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HomeMy WebLinkAbout042-79 Ordinance . '. ' ,'! - . MAY 2 1 1979' ORDINANCE NO. f;..747 ! I II AN ORDINPu"'JCE ESTABLISHING LICENSING FOR CABLE TELEVISION OPERATIONS WITHIN THE VILLAGE OF DUBLIN, OHIO .~ WHEREAS, it has been determined to be in the best inerest of the Village of Dublin to reflect changes in the cable communications \ industry and to be consistent with the rules of the Federal ~ Communications Commission as to present and new applications, and WHEREAS, it is the stated intention of the Village to make possibl the offering of a variety of cable communications services and to require that such services be of maximum value to subscribers in the Village, and l..ffiEREAS , it is the intent of the Village of Dublin to protect the public safety, health, and welfare of its citizens and to impose only reasonable conditions for the establishment or operation of cable communications in Dublin and to rely upon the incentives of the free enterprise system to direct the way in which the members of the cable industry compete among themselves and with other providers of communciation services, and WHEREAS, the Village wishes to assure that cable develops as a communications medium open to all, free of both excessive concen- trations of private power and undue government regulation and control that would inhibit the communication of information and ideas, or otherwise deny the public the full benefit of the ser- vices to be provided or offered over cable systems, and U WHEREAS, this Ordinance is recognition of the right of the operato or operators with prudent management to have a profitable enter- prise and to return invested capital to stockholders with a gain in a business of speculative nature, and WHEREAS, in summation, the philosophy might be stated as one based on mutual good faith as involving the Village, its citizens and the operators, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE VILLAGE OF DUBLIN THAT THIS ORDINANCE BE AND IT IS HEREBY ENACTED TO READ AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1 - PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF CHAPTER (A) The purpose of this ordinance is to provide requirements for the operation of any cable communications system in the Village of Dublin, Ohio. (B) This ordinance is enacted to provide for and enable the li- censing of cable communications systems within the Village. Each cable operator shall obtain any and all such licenses necessary to the operation and conduct of his business within the Village as hereinafter provided. 0 (C) The Village Administrator for the Village of Dublin shall be charged specifically with the duty of enforcing the provisions of this ordinance. (D) No operator shall operate a cable communications system withi the Village unless it conforms to the requirements set forth in this ordinance. ._. .i , .. '~.' ' , SECTION 2 - DEFINITIONS (A) "Ancilliary Service" means any service provided to sUbscriber! which is in addition to that defined as "Basic Service," which may include but is not limited to, premium (pay) programs, smoke detector service, fire alarm service, police alarm service, local origination programming, character generated signals, and distant I e signal imports. (B) "Approved" means approval and licensing by the Village Admin-I istrator for the Village of Dublin under the requirements of this' ordinance as applied to a location, condition, technical standard or method of construction or approval by other authorities desig- nated by law or ordinance including, also, this ordinance to give approval to the matter in question. : ! (C) "Basic Service" means the simultaneous delivery by the opera- II tor to all subscribers' television receivers (or any other suit- able type of audio-video communciation receivers), a minimum of I! eleven channels of communications service, including but not I' limited to, all local television grade "A" broadcast signals, , I three or more imported television broadcast signals, and a mix of I II character generated signals, additional imported signals, or local! Ii origination programming. I II (D) "Cable Communications System" means any facility which per- i Ii forms for hire, either in whole or in part, the service of re- I I ceiving, amplifying, modifying or originating television, radio or: . other electrical signals for the purpose of transmitting or dis- ~ tributing such signals by wire, cable or other means to subscribin members of the public, except ,that such definition shall not : include: I U ! (1) Any FCC licensed UHF or VHF broadcasting system. i i I ~ " i J (2) A facility servicing fewer than fifty (50) subscribers. (3) A facility serving only one or more rental complexes, including apartments and/or townhouses and/or single dwellings under the same ownership, control or manage- ment, and including commercial establishments located on the premises of such a rental complex or complexes. (4) A facility serving only an individual hotel or motel or only hotels and/or motels under the same ownership, control or management. (5) A facility owned and operated by a nonprofit organiza- tion with service limited to the premises of said non- profit organization. (6) A facility which provides telephone or telegraph service for profit. (E) "Basic Subscriber Revenue" means either all revenues or other consideration collected from subscribers, by or for the operator or his affiliated lessees, arising from the sale of the operator's 0 basic service, or $7.50 per month for every first television set of a subscriber-connected, and $2.00 per month for every additiona television set of a subscriber-connected, whichever is greater. Revenues paid by nonaffiliated lessees to the operator for a channel for provisions of services to subscribers shall be include in Gross Subscriber Revenue. Specifically excluded from "Gross Subscriber Revenue" are home security systems, load management services, data transmission services, and such other services as approved by Village Council. -2- ., , '" (F) "Operator" means any person, persons, partnership, firm, company, corporation or association, or the assignee, affiliate, parent, subsidiary, or successor of the operator, operating a cable communications system within the corporate limits of the Village. (G) "Subscriber" means any person or entity within the Village t1 of Dublin receiving for any purpose any service of the operator including but not limited to, the conventional cable system ser- vice of re-transmission of television broadcast, radio signals, \J operator's original cablecasting, and the local government, edu- cation and public access channels and ancillary services, includ- ing but not limited to, special services from leased channels, I data and facsimile transmission, pay television, and police, fire and similar public service communication. (H) "Transmission and Distribution," "Carriage and/or Utiliza- tion," and "Organization," refer to methods, techniques and pro- cedures in the operation of a cable communications system authorized or not prohibited by the Federal Communications Commission. SECTION 3 - TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION OF SIGNALS Upon receipt of a license issued hereunder, the transmission and distribution of electronic signals may be made at the option of the licensed operator as authorized by the Federal Communications Commission and as follows: (A) Through coaxial cable and/or other electrical or optical , ili conductors or other means installed and maintained by the operatori I and attached to poles and/or underground cable construction owned I (] , and maintained by the operator where permitted within the Village.:, {' I (1) No construction of either poles or underground cable I I construction shall begin without prior written approval of the Village Administrator. The operator shall sub- mit to the Village Administrator all requests for the , ; construction of new poles and/or new underground cable construction and their proposed locations. Approval for the location of new poles and/or new underground cable construction shall be granted by the Village Ad- ministrator after such locations have been approved by the Village Administrator. I (2) If utilities in a location are underground, or required to be underground by the ordinances of the Village, the operator shall utilize underground cable construction in lieu of erecting new poles. (3) The operator shall grant to the Village, free of expens , joint use of all its poles and all its underground con- duits, assuming adequate wind-load and weight factors for poles and capacity for conduit, for any proper municipal purposes, insofar as it may be done without interferring with the free use and enjoyment of the operator's own coaxial cable, wires and fixtures. Any (J construction and utilization by the Village regarding poles and conduits of the operator shall conform to the same requirements set forth for the operator. (B) Through coaxial cable or other electrical or optical conduc- tors or other means installed and maintained by the operator, but attached to poles and/or in underground conduit owned by the Ohio Bell Telephone Company; and/or attached to poles owned by the Columbus & Southern Ohio Electric Company; and/or attached to pol s owned by the Village of Dublin; and/or attached to poles owned by the Western Union Company. All such holders of public licenses -3- I .: I: I- I within the Village shall allow joint usage of their own poles andA or conduits wherever such usage does not interfere with their own normal usage of said poles and/or conduits. Such cooperation shall include the rights of joint usage at realistic rates with reasonable terms. I (C) Through the air by means of radiowave transmission facilitie~ ~,..",.,. of the operator, either totally or in part in combination with I ; ..~ Section 3 (A) and (B). ~ (D) Through the air by means of radiowave transmitted by some other common carrier source including satellite, either totally or in part in combination with Section 3 (A), (B), and (C). SECTION 4 - CONDITION OF SYSTEM CONSTRUCTION, MAINTENANCE AND OPERATION The operator shall comply with the following conditions: (A) Construction, operation, and maintenance of the transmission and distribution system shall be in accordance with the National Electrical Safety Code (also referred to as the Code of the Board of Underwriters), and the ordinance and regulations of the Federa II Communications Commission, the State of Ohio , and the Village of II Dublin that are in effect now or in the future. : II (B) Each cable operator shall provide for and maintain a system ,'i that will transmit or transport the following frequencies: " .s-o- 300 HU~ Downstream. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Upstream. . . . . . . J:'"~ .JI>. . .IIR...... . . . . . . . . . . . (, (C) No operator shall begin construction of any portion of his ....." i" system unless he has submitted complete construction plans for the area to the Village Administrator at least thirty (30) days prior to the date of construction. Said plans shall be deemed approved unless expressly disapproved in writing by the Village Administrator within thirty (30) days of submission. This approv shall also be deemed recognition of the operator's intention to provide service to that area. (D) Provided further that no operator shall begin construction 0 an area unless he shall first have obtained a license from the Village Administrator after submitting the application as re- quired herein on a form to be provided by the Village Administrat and further, no operator shall begin construction until he shall have provided the financial statement showing sufficient solvency and credit to complete construction according to the submitted construction plans; and further, no such operator shall begin construction until the bond or other security as required by Section 8 (F) herein has first been provided to the Village. (E) In operating his systems, the operator shall meet the follow ing minimum requirements: (1) The system shall be operated so as to meet or exceed th FCC specifications outlined in the FCC rules and regu- (... lations Sub-Part K, Section 76.601 et. seq., Technical i ~ Standards, or successor rules and regulations. (2) The operator shall be able to demonstrate by instrument or otherwise to subscribers, upon request, that a signa of adequate strength and quality as described in Section 4 (D)(l) is being delivered by the system. (F) The operator shall provide the Village Administrator the nam of his chief management employee for the referral of the com- plaints made to the Village of Dublin. -4- "I , I (G) In the case of any emergency or disaster declared by the Mayorl of the Village of Dublin, the operator shall, upon request of the illage Administrator, make available without charge necessary facilities for use by the Village during the emergency or disaster. ~H) Operator shall restore all areas affected by construction, aintenance or repair of the cable system installed by virtue of e I~he license granted herein to as nearly the same or identical con- dition as existed before construction began, including replacement pf asphalt, concrete, blacktop, soil, sod and other vegetation or ito make adequate compensation therefor. ~ECTION 5 - GOVERNMENTAL CHANNELS: PUBLIC ACCESS I I ~A) The following frequencies shall be set aside: I I (60-66 megahertz) , dmvnstream community information channel I for public access when not preempted for governmental use during emergencies and disasters declared by the Mayor of the Village of Dublin and otherwise only as permitted by, and in accordance with, rules adopted by the Village Adminis- trator and approved by Village Council. Subscribers to basic cable communications service shall re- ceive these frequencies on VHF (channel 3) when using a standard television receiver. All converters now in use or coming on line shall provide a conversation of these fre- quencies to (channel 3) on the basic service schedule. B) Each operator shall establish rules for public access program- ing and file same with the Village Administrator. These rules hall be available for public inspection and shall provide: r' (1) Public access on a first-come, nondisvriminatory basis 'L for any individual or group. (2) A record of the names and addresses of all persons or groups requesting access time. Such a record shall be open to public inspection and be retained for a period of two years from such request. (3) A schedule of charges for equipment, personnel, and pro- duction of public access programming. Charges shall be reasonable and consistent with the goal of affording users a low cost means of television access. However, there shall be no charge for a five (5) minute live pro- gram and no charge for telecasting a tape up to thirty (30) minutes in length. (4) The operator shall have no control over the content of access programs other than the prohibition of: (a) any advertising material designed to promote the sale of commercial products or services including advertising by or on behalf of candidates for public office; (b) lotter information; (c) legally obscene matter pursuant to applicable Federal, State, or City law. C (5) The right of the operator to schedule at any appropriate time access programming which, although not obscene, may be unsuitable for children and to inform subscribers of the nature of any such program immediately prior to its broadcast. (6) An agreement in writing signed by any access user to hol the operator harmless from any and all liability or other injury including any reasonable costs of defending claims or litigation, arising from or in connection with claims for failure to comply with any applicable laws, -5- II " rules, regulations or other requirements of local, state or Federal authorities; for claims of libel, slander, invasion of privacy, or the infringement of common law or statutory copyright; for unauthorized use of any trad - mark, tradename or service mark; for breach of contractu 1 or other obligations owing to third parties by the oper- ator; and for any other injury or damage in law or equit , which claims result from the user's use of the public access channel. I - II SECTION 6 - REPAIR AND BUSINESS OFFICE SERVICES (A) The operator shall maintain a maintenance and repair service capable of responding to subscriber complaints or requests for repairs within a reasonable time period after the receipt of the complain~ or request. The operator shall not charge for this service. (B) Except where there exists an emergency situation requiring a more expedited procedure. the operator may interrupt service for the purpose of repair or upgrading of the system only during per- iods of minimum use and only after a minimum of 24 hours notice to its subscribers. Such notice may be given over the news and information channel of the operator's system. (C) In the event that service to a subscriber is interrupted for 48 or more consecutive hours and the subscriber notifies the operator of this interruption, the operator shall grant the sub- scriber a pro-rata credit for the full duration of the interruptio . (D) The operator shall maintain a Columbus, Ohio or vicinity business office and toll free telephone number, office to be open from at least 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M., Monday through Friday, ex- cluding legal holidays. This office will have a listed telephone with an adequate number of lines to handle service request traffic - and shall be so operated that complaints and requests for repairs and adjustments may be received and processed in a reasonable time. Appropriate notification will be made to subscribers of office location and telephones. (E) All money owed to a subscriber or potential subscriber. ex- cluding any credit due under Section 6(C), shall be refunded within a reasonable amount of time of the operator's knowledge of the obligation. Credit may be issued to the subscriber's account by mutual agreement. SECTION 7 - SERVICE TO DESIGNATED AGENCIES (A) The operator shall make his basic service available without charge, upon written request, to the following institutions lo- cated within the Village and within the areas covered by his pro- posed plans of construction under Section 4 (C) herein: (1) All recreation centers operated by the Village; (2) All public libraries; (3) All public and parochial schools including colleges and universities. (B) Provision of this service is subject to the following: (1) Installation and service shall be subject only to the institution being contiguous to a main or lateral cable, or within range of radiowaves if radiowaves are utilized by the operator for the transmission and distribution of signals. -6- ,. .> " , . I an objection with the Village Administrator within ten (10) days iafter the passage of the ordinance granting the license by IVillage Council in which event the license shall be null and void. (D) Subject to Section 14, any license granted pursuant to this ordinance may be revoked prior to its expriation upon the recom- D I mendation of theVillage Administrator by a simple majority vote I of the Village Council for violation of provisions of this ordi= I nance, provided the operator is given written notice by the Village Administrator sixty (6~ days prior to such vote, of inten- tion to revoke such permit with the violations reasonably specifie . (E) (1) The term ol each~icense shall be for a period of no more than ~~l years, the' effective date to be pur- suant to Section 10 (C), with the right of renewal at the option of Village Council. (2) The operator shall be advised in writing not less than ninety (90) days prior to the end of the period covered by his license if possible whether his license is to be renewed. Such writing shall also recognize the geo- graphic area in which the operator provides service at the time of renewal. SECTION 11 - CONDITIONS OF SERVICE (A) Each operator shall endeavor to provide his cable communica- tion services to all present and newly annexed areas of the ViI lag that have no such service; provided it is economically feasible to do so. In any event, no later than twenty-four (24) months after approval of the proposed construction plans as provid~d in Section C 4(C) of this Drdinance, the operator shall provide service to all of those Village residents who request service and who are include within such approved pJan; or said operator's license s{1all be sub ject to revocation or cancel!a+ion." (B) The operator shall each year submit to the Village Administra tor a map of the Village of Dublin which delineates: (1) The areas where the operator's cable communications system is now available to subscribers, and (2) The areas where the system is not available. (C) The operator shall not, as to rates, charges, service, servic facilities, repairs, maintenance, reules, regulations, or in any other respect, make or grant undue preference or advantage to any person or business nor subject any person or business to any pre- judice or disfavor. This Section shall not preclude the operator from establishing and implementing bulk subscriber rates or dis- counts or rate classifications based upon reasonable criteria. (D) The operator shall maintain a written record of all oral and (J. written complaints filed with it and the dispositions thereof. The operator shall retain said record for a period of two (2) year . The said record shall be available for inspection by the Village Administrator or the designated representative thereof during the operator's normal business hours. (E) The operator shall furnish to all subscribers at the time of their initial subscription written notice of complaint provisions and procedures. -9- ff I , '; , . ',,"t' I SECTION 12 - PRIVACY (A) The operator shall strictly observe, protect and ensure the privacy and property rights of subscribers and shall comply with all applicable law regarding privacy. (B) The operator shall formulate a written policy for the pro- 0 tection of the privacy of the system's subscribers which must be ! i provided to each subscriber and to the Village Administrator. SECTION 13 - PERMIT FEES AND SUBSCRIBER INFORMATION (A) The operator for the privilege of holding a license to operat a cable communication system in the Village entitling him to in- stall his distribution and transmission facilities in, under and over the streets, highways and other public grounds of the Village, so that he may offer his service or services subject to the overal provisions of this ordinance, shall make payments to the Village I as follows: (1) Each year the operator shall pay to the Village three (3) per cent of the total Basic Subscriber Revenue. This payment shall be known as the annual license fee for and shall be credited to the Village of Dublin for the regulation, supervision and development of cable communications. (2) The operator shall not be permitted any deduction from total Basic Subscriber Revenue, excepting any direct use taxes which may be imposed in the future on all or a portion of his receipts. Such direct use taxes, whether the result of new legislation or any expansion ( of existing taxes by appropriate authorities, may be deducted from total Basic Subscriber Revenue by the , I operator. , j (B) All payments to the Village under this ordinance shall be made semi-annually with the operator having the option to use a calendar or fiscal year as the operating year. The operator shall not change the accounting period initially selected unless the change is first approved in writing by the Village Administrator. (1) The mid-year payment of the license fee may be on the basis of unaudited total Basic Subscriber Revenue and shall be due and payable within thirty (30) days of the end of the sixth month of the operating year. (2) The year-end payment of the license fee shall be due an payable within ninety (90) days after the close of the operator's operating year. The operator, within forty- five (45) days of this payment, shall submit to the Village Auditor complete accounting information perform in accordance with generally accepted accounting princi- ples that has been audited and certified by an indepen- dent certified public accountant in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards, and that as a whole fairly and accurately presents the financial posi- t" tion and operations of the operator for the year. The financial information shall be attested to by the comp- '- troller and president of the operator. (C) All payments to the Village shall be by certified check, mad payable to the Village Treasurer, and either hand-delivered or sent by registered mail to the Village Administrator. (D) Village Council, the Village Administrator, or authorized representatives shall have the right to reasonable inspection of the books and records, financial or otherwise, maps, plans, and -10- .. .. . . : : " : ~~.. .., . other similar materials of the operator at the Columbus, Ohio or vicinity office of the operator during normal business hours. Further, each operator shall provide each month to the Village Administrator a written report documenting total basic subscriber information as specified by the Village Administrator. Such report shall be submitted no later than the fifteenth (15th) day n of the following month. (.J SECTION 14 - NOTICE OF VIOLATION Whenever the Village Administrator determines that there is a violation of any provisions of this ordinance, the Village Ad- ministrator shall give written notice of such violation to the operator. Such notice shall include a specific statement and description of the violation and a specific and reasonable date by which such violation is to be corrected. SECTION 15 - SAVING CLAUSE If any section, sub-section, sentence, clause, phrase or portion of this ordinance is for any reason invalid or unconstitutional by any Court of competent jurisdiction, or in conflict with rules and regulations of the Federal Communications Commission when such by law may supersede those of this chapter, then such portio shall be deemed a separate, distinct and independent provision of this ordinance, and such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions thereof. SECTION 16 - EFFECTIVE DATE This ordinance shall take effect and be in force from and after I[J the earliest period allowed by law. Ma~~fiCer ATTEST: ~ C1e~urer o 1- '. , \ L12-7'1 .~ ,~ ~, ..., AL..EXANDER, EBINGER, HOL..SCHUH, FISHER & MCAL..ISTER ARVIN J.ALEXANDER JOHN D. HOLSCHUH ATTORNEYS AND COUNSELORS AT LAW LLOYD E. FISHER..,JR. liT" rLOOR, HUNTINGTON BANK BUlL-DING ROSERT e. McALISTER WAYMAN C. LAWRENCE. 17 SOUTH HIGH STREET PATRICK J. SM ITH ALVIN J. McKENNA COLUMBUS, OHIO 43215 .JOH N E. BRADY - J. STEPHEN VAN HEYOE TELEPHONE 614/22"6345 THOMAS P. MICHAEL C,ANDREW IRETON,JR. ROBERT F'. EBINGER BRIAN L. BUZBY OF" COUNSEL 0, MICHAEL MILLER ~ ADELE E. O'CONNER THOMAS L.. LONG PEGGY l... BRYANT April 30, 1979 f' I DAVID S. HAY ....., Stephen J. Smith, Esq. 5354 Cemetery Road Billiard, Ohio 43026 Re: CATV Ordinance for Dublin, Ohio Dear Mr. Smith: Pursuant to my conferences with your.law partner, Mr. Michael T. Gunner last week, I am enclosing certain re- visions in the ordinance which we discussed. I understand that you would need to incorporate the agreed upon changes in the draft of the ordinance by the next council meeting, which is Monday, May 7. The agreed upon changes are as follows (all section numbers are as set forth in the draft of the ordinance pre- pared by your office): C (1) Section 4 - Condition of System Construction, Maintenance and Operation. Subsection (B) should read in its entirety, as follows: "Each cable operator shall provide for and maintain a system that will transmit or transport the following frequencies: Downstream ................50-300 MHz Upstream 5-30 MHz " . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (2) Section 5 - Governmental Channels: Public Access. Per our conference and my discussion with Warner's engineers, it appears that this section contains a universal set of frequencies and should remain as is. Further, there appears to be no problem concerning cable companys' usage of Channel 3 for the purpose indicated in the ordinance. .. '.' I" ., , .. ., .::)2-11 . ~ . "" Stephen J. Smith, Esq. April 30, 1979 Page 2 (3) Section 10 - per.mits to Operate Cable Communi- cations Systems In The Village. ~ Subsection (E) (1) should read in its entirety as follows: liThe term of each license shall be for a period of no more than fifteen (15) years, the effective date to be pursuant to section 10CC), with the right of renewal at the option of Village Council.1I (4 ) section 11 - Conditions of Service. Warner QUBE requests that Subsection (A) be changed to read in its entirety as follows: "Each operator shall endeavor to provide his cable communication services to all present and newly annexed areas of the Village that have no such service; provided it is economi- cally feasible to do so. In any event, no later than twenty-four (24) months after approval of the proposed construction plans as provided in Section 4(C) of this ordinance, the operator shall provide service to all of U those Village residents who request service and who are included within such approved plan; or said operator's license shall be subject to revocation or cancellation.1I Mr. Gunner of your office indicated that you would need to incorporate the above-noted changes in the revised copy of the ordinance which will be considered by council so that council can pass judgment on the completed document. If council objects to any of the above-noted changes, please advise as soon as possible. l;?/Ours. ohn E. Brady JEB/pk enclosures cc: Miklos Korodi Richard Berman -. '.'