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(1) The mayor and council find that the city's rights-of-way constitute valuable public property,
(a) Having been acquired and maintained by the city over many years at taxpayer expense;
(b) Being capable of providing rights-of-way uniquely valuable to private companies for providing cable services;
(c) Constituting public investments for which the taxpayers are entitled to a fair monetary return on the city's past and future investment in the city's infrastructure; and
(d) Comprising significant assets which should be managed fairly and appropriately to enhance the public safety and economy.
(2) Therefore, this chapter is intended:
(a) To regulate the erection, construction, reconstruction, installation, operation, maintenance, dismantling, testing, repair and use of the cable system in, upon, along, across, above, over or under or in any manner connected with the rights-of-way, public ways or public places within the jurisdiction of the city, as now or in the future may exist;
(b) To provide for the payment of certain fees and other valuable considerations to the city to regulate the construction and operation, use and development of the cable system within the city;
(c) To provide conditions under which the cable system will serve present and future needs of government, public institutions, commercial enterprises, lawful public and private organizations, and the citizens and general public of the city;
(d) To provide remedies and prescribe penalties for violations of this chapter;
(e) To permit and manage reasonable access to the public ways of the city for cable purposes on a competitively neutral basis;
(f) To conserve the limited physical capacity of the rights-of-way held in the public trust by the city;
(g) To assure that the city's current and ongoing costs of granting and regulating private access to and use of the rights-of-way are fully paid by the persons seeking such access and causing such costs;
(h) To secure fair and reasonable compensation to the city and the residents of the city for permitting private use of the rights-of-way;
(i) To assure that all cable companies providing facilities or services within the city comply with the ordinances, rules, and regulations of the city;
(j) To assure that the city can continue to fairly and responsibly protect the public health, safety, and welfare;
(k) To enable the city to discharge its public trust consistent with rapidly evolving federal and state regulatory policies, industry competition, and technological development.
(Ord. No. 8937, § 2, 9-2-97)
(1) Issuance of licenses subject to agreement; conflicts with agreements and ordinance. Within sixty (60) days after written notification of the award of a license by the city, a selected applicant shall execute a license agreement which shall set forth the terms and provisions of the license.
(2) Relationship of license and license agreement to laws. Each license issued by the city is subject to, and licensee must exercise all rights granted to it in accordance with, its license agreement and applicable law, including this chapter. This chapter is not a contract with any licensee and may be amended.
(3) Nature of license agreements. Each license agreement is a contract, subject to the city's exercise of its police and other powers. A license agreement shall not confer any rights upon the licensee or limitations upon the city other than as expressly provided therein. Subject to the exercise of the city's police and other powers, in the case of any conflict between the express terms of a license agreement and the express terms of this chapter, the license agreement shall govern. A licensee, by entering into a license agreement, does not waive its rights to challenge the lawfulness of any particular enactment after the date the license is issued, including on the grounds that a particular enactment is an unconstitutional impairment of contractual rights.
(Ord. No. 8937, § 2, 9-2-97)
Recognizing the fluid and expanding state of the development of communications technology and uses, it is the policy of the city to strongly encourage experimentation and innovation in the development of cable system technology uses, services, programming and techniques that will be of general benefit to the community; provided that all such experiments and innovations shall be subject to the rules of the FCC and any other federal, state and city laws and regulations.
(Ord. No. 8937, § 2, 9-2-97)
Whenever this chapter or the license agreement sets forth any time for any act to be performed by the licensee, such time shall be deemed of the essence; and the licensee's failure to perform within the time allotted shall, in all cases, be sufficient grounds for the city to invoke the remedies available under the terms and conditions of this chapter and the license agreement.
(Ord. No. 8937, § 2, 9-2-97)
(1) License required. No person shall construct, install, maintain or operate a cable system within, along or under any rights-of-way in the city, or any other public property in the city, unless a license has first been granted by the mayor and council pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, and unless the license agreement is in full force and effect. Nothing in this chapter shall be deemed to require the granting of any license when in the opinion of the city it would not be in the public interest to do so.
(2) License nonexclusive. Any license granted pursuant to this chapter by the city shall not be exclusive, and the city specifically reserves the right to grant other licenses to any persons or to authorize itself to provide cable services without a license at any time and in any area of the city if the city determines that it is in the public interest to do so.
(3) License binding. All provisions of this chapter and any license agreement shall be binding upon the licensee, its successors, lessees, or assignees.
(Ord. No. 8937, § 2, 9-2-97)
(1) Length of license. Any license granted by the city pursuant to this chapter shall commence upon execution of the license agreement by the licensee and the city and shall be for a period specified by the license. All licenses shall be subject to periodic review by the city to evaluate whether the cable system's technology is meeting the community's needs and interests. Any license shall also provide that following such review, the city may require a licensee to make any changes necessary to reasonably upgrade the cable system's technological capabilities. The city may expressly waive such requirement in the event it determines that the cable system reasonably meets the city's technological needs and interests. In no event shall any license exceed a term of fifteen (15) years, subject to the conditions and restrictions as provided in this chapter. A license agreement may be renewed pursuant to the provisions of this chapter and federal law. No privilege or exemption shall be inferred from the granting of any license unless it is specifically prescribed.
(2) No right of property. The granting of any license pursuant to this chapter shall be a privilege and shall not impart to the licensee any right of property in any city rights-of-way or other city property.
(Ord. No. 8937, § 2, 9-2-97)
(1) Continuing regulatory jurisdiction. The mayor and council shall have continuing regulatory jurisdiction and supervision over the operation of any license granted pursuant to this chapter. However, it is recognized that the daily administrative, supervisory and enforcement responsibilities of the provisions of this chapter and the license agreement shall be delegated and entrusted to the city manager, or his designee, as hereafter provided.
(2) The city manager shall have the following responsibilities and authority:
(a) Interpret, administer and enforce the provisions of this chapter and the license agreement;
(b) Represent the city in all matters pertaining to the implementation of the provisions of this chapter and the license agreement;
(c) Resolve disputes or disagreements between subscribers, users, potential subscribers and users, and the licensee as to matters involving an interpretation of this chapter or the license agreement, or other matters subject to the city's jurisdiction, but only in the event that such parties are unable first to resolve their dispute; provided that, nothing in this section is meant to waive any rights a licensee may have to appeal the city's resolution of a dispute.
(d) Review and audit reports and other documents submitted to the city as required by this chapter or other law, so as to ensure that the necessary reports are completed and fulfilled pursuant to the terms of this chapter;
(e) Assure that all records, rules and charges pertinent to the system are made available for inspection at reasonable hours upon reasonable notice consistent with the license agreement and applicable law;
(f) Confer with licensees, assist in coordination among licensees, and enforce requirements under applicable law and license agreements for interconnections among cable systems and other systems;
(g) Consistent with this chapter, establish and administer sanctions as authorized by the mayor and council to ensure compliance with this chapter;
(h) Advise the mayor and council on matters which may constitute grounds for termination or revocation of the license agreement in accordance with this chapter and a license;
(i) Advise the mayor and council on proposed transfers of the system;
(j) Consistent with this chapter, promulgate regulations regarding the construction, reconstruction, operation, maintenance, dismantling, testing or use of the system as necessary;
(k) Ensure that the licensee makes any public access channel available to all residents of the city on a nondiscriminatory basis;
(l) Ensure that the operation of any public access channel is free of program censorship and control to the extent permitted by law;
(m) Perform any other duties assigned under the provisions of this chapter or other legislation which may hereafter be enacted by the mayor and council or such other related duties as the mayor and council may direct.
(Ord. No. 8937, § 2, 9-2-97)
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