[HISTORY: Approved 1-21-1981. Amendments noted where applicable.]
In this Article unless the context clearly indicates that another
meaning is intended, the following terms, phrases, words and their
derivations have the meaning given herein. When not inconsistent with
the context, words used in the present tense include the future, words
in the singular number include the plural number. The word "shall"
is always mandatory.
The Mayor and Town Council or the person, department, or
agency designated by the Mayor and Town Council, by resolution, to
act for them in administrative matters relating to cable television.
Any communications service in addition to "regular subscriber
services", including, but not limited to pay TV, burglar alarm service,
data transmission, facsimile service and home shopping service.
Any facility that in whole or part, receives directly or
indirectly, over the air, and amplifies or otherwise modifies the
signals transmitting programs broadcast by one or more television
or radio stations and distributes such signals by wire or cable to
subscribing members of the public who pay for such service.
A band of frequencies 6 megahertz wide in the electromagnetic
spectrum capable of carrying either one audio-visual television signal
and a few non-video signals or a large number of non-video signals.
The agency of the United States Government of that name as
constituted by the Communications Act of 1934, or any successor agency
established by the United States Government.
An authorization granted by the Town of Forest Heights which
permits the construction, operation and maintenance of a cable television
system within the franchise area under condition not inconsistent
with this ordinance.
That part of the franchise entity for which a franchise is
granted under the authority of this ordinance and may or may not be
coterminous with the franchise entity.
The Mayor and Town Council of the franchise entity.
The Town of Forest Heights, Maryland, as presently constituted
and includes any area that may be added to it during the terms of
any franchise granted under this Article.
Any entity, its successors, heirs or assigns that is awarded
a franchise under this ordinance.
Revenue derived directly or indirectly by a grantee from
both regular subscriber service and auxiliary services.
Revenue derived directly or indirectly by a grantee from
supplying regular subscriber service; that is, installation fees,
disconnect and reconnect fees, and fees for regular cable benefits
including the transmission of broadcast signals and access and organization
channels if utilized. "Gross subscriber revenue" does not include
revenue derived from auxiliary services or from any taxes whether
or not passed on to users, per program or per channel charges, leased
channel revenues, advertising revenues or any other income derived
from the system.
A beneficial owner, directly or indirectly, of 10% or more
of the issued and outstanding voting stock of any corporation.
People, firms, corporations, associations or other legally
recognized entities.
The surface of and the space above and below any public street,
avenue, highway, boulevard, concourse, driveway, bridge, tunnel, park,
parkway, waterway, dock, bulkhead, wharf, pier, alley, right-of-way,
public utility easement, and any other public ground or water subject
to the jurisdiction and control of the franchise entity.
That service regularly provided to all subscribers, including
all broadcast signal carriage, FCC-required access channel carriage
including origination programming, but it does not include specialized
programming for which a per-channel charge is made.
Any person receiving regular subscriber service.
With the exception of the Mayor and Town Council, a person may
not own, operate or solicit subscribers for any cable television system
in the Town of Forest Heights, except by franchise granted by resolution
of the Mayor and Town Council.
A.
Any
franchise granted under this Article shall be non-exclusive and this
Article may not be construed to prevent the franchise authority from
granting identical or similar franchises to more than one person,
within all or any portion of the franchise entity.
B.
A
grantee, at all times during the life of this franchise, shall be
subject to the lawful exercise of the franchise entity's police
power and such reasonable regulations as the franchise authority may
promulgate hereunder. Nothing contained in this ordinance shall be
deemed to prohibit in any way the right of the Mayor and Town Council
to levy nondiscriminatory occupational license taxes on any activity
conducted by a grantee.
C.
All
privileges granted by a franchise under this Article shall be subordinate
to any prior lawful occupancy of the public streets, and the franchise
authority reserves the right to reasonably designate where a grantee's
facilities are to be placed within the public ways.
D.
The
franchise shall be a privilege which is personal to the original grantee.
It may not be sold, transferred, leased, assigned, or disposed of,
in whole or in part, either by sale, merger, consolidation or otherwise,
without prior consent of the franchise authority expressed by resolution,
and then only under such conditions as may therein be prescribed.
Any such proposed transfer or assignment shall be made only by an
instrument in writing, which shall include an acceptance of all conditions
of the franchise by the transferee, a duly executed copy of which
shall be filed with the agency within 30 days after any such transfer
or assignment.
E.
Nothing
herein shall be deemed to in any way impair or affect the right of
the Town of Forest Heights to acquire the property of the grantee,
either by purchase or through the exercise of the right of eminent
domain, at a price reflective of its fair market value as an ongoing
concern, and nothing herein shall be construed to constitute a waiver
or bar to the exercise of any governmental right or power of the Town
of Forest Heights.
F.
The
granting of a franchise shall be based on the franchise authority's
judgment as to whether it will serve the public's interest; the
applicant's construction, technical and financial plans and arrangement
and the benefits to the welfare and safety of the Town and its citizens.
Such judgment shall be discretionary and no provision of this ordinance
shall require the granting of a franchise. A franchise may be granted
only after the Mayor and Town Council conduct a public hearing on
the application.
A.
The
grantee shall pay, and by its acceptance of a franchise specifically
agrees to pay, any and all damages or penalties which the Town of
Forest Heights may be legally required to pay as a result of grantee's
installation, operation or maintenance, of a franchise cable television
system under this Ordinance whether or not the acts or omissions complained
of are authorized, allowed or prohibited by the Town of Forest Heights.
B.
The grantee shall pay all expenses incurred by the Town of Forest Heights in defending itself with regard to any and all damages and penalties mentioned in subsection A. of this section. These expenses shall include all out-of-pocket expenses, including reasonable attorneys' fees and the reasonable value of services rendered by any employee of the Town.
C.
The grantee shall maintain, throughout the term of the franchise, liability insurance insuring the Town of Forest Heights and the grantee with regard to all damages referred to in subsection A. of this section, caused by grantee or its agents, in such amounts as may be set forth in the franchise.
Any cable television system constructed by a grantee shall be
installed, maintained, and operated at all times in full compliance
with the technical and channel capacity standards of the Federal Communications
Commission. The results of annual performance tests conducted in accordance
with Sec. 76.601(c), FCC rules (or such other section of the rules
as shall incorporate its substance) shall be retained for at least
five years and made available for inspection by the Town of Forest
Heights.
Throughout the term of the franchise the grantee shall:
A.
Install
and maintain its wires, cables, fixtures and other equipment in accordance
with the requirements of the Town and County building, electrical,
fire, health and plumbing codes, and in such manner that they will
not interfere with any installations of the Town of Forest Heights;
and
B.
Keep
and maintain in a safe, suitable, substantial condition, and in good
order and repair, all structures lines, equipment, and public ways
or places of the Town, wherever situated or located.
Throughout the term of the franchise, a grantee shall:
A.
Maintain
all parts of its system in good condition and in accordance with standards
generally observed by the cable television industry. Sufficient employees
shall be retained to provide safe, adequate and prompt service for
all of its facilities.
B.
Maintain
a conveniently located business office and service center to which
subscribers may telephone without incurring added message units or
toll charges. This office shall be open during all usual business
hours, and be so operated that complaints and requests for repairs
or adjustments may be received by telephone at any time when any television
signals are being broadcast.
C.
Dispatch
personnel to investigate all service complaints and equipment malfunctions
within 24 hours and strive to resolve such complaints as promptly
as possible. Planned interruption of service shall be only for good
cause. Insofar as possible, planned service interruptions shall be
preceded by notice, be of brief duration, and occur during minimum
viewing hours.
D.
Maintain
a complete list of all complaints received and the measures-taken
to resolve them in form to be approved by agency. This list shall
be available to the agency on request.
E.
Permit
the agency to inspect and test the system's technical equipment
and facilities on reasonable (12 to 24 hours') notice.
A grantee may not disseminate information to any person without
the express written permission of a subscriber as to the name, address
or other indication of the identity of that subscriber or any other
information furnished by that subscriber in conjunction with a request
for service. A grantee may not require of any person as a condition
of receiving services from the grantee (1) consent to the dissemination
of personal information, or (2) a waiver of any right granted under
this section. The agency is entitled to audit the records of the grantee
to determine compliance with this section.
A.
Any
pavement, sidewalk, curbing or other paved area taken up or any excavations
made by a grantee shall be done under the supervision and direction
of the agency under permits issued for work by the proper officials
of the Town or other appropriate governmental entity and shall be
done in such manner as to cause the least inconvenience to the inhabitants
of the Town of Forest Heights. The grantee, at its own expense and
in a manner approved by the agency, shall replace and restore any
such pavements, sidewalks, curbing or other paved area in as good
a condition as before the work involving such disturbance was done,
and shall also make and keep full and complete plats, maps and records
showing the exact location of its facilities located within the public
streets, ways, and easements of the franchise entity. These maps shall
be available for inspection at any time during business hours by the
agency.
B.
The
grantee, at its expense, shall protect, support, temporarily disconnect,
relocate, or remove, any of its property when required by the Town
of Forest Heights by reason of traffic conditions, public safety,
road construction, change or street grade, installation of sewers,
drains, water pipes, power lines, signal lines, tracks, or any other
type of municipal improvements. However, the grantee, in all such
cases, shall have the privilege of abandoning any property in place.
If the Town of Forest Heights requests substantial relocation, it
shall compensate grantee in the amount of its relocation costs.
C.
The
grantee, on the request of any person holding a building moving permit
issued by the Town of Forest Heights or another government entity,
shall temporarily raise or lower its wires to permit the moving of
buildings. The expense of the temporary removal or raising or lowering
of wires shall be paid by the person requesting it and the grantee
shall have the authority to require that payment be made in advance.
The grantee shall be given at least 48 hours' advance notice
to arrange for such temporary wire changes.
D.
The
grantee shall have authority to trim the trees overhanging the public
street so as to prevent the branches of such trees from coming in
contact with the wires and cables of the grantee, except that, at
the option of the Town of Forest Heights, the trimming may be done
by another person under the direction and supervision of the Town
of Forest Heights, at the expense of the grantee.
E.
In
all sections of the franchise area where the cable, wires, or other
similar facilities of public utilities are placed underground, the
grantee shall place its cables, wires or other like facilities underground
to the maximum extent that existing technology reasonably permits.
Concurrently with the acceptance of its franchise, a grantee
shall file with the Town a bond with an acceptable surety in an amount
designated by the Town of Forest Heights to indemnify the Town against
any losses it may suffer in the event the grantee fails to comply
with any provision of this Article, its franchise or any duly promulgated
regulation, order or resolution of the Mayor and Town Council or agency
made pursuant to a franchise or this Article. Said bond shall be obtained
at the sole expense of the grantee and remain in effect for the full
term of the franchise or any renewal thereof, plus an additional six
months thereafter.
The Town of Forest Heights is entitled to collect a franchise
fee in such amount, as may be from time to time established by the
Mayor and Town Council, for each franchise granted.
The Town of Forest Heights may include, as part of any franchise,
any conditions it deems beneficial to the subscribers in the franchise
area including the regulation of any rates charged to such subscribers.
A grantee shall:
A.
Provide at least one service outlet to all municipal facilities,
libraries and public schools within its franchise area at no cost
to the Town of Forest Heights or to the library or schools involved;
and
B.
Make its facilities immediately available to the Town of Forest Heights
on request during an emergency or disaster.
The Mayor and Town Council shall establish the duration of each
franchise granted under this Ordinance and the conditions for any
renewal thereof.
A.
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 televisions signals, radio signals, picture,
program or sound within the Town of Forest Heights.
B.
It shall be unlawful for any person to make or use any unauthorized
connection, whether physically, electrically, acoustically, inductively
or otherwise, with any part of a franchised cable television system
within the Town of Forest Heights for the purpose of enabling that
person or others to receive any televisions signal, radio signal,
picture, program or sound, without authorization of the grantee and
owner of that system.
This Article does not prohibit the erection or continued use
of individual television antennas or require any person to receive
cable television service or connect with a cable television system.
The Mayor and Town Council may delegate any right, benefit,
duty, obligation or power under this ordinance to the agency or any
employee, officer or department of the Town of Forest Heights.
A.
The Mayor and Town Council shall have the authority to promulgate
by resolution such regulations as are necessary to implement, administer
and enforce this Article and any franchise granted hereunder.
B.
The grantee is not relieved of its obligation to comply promptly
with the provisions of a franchise because of a failure of the franchise
authority to enforce prompt compliance.
C.
The cost of any litigation, including reasonable attorney's
fees, incurred by the franchise authority to enforce this Article
or a franchise granted under this Article shall be reimbursed to the
franchise authority by the franchiser if the franchise authority is
the prevailing party.
A.
In addition to the rights and powers of the Town of Forest Heights
contained in any franchise, the Town shall have the right to terminate
and cancel a franchise if the grantee:
(1)
Refuses to obey any duly promulgated regulation, order or resolution
of the Mayor and Town Council or agency made pursuant to a franchise
or this Article.
(2)
Becomes insolvent unable or unwilling to pay its debts or is adjudged
as bankrupt.
(3)
Attempts to evade any of the provisions of a franchise or practices
any fraud or deceit upon the Town.
B.
Before any franchise may be terminated or canceled under this section,
the grantee shall be entitled to a hearing before the Mayor and Town
Council. The grantee shall be given not less than five days written
notice that a hearing under this section will be held.
Any person, including an officer or employee of a grantee, violating
the provisions of this Article or a franchise agreement granted under
this Article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall, on conviction,
be fined not more than $100, be imprisoned for not more than 30 days
or both. A conviction for one offense shall not be a bar to a conviction
for a continuation of such offense subsequent to the first or any
succeeding conviction.
