, and if the permittee fails to make the necessary repairs and alterations, the City may make them or have them made and collect all cost and expense thereof from the permittee, including all costs of collection, including reasonable attorneys fees and court costs. Section 11. Whenever the prosecuting of any public work by the City shall involve the establishment or change of any grade (established or otherwise), sewer, water pipe or other public facility or utility and the same shall cross or require change of any of permittee's conduit, cable or apparatus located in any street, avenue, alley, highway or other public place under and by virtue of any ordinance, the same shall be changed by the permittee-at its own expense after reasonable notice in writing of not less than fifteen (15) days to make the changes from the City Engineer. Section 12. At all times during the term of any permit issued pursuant to this chapter, permittee shall promptly and without discrimination furnish to persons and business establishments of the City of Edmonds who request the same for which service is economically feasible and agree to abide by the permittee's reasonable rules and regulations, television and radio -frequency signals of the highest quality which the state of the art will practicably allow at the time, and shall acquire, construct, maintain, equip and operate all necessary facilities for the reception, transmission and distribution and sale of television and radio -frequency signals for 0 the benefit aj�d convenience of the City's inhabitants. Permittee shall extend its full service in accordance with its published rate schedule, to any loca- tfion within ahy area presently within the City limits or hereafter annexed to the City; provided, however, that A. In any area subdivided after the effective date of this ordinance, the subdivider shall provide to permittee, free of charge, a trench in which to place its gable and/or conduit underground in accordance with requirements of the City and of the permittee; provided, however, that the permittee shall coordinate wijrh communications and power utilities in the common use of such trenches wherever possible. B. A permittee shall not be required to extend its cable system in any area ar,,nexed after the effective date of its permit unless the requested extension will pass an average of at least one (1) then existing residence per eighty (80) feet of cable system. Section 13. The City shall at all times have the right to make free use of space on any and all of the permittee's poles for attachment of wires and Equipment used in connection with any City -owned signal or control system; provided, however, that any such use shall be in full com- pliance with t;he laws, rules and regulations governing permittee's use of such poles anS� shall not interfere with permittee's use of any such poles. Section 14. A permittee shall comply with the National Electric Code, as from time to time amended, and all rules and regulations now in force or whicfJ may hereafter be put into force with respect to proper installation, construction and maintenance of lines, cables, wiring and other apparatus authorized hereunder to be installed. Section 15. Permittee shall at all times comply with all appli- cable rules and regulations of the Federal Communications Commission and the Washington State Public Utilities & Transportation Commission which apply now and may hereafter be adopted. In the event of amendment or adoption of the laws or regulations of those agencies, the City of Edmonds reserves the right to accordingly amend this Ordinance and any permits issued hereunder. Any modifications of the provisions of Section 76.31 of the Rules, Regulations, or technical standards of the Federal Communi- cations Commission resulting from amendments by the Commission shall be incorporated by the City and the permittee into this ordinance and any permit issued hereunder within one (1) year of the adoption of the modifications or at the time of the next permit renewal, whichever occurs first. 10 Section 16. Permittee shall at all times protect and hold harmless the City, from all claims, actions, suits, liability loss, expense or damage of every kind and description, includinq court costs and attorneys fees, which may accrue to or be suffered or claimed by any person or persons, or the City itself, arising out of the ownership, construction or operation of said community antenna television system, including, but not limited to, any and all construction of permittee, its agents, servants or subcontractors, and by reason of any license, copyright, property right, or other intangible, or patent of any article or system used in the construction or use of said system. Section 17. For the purposes stated in Section 16 above, Permittee shall maintain in full force and effect durinq the life of any permit issued pursuant to this chapter public liability insurance naming the City, its officials, employees and agents as additional insureds, and requiring thirty (30) days written notice to the City of any cancellation thereof, in a solvent surety company authorized to do business in the State of Washington in the following amounts: A. $100,000.00 for property damage to any one person; B. $300,000.00 for property damage in any one accident; C. $300,000.00 for personal injury to any one person; D. $500,000.00 for.personal injury in.any one accident; E. $100,000.00 for independent contractors liability coverage. A certificate or certificates evidencing the effectiveness of said policy or policies, authenticated by the insurance carrier or carriers shall be filed with the City Clerk and likewise authenticated proof of renewals shall be filed showing the above coverage for the duration of the permit. Section 18. Permittee shall carry compensation insurance, and comply with all the workmen's insurance and safety laws of the State of Washington and amendments thereto. Section 19. A. rt shall be "nlawful for any person, firm or corporation to rake any unauthorized connection whether physically, electrically, acoustical l ,v, i nducti vel ly nr otherwi sP, with any part of a licensed Corrmunity Antenna Television system within this City for the nurnosP of 11 taking or receiving television signals, radio signals, picture, program or sound. B. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to make any unauthorized connection, whether physically, electrically, acoustically, inductively or otherwise, with any part of a licensed Community Antenna Television system within this City for the purpose of enabling himself or others to receive any television signal, radio signal, picture, program, or sound, without payment to the owner of said system. C. It shall be unlawful for any person, without the consent of the owner, to willfully tamper with, remove or injure any cables, wires or equipment used for distribution of television signals, radio signals, picture, program or sound, D. Any equipment or structure erected or maintained and any work commenced or continued in violation of this Chapter is hereby declared unlawful and a public nuisance, and in addition to the penalty provisions elsewhere herein contained, the City Attorney may institute necessary legal proceedings for the abatement, removal or enjoinment therof in the manner provided by law and may take such other steps as may be necessary to accomplish these ends in civil and/or criminal proceedings, Section 20, Except for a mortgage to secure a loan or loans to construct and operate said system, permittee shall not sell, transfer, assign, merge, consolidate, or sublet its system and the privilege granted herein without first securing approval of the City Council for such sale, transfer, assignment or sublease; provided, further, the prior consent of the City Council shall be required before a 50% or greater interest in the permittee passes out of the hands or voting control of the person, entity or group in privity which held such interest on the date the permit was originally issued or renewed, Section 21, Such permits as issued shall be subject to revocation at any time by the City of Edmonds upon a finding by the City Council that the permit fees provided herein have not been paid; that permittee has substantially failed to fulfill any commitment made in its permit application; that the service provided by such permittee is not adequate as set forth hereinabove; that the capability of such permittee 12 -3 has been so diminished that it is no longer able to offer proper service; the said permittee acts in derogation of the ordinances of the City of Edmonds or the laws of the State of Washington, or laws or regulations of the United States or its agencies; or that the activities of permittee under said permit for any reason are unlawful or transgress established rights of others. Such revocation shall be made only after a public hearing upon the matter has been held, reasonable notice of said hearing having been given permittee in writing at least 30 days prior to said hearing directed to the address stated by the permittee in his application, or other address to which permittee has instructed the City to send notices, and upon a finding that said failure, violation or other deficiency has not been corrected. Section 22. If any permittee fails to commence construction of the community antenna television system within six (6) months from the date of issuance of said permittee's permit or fails to begin operation, consisting of the transmission of electronic signals to subscribers, within a period of one (1) year from the date of issuance of said permit, said permit shall be forfeited, nullified, cease and be of no further force or validity, upon receipt by permittee of written notice thereof from the Mayor of the City of Edmonds and said permittee's application fee shall thereupon be forfeited, provided, however, that upon good cause being shown therefor, an extension of time within which permittee is to begin operation may be granted by the Mayor. Section 23. Any person, partnership, corporation or other entity, including the officers and managers of any such organization, violating or failing to comply with any of the provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon the conviction thereof shall be subject to fine as set forth in Section 5.12.170 of the Edmonds City Code, Providing, however, any person, partnership, corporation or other entity, including the officers and managers of any such organization, who operates a community antenna television system without express permit granted by the City of Edmonds as provided herein shall be subject to jail imprisonment as well as monetary fine as set forth in said Section 5.12.170. 13 Section 24. If any section, sentence, clause or phrase of this Ordinance should be held to be invalid or illegal, the validity or illegality thereof shall not affect the validity or legality of any other section, sentence, clause or phrase of this Ordinance, it being the intent of the City Council that the remaining portions have legal effect without regard to any invalid provision. Section 25. Nothing in this Ordinance, or any permit granted thereunder, shall be construed to mean or in any way imply that the City of Edmonds has authorized the use or given permission to any permittee to use a radio or television signal not originated by the permittee, it being the intent of this Ordinance only to protect the health, welfare, safety, and morals of its residents in the distribution by wire of said signals, and by the passage of this Ordinance, or by granting a permit thereunder, said City in no way authorizes or gives rights to a permittee to use a radio or television signal, that function being entirely left up to the permittee at his, her or its own peril. Section 26. Ordinance No. 1126., adopted August 17,1965, codified as Chapter 4.68 of the Edmonds City Code, be and the same is hereby repealed. There is hereby created a new Chapter 4.68 of the Edmonds City Code as set forth hereinabove. APPROVED: H. H, HARRISON, MAYOR ATTEST: CITY CLERK �- PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL: August 5, 1975 FILED WITH THE CITY' CLERK: August 5, 1975 PUBLISHED• August 13�,,1975