(A) New construction timetable.
(1) Within two years from the date of the award of an initial franchise, the grantee must make cable television service available to every dwelling unit within the service area.
(a) The grantee must make cable service available to at least 20% of the dwelling units within the service area within six months from the date of the award of the franchise.
(b) The grantee must make cable service available to at least 50% of the dwelling units within the service area within one year from the date of the award of the franchise.
(2) The grantee, in its application, may propose a timetable of construction which will make cable service available in the service area sooner than the above minimum requirements, in which case said schedule will be made part of the franchise agreement, and will be binding upon the grantee.
(4) In special circumstances and for good cause shown by the grantee, the municipality, in the exercise of its sole discretion, may waive 100% completion within the two year time frame, provided that substantial completion is accomplished within the allotted time frame, substantial completion to be not less than 95%. Justification for less than 100% must be submitted subject to the approval of the municipality.
(5) Where the grantee is rebuilding, reconstructing, or upgrading its cable system, such rebuilding, reconstruction, or upgrade of the cable system must be completed within 18 months from the issuance of the initial permit for construction. The grantee and the municipality may agree to a lesser or greater period of time for reconstruction, rebuilding, or upgrading in a franchise agreement.
(B) Line extensions.
(1) In areas of the franchise territory not initially served, a grantee shall be required to extend its system pursuant to the following requirements:
(a) No customer shall be refused service arbitrarily. To expedite the process of extending the cable system into a new subdivision, the municipality will forward to the grantee an approved engineering plan of each project. Subject to the density requirements, the grantee shall commence the design and construction process upon receipt of the final engineering plan. Upon notification from the municipality that the first home in the project has been approved for a building permit, the grantee shall have a maximum of three months to complete the construction/activation process within the applicable project phase, barring any unforeseen adverse weather or ground conditions.
(b) Unless a franchise agreement provides otherwise, a grantee must make cable service available to every unserved structure within the franchise area. The grantee shall extend service to any annexed areas according to the following schedule:
1. For areas of territory annexed to the city of five acres or more, the grantee shall extend service to such areas within three months of the date of annexation; or
2. For those areas of less than five acres, the grantee shall extend service to such annexed areas within one month of the date of annexation. Where unserved structures located within the franchise area have been previously annexed into the municipality prior to the effective date of a franchise agreement, the grantee shall extend service to such areas within 12 months for areas of less than five acres and within 18 months for areas of five acres or more.
(c) The grantee shall extend and make cable service available to any isolated resident outside the initial service area requesting connection at the standard connection charge, if the connection to the isolated resident would require no more than a standard 125 foot drop line.
(2) The franchising authority may contract with owners of real property for the installation of cable service and the construction of cable system lines within the municipality or within one and one-half miles in order to provide service for the area in which the real property of the owners is located. The contract must provide, for a term not to exceed that agreed upon between the grantee and the franchising authority in a franchise agreement, for the payment to the owners and their assigns by any owner of real property who:
(a) Did not contribute to the original cost of the wiring of cable service to the area in which the real property of the owners is located; and
(b) Subsequently obtains a subscription for cable service and is served by the wiring of cable service to the area in which the real property of the owners is located; of a pro-rata share of the cost of the construction of the cable system subject to the conditions of this chapter, the franchise agreement, and applicable law and notwithstanding any other law relating to the functions of local government entities. However, the contract does not apply to any owner of real property who is not a party to it unless it has been recorded in the office of the recorder of Lake County before the owner has received installation of the cable system. The franchising authority may provide that the pro-rata share of the cost of construction include interest at a rate not exceeding the amount of interest allowed on judgments, and the interest shall be computed from the date that the extension of the cable system was approved by the franchising authority to the date payment is made to the municipality. The contract must include, as part of the consideration running to the municipality, the release of the right of the parties to the contract and their successors in title to remonstrate against pending or future annexations of the municipality of the area served by the cable system. Any person who is connected to the cable system and receives cable service contracted for is considered to waive his/her rights to remonstrate against the annexation of the area served by the cable system. The aforementioned does not apply if the costs of extension of or connection to the cable system are paid by a person other than the landowner or the municipality.
(3) This section shall apply when:
(a) Any part of the cost of a cable system is to be assessed against the owners of real property;
(b) The proposed cable system is to be connected into the cable system referenced under this chapter or a franchise agreement;
(c) The owners did not contribute to the cost of the extension of the cable system.
(4) There shall be included in the grantee's estimate submitted to the franchising authority and the assessments, a sum equal to the amount provided in or computed from the contract as the fair pro-rata share due from the owners upon and for the contracted extension of the cable system, including any interest owed. The sum included in the grantee's estimate must be separately itemized.
(5) In cases of new construction or property development where utilities are to be placed underground, all cable system facilities also shall be placed underground, except as otherwise specifically approved in advance by the municipality. In the event that the grantee receives notice of such new construction or property development, including the date on which open trenching is available for the grantee's work (the "Notice"), then the grantee shall provide, to the developer or property owner and to the municipality, the specifications for its trenching, and the grantee shall install its conduit, pedestals and vaults, and laterals within five working days after the trenches first become available to the grantee for such work. Costs of trenching and easements required to bring service to the development shall be borne by the developer or property owner; provided, however, that if the grantee fails to install its conduit, pedestals and vaults, and laterals within said five working days, then the cost of any new trenching, and easements if necessary, shall be borne by the grantee. The notice may be given to the grantee at the address stated in the franchise agreement or to the local general manager or system engineer of the grantee. Written or oral notice from the developer, property owner, or municipality shall be sufficient to qualify as the notice.
(C) Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent the grantee from serving areas of the service area not covered under this section upon agreement with developers, property owners, residents, or businesses, provided that all applicable fees are paid by the grantee to the municipality therefor, including without limitation the franchise fee provided in this chapter, as may be amended from time to time.
(D) A grantee, in its new or renewal application, may propose a line extension policy that will result in serving more residents of the service area than as required above, in which case the grantee's policy will be incorporated into the franchise agreement and will be binding on the grantee.
(Ord. 2000-10, passed 4-10-00)