Ordinance 79-2164ORDINANCE NO. 79-2164
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH
PROVIDING FOR THE CONSTRUCTION, OPERATION,
REGULATION AND CONTROL OF CABLE TELEVISION
SYSTEMS WITHIN ITS TERRITORIAL LIMITS, PROVIDING
FOR DEFINITIONS; LICENSE REQUIREMENTS, TERMS
AND LIMITATIONS; LIABILITY AND INDEMNIFICATION,
TECHNICAL AND SAFETY REQUIREMENTS; SERVICE
STANDARDS; CONDITIONS ON USE OF STREETS AND
CONSTRUCTION; INDEMNITY BOND TO CITY; LICENSE
PAYMENTS; RATE REGULATION; PUBLIC SERVICE
REQUIREMENTS; APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS AND
OTHER CONDITIONS FOR SAME: PROVIDING FOR
CODIFICATION, A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE AND AN
EFFECTIVE DATE.
That the City Commission of the City of Miami Beach makes
the following Findings:
(a) That a Community Antenna Television System, hereinafter
referred to as CATV, will be beneficial to the community
and will not impair the health, welfare and safety of
the citizens of Miami Beach.
(b) That CATV is not a public utility but a business enterprise
subject to licensing regulation by the City. The
license granted is non-exclusive in nature.
(c) That CATV requires the use of the public streets and
rights of way for which an annual fee should be charged
by the City to any licensees authorized to operate such
CATV System.
(d) That Metropolitan Dade County has enacted an Ordinance
to regulate and license the operation of CATV Systems
within Dade County as Chapter 8A Article IV of the Code
of Metropolitan Dade County but that the City of Miami
Beach has a right to regulate the operation of such
CATV Systems within the territorial limits of the City
of Miami Beach.
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BE IT ORDAINED, BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI
BEACH:
Section 1. Short Title. This Ordinance shall be known
and may be cited as the "City of Miami Beach Cable Television
Ordinance.
Section 2. Definitions. For the purpose of this
Ordinance, the following terms, phrases, words and their
derivations shall have the meaning given herein, unless the
context clearly indicates that another meaning is intended.
When not inconsistent with the context, words used in the
present tense include the future, words in the plural number
include the singular number, and words in the singular
number include the plural number. The word "shall" is
always mandatory and not merely directory.
(1) "Auxiliary Services" means any communications
service in addition to "regular subscriber services",
including, but not limited to pay TV, burglar alarm service,
data transmission, facsimile service, home shopping service,
etc.
(2) "Cable Television System" or "CATV System"
is any facility that in whole or in 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.
(3) "City Manager" means the City Manager or
person designated by him, to act for his office in administrative
matters relating to cable television.
(4) "Channel" is 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.
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(5) "Federal Communications Commission", or "FCC"
is the present federal agency of that name as constituted by
the Communications Act of 1934, or any successor agency
created by the United States Congress.
(6) "Grantee" is a holder of a cable television
license issued by the City of Miami Beach.
(7) "Gross Revenues" means revenues derived
directly or indirectly by a grantee from both regular
subscriber service and auxiliary services.
(8) "Gross Subscriber Revenues" means those
revenues derived directly or indirectly by a grantee from
the supplying of regular subscriber service; that is, the
installation fees, disconnect and reconnect fees, and fees
for regular cable benefits including the transmission of
broadcast signals and access and origination channels if
utilized. It does not include revenues 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.
(9) "License" is an authorization granted by the
City of Miami Beach which permits the construction, operation
and maintenance of a cable television system within the
License Area under the terms of this Ordinance.
(10) "License Area" means that portion of the
City of Miami Beach for which a license is granted under the
authority of this Ordinance. The License Area may or may
not be conterminous with the corporate limits of the City of
Miami Beach.
(11) "License Authority" is the City Commission
of the City of Miami Beach, Florida.
(12) "License Entity" is the City of Miami Beach,
Florida, as presently constituted and including any area
henceforth added thereto during the terms of any license
granted hereunder.
(13) "Major Stockholder" is a beneficial owner,
directly or indirectly, of 100 or more of the issued and
outstanding voting stock of any corporation.
(14) "Persons" are any people, firms, corporation:,
associations, or other legally recognized entities.
(15) "Public Street" is 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 within or belonging to the City of Miami Beach.
(16) "Regular Subscriber Service" is that service
regularly provided to all subscribers. It includes all
broadcast signal carriage, FCC -required access channel
carriage including origination programming. It does not
include specialized programming for which a per -program or
per -channel charge is made.
(17) "Subscriber" means any person receiving
regular subscriber service.
Section 3. License to Operate Necessary. It shall be
unlawful to commence or engage in the construction, operation
or maintenance of a cable television system without a license
issued under this Ordinance. The City of Miami Beach may,
by Ordinance, award a license to construct, operate and
maintain a cable television system within all or any portion
of the City of Miami Beach to any person, whether operating
under an existing license or not, who makes application for
authority to furnish a cable television system which complies
with the terms and conditions of this Ordinance. The grantee
shall have the right to utilize the present and future
highways, streets, alleys, rights-of-way, easements and
public property in City of Miami Beach for the purpose of
transmission and distribution by cable of audio and video
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signals by means of electrical impulses for sale to residents
of the City; provided, that this section shall not be deemed
to require the grant of a license to any particular person
or to prohibit the City Commission from restricting the
number of grantees should it determine such a restriction
would be in the public interest.
Section 4. Term of License.
(1) Any license granted by the City Commission
shall be for a term of 15 years following the date such
license is accepted by the grantee, and, upon application of
the grantee and review of the performance of grantee in a
public proceeding, the City Commission may renew the license
for successive 10 year periods, with such modifications of
terms as the City Commission may determine in each instance.
(2) The City Commission may terminate any license
in the event Grantee shall refuse, or neglect to comply with
any material requirement or limitation contained in this
Ordinance.
(3) Should the City Commission determine that
Grantee is not, in its opinion, in compliance with this
Ordinance and any License issued thereunder, it shall so
notify Grantee, and Grantee shall, within 30 days, bring the
licensed system into compliance, reporting corrective action
taken to the City Commission.
(4) If the City Commission is not satisfied that
compliance has been achieved, or that good faith progress is
being made toward compliance, it may schedule a public
hearing to determine whether the License should be revoked.
The Grantee and the public shall be given at least 30 days'
notice of such a hearing, and all interested parties shall
be heard in open hearing. At the conclusion of the public
hearing, the City Commission shall determine whether the
license should be terminated and shall set forth, in writing,
the facts and reasons upon which its decision is based.
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Section 5. Limitations of License.
(l) Any license granted under this Ordinance
shall be non-exclusive and nothing herein shall be construed
to prevent the City Commission from granting identical or
similar licenses to more than one person, within all or any
portion of the City of i:iami Beach.
(2) A grantee shall, at all times during the life
of its license, be subject to the lawful exercise of the
City of Miami Beach's police power and ordinances and such
reasonable regulations as the City Commission shall promulgate
thereunder. Nothing contained in this Ordinance shall be
deemed to prohibit in any way the right of City of Miami
Beach to levy non-discriminatory occupational license taxes
on any activity conducted by Grantee.
(3) All privileges prescribed by such a license
shall be subordinate to any prior lawful occupancy of the
public streets, and the City Manager reserves the right to
designate where a grantee's facilities are to be placed
within the public ways.
(4)(a) A license shall be a privilege which is
personal to the originai grantee. It shall 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 City Commission of the City of
Miami Beach expressed by resolution, and then only under
such conditions as may therein be prescribed. Any such
transfer or assignment shall be made only by an instrument
in writing, which shall include an acceptance of all terms
and conditions of the license by transferee, a duly executed
copy of which shall be filed with the Agency within 30 days
after any such transfer or assignment.
(b) Consent of the City Commission shall not be
granted until it has examined the proposed assignee's legal,
financial, technical, character and other qualifications to
construct, operate and maintain a cable television system in
the License Entity and has afforded all interested parties
notice and an opportunity to be heard on the question.
(c) Consent of the City Commission shall not be
arbitrarily refused; provided, that the proposed assignee
possesses the requisite qualifications and agrees, in writing,
comply with all provisions of the license and this
ordinance.
(d) Transfer of 20% or more of the voting securities
of a corporate Grantee to a person not presently a stockholder
shall be deemed to be a transfer of control.
(e) No such consent shall be required for a
transfer:
(i) in trust, of system assets by mortgage
or by other hypothecation, to secure an
indebtedness;
(ii) to a parent or subsidiary of a corporate
grantee; or
(iii) to a corporation whose stock is held by
the same stockholders as grantee;
(iv) of less than 20% of the voting securities
of a corporate grantee unless such
transfer also results in a transfer of
voting control;
(v) of stock from one present stockholder to
another present stockholder unless such
transfer also results in a transfer of
voting control.
Section 6. Liability and Indemnification.
(1) A grantee shall pay, and by its acceptance of
a license specifically agrees to pay, any and all damages or
penalties which the City of Miami Beach may be legally
required to pay as a result of grantee's installation,
operation or maintenance of a licensed cable television
system under this Ordinance whether or not the acts or
omissions complained of are authorized, allowed or prohibited
by the City of Miami Beach.
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(2) A grantee shall also pay all expenses incurred
by the City of Miami Beach in defending itself with regard
to any and all damages and penalties mentioned in subsection
(1), above. 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
City of Miami Beach.
(3) The grantee shall maintain, throughout the
term of the license, liability insurance insuring the City
of Miami Beach and the grantee with regard to all damages
mentioned in subsection (1), above, caused by grantee or its
agents, in the minimum amount of:
(a) Workmen's compensation insurance as
provided by the laws of the State of
Florida.
(b) $1,000,000 for bodily injury or death to
any one person, within the limit, however
of $3,000,000 for bodily injury or death
resulting from any one accident.
(c) $1,000,000 for property damage resulting
from any one accident. The insurance
policies obtained by a grantee in compliance
with this section shall be issued by a
company or companies acceptable to the
City of Miami Beach, and a current
certificate or certificates of insurance,
along with written evidence of payment
of all required premiums, shall be filed
and maintained with the Agency during
the term of the license. Said policies
shall name the City of Miami Beach as an
additional insured and shall contain a
provision that a written notice of
cancellation or reduction in coverage of
said policy shall be delivered to the
City of Miami Beach 30 days in advance
of the effective date thereof.
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Section 7. Technical Requirements --Channel Capacity.
The CATV system to be constructed by 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
0 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 5 years and provided to the City ofMiami Beach.
Section 8. Safety -Requirements. A grantee shall, at
all times:
(1) Install and maintain its wires, cables,
fixtures and other equipment in accordance with the requirements
of the applicable codes and standards and in such manner and
location as approved by the City of Miami Beach so that they
will not interfere with any installation. All excavations
for installation, repair or maintenance shall be performed
by a qualified and licensed engineering contractor.
(2) Keep and maintain in a safe, suitable,
substantial condition, and in good order, appearance and
repair acceptable to the City Manager, all structures,
lines, equipment, and connections in, over, under, and upon
the streets, sidewalks, alleys, and public ways or places of
the City of Miami Beach, wherever situated or located.
Section 9. Service Standards - Business Office -
Resolution of Complaints. Throughout the
life of its license, a grantee shall:
(1) 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.
(2) 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
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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.
(3) 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.
(4) Maintain a complete list of all complaints
not resolved within 7 days received and the measures taken
to resolve them in form to be approved by the City Manager.
This list shall be supplied to the City Manager on a monthly
basis.
(5) Maintain a list of all complaints received,
which list will be available to the City Manager.
(6) Permit the City Manager to inspect and test
the system's technical equipment and facilities upon reason-
able (12-24 hours') notice.
(7) The grantee shall establish a grievance
procedure which shall be fair and equitable to all subscribers
and shall file copies of all complaints and final decisions
with the City Manager, monthly.
Section 10. Conditions on Street Occupancy.
(1) Any pavements, sidewalks, curbing or other
paved area taken up or any excavations other than installations
made by a grantee shall be done under permits issued for
work by the proper officials of the City of Miami Beach and
State of Florida Department of Traffic and Transportion, where
applicable, and shall be done in such manner as to give the
least inconvenience to the inhabitants of the City of Miami
Beach. A copy of each permit for installations received
Works Department shall be filed with the Public
from the Dade County Public 'Utilities Director of the City of
Miami Beach ac least 72 hours prior to the commencement of
construction. A grantee shall, at its own cost and expense,
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and in a manner approved by the City Manager, replace and
restore any such pavements, sidewalks, curbing or other paved
areas 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, drawings and records showing the exact
locations of its facilities located within the public streets,
ways, and easements of the City of Miami Beach. These maps shall
be available for inspection at any time during business hours at
the office of the City Clerk of the City of Miami Beach and
copies of "as built" drawings and microfilm of same shall be
provided to the City after completion of each major installation.
Thereafter, when required by the City and within seven (7) days
after receipt of a written request, grantee will supply the City
with documents reflecting any revisions or
documents previously supplied.
(2) A grantee shall, at its
modifications to
expense, protect,
the
support, temporarily disconnect, relocate, or remove, any of
its property when required by the City of Miami Beach by
reason of traffic conditions, public safety, road construc-
tion, change of street grade, installation of sewers, drains,
water pipes, power lines, signal lines, tracks, or any other
type of municipal improvements; provided, however, that the
grantee shall, in all such cases, have the privilege of
abandoning any property in place with the approval of the
City Manager.
(3) A grantee shall, on the request of any person
holding a building moving permit issued by the City of Miami
Beach, temporarily raise or lower its wires to permit the
moving of buildings. The expense of such temporary removal
or raising or lowering of wires shall be paid by the person
requesting same, and the grantee shall have the authority to
require such payment in advance. The grantee shall be given
not less than 48 hours' advance notice to arrange for such
temporary wire changes.
(4) A grantee shall have the authority and
obligation to trim the trees upon and overhanging the public
streets so as to prevent the branches of such trees from
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coming in contact with the wires and cables of the grantee.
If the City Manager observes that the grantee has failed to
meet its obligations herein and such failure continues for
15 days after receipt of written notice, then at the option
of the City Manager of the City of Miami Beach, such trimming
may be done by the City of Miami Beach or under its supervision
and direction at the expense of the grantee.
(5) In all sections of the License Area where all
the cable, wires, and other similar facilities of public
utilities are to be placed underground and at the time of
such placement, or exist underground, the grantee shall
place its cables, wires, or other like facilities underground.
(6) Upon the failure of a grantee to satisfactorily
complete any work upon the public streets as may be required
by law or the terms of its license within the time prescribed,
the City of Miami Beach, at its option, may cause such work
to be done and the grantee shall pay to the City of Miami
Beach the cost thereof within 30 days after receipt of an
itemized report.
Section 11. Construction.
(1) A grantee shall extend the installation of
cables, amplifiers, and related equipment throughout the
area covered by its license as rapidly as practicable, but,
in any event, shall:
(a) Begin engineering studies within 60 days
after accepting its license.
(b) Begin awarding contracts within 90 days
after compliance with requirements of
the FCC.
(c) Begin construction of its proposed
system within 6 months after compliance
with requirements of the FCC.
(d) Begin rendering service to subscribers
within 1 year after compliance with
requirements of the FCC.
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(e) Complete construction of 40% of its
proposed system (measured in terms of
total linear strand miles) within 2
years after compliance with requirements
of FCC and complete an additional 20%
each year thereafter so that after 5
years the entire system shall be substantially
constructed and the grantee capable of
providing service no more than 60 days
after receiving an application for
service to every dwelling unit within
the license area except to the extent
that density of homes, adverse terrain,
or other factors render making service
available impracticable. For the purposes
of determining compliance with the
provisions of this subparagraph (e), and
to provide for a reasonable policy
requiring extension of energized trunk
lines of the cable system within the
license area so as to achieve compliance
with the obligations imposed by this
section, grantee shall extend such lines
to substantially all areas of the license
area. For the purposes of this Section
the Miami Beach Redevelopment Area shall
not be included in either the time require-
ment or the percentage requirements. No
service to the Miami Beach Redevelopment
Area shall be required to any existing
structure. Service to each parcel shall
be required to begin within 1 year after
a Certificate of Occupancy is issued for
the final structure in each parcel.
(f) File a map and progress report with the
City Manager at the close of each calendar
year, showing the exact areas of the
City of Miami Beach being served by the
cable television system and the location
and identification of major component
parts of the system.
(g) Failure on the part of the grantee to
commence and diligently pursue each of
the foregoing requirements and to
complete each of the matters set forth
herein, shall be grounds for termination
of its license pursuant to the terms of
Section 4 (2) hereof; provided, however,
that the City Commission of the City of
Miami Beach may in its discretion extend
the time for the commencement and
completion of construction and installa-
tion for additional periods in the event
the grantee, acting in good faith,
experiences delays by reasons of circum-
stances beyond its control.
(2) In the event the operation of any part of a cable
television system, excluding drops, is discontinued for a
continuous period of 3 months, or in the event such system has
been installed in any public street without complying with the
requirements of the grantee's license, the grantee shall promptly,
upon being given 10 days' notice, remove from the streets or
public places all such property and poles of such system. Any
property which the grantee allows to remain in place 60 days
after having been notified by the City of Miami Beach that it
must be removed shall be considered permanently abandoned.
Section 12. Idemnity Bond.
(1) Concurrently with the acceptance of its license,
a grantee shall file with the City Manager, a bond with an
acceptable surety or other guarantee acceptable to the City
Manager in the amount of $100,000 until service is available
to 75% of the City, and thereafter in the amount of $50,000
to indemnify the City of Miami Beach against any losses it
may suffer in the event the grantee fails to comply with one
or more of the provisions of its license. Said bond or
guarantee shall be obtained at the sole expense of the
grantee and remain in effect for the full term of the license
or any renewal thereof plus an additional 12 months thereafter.
The grantee and its surety shall be jointly and severally
liable under the terms of the bond or guarantee for any
damages or loss suffered by the City of Miami Beach as a
result of the grantee's nonperformance, including the full
amount of any compensation, indemnification, or cost of
removal of any property of cite grantee in the event of
default, plus a reasonable allowance for attorney's fees and
costs, up to the full amount of the bond. The bond or
guarantee shall provide for 30 days' prior written notice to
the City Commission of the City of Miami Beach of any intention
on the part of the grantee to cancel, fail to renew, or
otherwise materially alter its terms.
(2) Neither the filing of an indemnity bond or
guarantee with the City Manager, nor the receipt of any
damages recovered by the City Commission thereunder, shall
be construed to excuse faithful performance by the grantee
or limit the liability of the grantee under the terms of its
license for damages, either to the full amount of the bond
or otherwise.
Section 13. Application Fee and License Payments.
(1) The application fee shall be the sum of the
following:
(a) $1,000.
(b) The cost of providing such notice of
election as is required by law and as
determined by the City Clerk of the City
of Miami Beach.
(2) The applicant shall also pay the cost of any
special election held for the purpose of complying with
Section 26 of the City Charter. Said sum shall be paid
prior to the call of such special election by the City
Commission. If the costs are not known prior to the time
said election is called by the City Commission, the applicant
shall be required to post a bond or letter of credit in an
amount not less than 125% of the total estimated cost of
holding the election.
(3) Any person awarded a license under this
Ordinance shall pay to the City of Miami Beach, each year
during the life of the license, a license fee in the amount
of 3 per cent of its annual Gross Revenues derived from its
operation of the licensed cable television system within the
licensed area limits.
(4) The grantee shall file a statement of Gross
Revenues with the Finance Director of the City of Miami
Beach within 30 days after expiration of each fiscal quarter,
together with a payment in the amount of 3 per cent of Gross
Revenues as shown on the statement. The grantee shall
advise the Finance Director of its fiscal year and the
quarters shall be determined based upon the grantee's fiscal
year. A grantee shall file with the City Manager, within 90
days after the expiration of its fiscal year or portion
thereof during which its license is in force, a statement
certified by a Certified Public Accountant, showing the
Gross Revenues, as defined herein, of the grantee during the
preceding fiscal year or portion thereof. It shall be the
duty of the grantee to pay the City of Miami Beach within 15
days after the time for filing such statement, the sum
prescribed above or any unpaid balance thereof for the
fiscal year covered by such statements. An overpayment, if
any, shall be credited toward the first quarter payment of
the succeeding fiscal year.
(5) The City of Miami Beach shall have the right
to inspect the grantee's records showing the Gross Subscriber
Revenues from which its license payments are computed and
shall also have the right of audit and recomputation of any
and all amounts paid under the Ordinance. No acceptance of
payment shall be construed as a release or as an accord and
satisfaction of any claim the City of Miami Beach may have
for further or additional sums payable under this Ordinance
or for the performance of any other obligation hereunder;
however, an accounting rendered to the City of Miami Beach
and to which no exception is made within 3 years after
receipt by the City of Miami Beach shall be deemed to be
accurate and shall not thereafter be subject to question or
made the basis of any claim by the City of Miami Beach
against grantee.
Section 14. Rates Charged to Subscribers.
(1) Any license issued hereunder shall set forth
the initial rates which grantee may charge its subscribers
upon commencing service. Thereafter, these rates shall be
changed when appropriate in accordance with the provisions
of this section.
(2) Any rate established shall be reasonable,
just, and fair to the public, and shall provide the grantee
a return upon its investment reasonably sufficient to:
(a) assure confidence in grantee's financial
soundness;
(b) support its credit and attract necessary
capital under efficient and economical
management;
(c) provide a return to equity owners commen-
surate with current returns on investment
in other enterprises having corresponding
risks.
(3) No rate established shall afford any undue
preference or advantage among subscribers, but separate
rates may be established for separate classes of subscribers
and rates may reflect the increased cost of providing service
to isolated or sparsely populated areas.
(4) The rates charged by the grantee for CATV
service shall not exceed those approved pursuant to Section
8A-130 of the Dade County Code. The City Commission may
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direct the City Attorney and/or the administration to inter-
vene at the County Rate Hearing.
Section 15. Removal of Facilities Upon Request. Upon
termination of service to any subscriber, a grantee shall
promptly remove all its facilities and equipment from the
premises of such subscriber upon his request.
Section 16. Public Service Requirements. A grantee
shall:
(1) Provide at least one service outlet to all
municipal facilities and public schools within its license
area at no cost to the City of Miami Beach or school involved
and shall charge only its time and material costs for any
additional service outlets to such facilities.
(2) Make its facilities immediately available to
the City of Miami Beach upon request during the course of
any emergency or disaster.
(3) Build its facilities in such a way as to
facilitate interconnection with similar systems serving Dade
and Broward County for the purpose of providing educational
and cultural programming on a cost-sharing basis.
Section 17. Amendment of Ordinance and Franchises
The City Commission may amend this Ordinance, and any
license issued hereunder, upon its own motion or the appli-
cation of a grantee whenever amendment is desirable to
enable a grantee to utilize new developments in television
or radio signal transmission which would improve and update
cable television service in the City of Miami Beach, or to
comply with any modifications in the Rules of the FCC. No
amendment shall be adopted except after full, open public
hearing affording due process, and no amendment substantially
affecting the existing rights and obligations of a grantee
shall be adopted without grantee's consent which shall not
be unreasonably withheld.
Section 18. Application Procedures. This Ordinance
itself grants no authority to operate a cable television
system to any person. Such grants are only made by the
adoption of a separate ordinance awarding a specific license
to an applicant who has complied with the provisions of this
Ordinance.
(1) Any person interested in obtaining a license
to operate a cable television system in the City of Miami
Beach shall submit a written application to the City Commission
of City of Miami Beach together with non-refundable application
fee as provided in Section 13 which shall contain the following
information:
(a) The name, address and form of business
of the applicant. If the applicant is a
corporation, it shall also state the
names, addresses and occupations of its
officers, directors and major stockholders,
and the names and addresses of any
parent or subsidiary companies. If
applicant is a corporation controlled by
another corporation, the names, addresses
and occupations of the officers, directors
and major stockholders of the controlling
corporation shall also be stated. If the
applicant is a partnership or other
unincorporated association, the name and
address of each member, whether active
or inactive, shall be set forth, and if
one or more partners are corporations,
the names, addresses and occupations of
such corporation's officers, directors
and major stockholders shall also be
stated.
(b) A list of all other cable television
systems, if any, in which the applicant
(or any partner or major stockholder of
applicant) has a substantial interest,
stating the location, approximate number
of homes served, and the name and address
of the local licensing body.
(c) A thorough description of the proposed cable
television system to be installed and operate
the same; and the extent and manner in which
existing or future poles or other facilities
of public utility companies will be used in
the proposed system, together with a map or
maps delineating proposed service areas if
the applicant proposes to serve less than the
entire City of Miami Beach.
(d) A schedule of proposed rates and charges to
all classes of subscribers for both installation
and monthly service, and a copy of the proposed
service agreement between the applicant and
its proposed subscribers.
(e) A copy of any contract which may exist between
the applicant and any public utility providing
for the use of such utility's property, such
as poles, lines or conduits.
(f) A statement setting forth all agreements and
understandings, whether written, oral, or
implied, between the applicant and any other
person with respect to the proposed license
or the proposed cable television operation.
If a license should be granted to a person
posing as a front or representative of another
undisclosed person, such license shall be
deemed void ab initio and of no force and
effect whatsoever.
(g) An estimate of the cost of constructing the
applicant's proposed system, and a financial
statement prepared in form satisfactory to
the City Commission of the City of Miami
Beach showing applicant's financial status
and its financial ability to meet these
proposed costs.
(h) A sworn statement acknowledging the
applicant's familiarity with an eligibility
under the provisions of this Ordinance
and the Rules of the FCC and its intention
to abide by the same.
(i) A certified copy of a valid license or
franchise issued to applicant by Metropolitan
Dade County.
An agreement by grantee to make available
to the City the governmental access
channel mandated by the FCC rules;
provided further that if the City determines
that the same is not sufficient for its
needs it will so notify grantee and
grantee will cooperate to seek a waiver
from the FCC in order to secure a channel
to be used exclusively by and for the
City.
(2) No application for a license shall be accepted
by the City Commission until it has published its intention
to award such a license or licenses and solicited the
filing of applications. Applications shall then be accepted
from all interested parties for a period of 15 days; but
none shall be accepted thereafter. Such notice may be
published by the City Clerk upon adoption of this Ordinance
on first reading.
(3) The City Commission shall then:
(a) specify a date, following the expiration
of the filing period, upon which all
bona fide applicants (those paying the
prescribed fee, filing complete applications,
and responding to all proper inquiries)
shall participate in a public hearing
before the Commission;
(b) specify a public place where interested
parties may inspect all such bona fide
applications.
(j)
1
(4) After hearing the evidence, opinions and
representations of all interested parties including members
of the public, the City Commission of the City of Miami
Beach shall then render a decision awarding a franchise to
one or more applicants (or rejecting all applicants if none
is found qualified) based upon its findings as to the relative
qualifications of the applicants to render satisfactory CATV
service. The Commission's decision on all applications
shall be final and conclusive.
Section 19. Renewal Procedures.
(1) A license may be renewed by the City Commission
for successive 10 year periods upon the written request of
the grantee without soliciting additional applications.
Such a renewal request shall be filed at least 6, but not
more than 18 months prior to the expiration of the licenses
and shall be accompanied by a non-refundable application fee
of $100.00. A renewal request may propose modifications in
the terms of a grantee's license which shall be considered
by the City Commission, but in any case, the City Commission
may, upon its own motion, modify the terms of a grantee's
license subject to the conditions set forth in the paragraph
(2) below.
(2) Upon receipt of a request for a renewal of a
license, the City Commission shall schedule a public hearing
on the matter, giving at least 30 days' notice of such
hearing and any license modifications proposed by either the
grantee or the City Commission hearing all of the evidence,
opinions and representations, the City Commission shall then
render a decision to renew or not to renew the grantee's
license, and if the former course is taken whether or not
its license should be modified in any way. A grantee shall
file its acceptance of a renewal license within 30 days
after it is offered by the City Commission and upon failure
to do so shall be conclusively presumed to have consented to
the expiration of its license.
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(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 television signals,
radio signals, pictures, programs or
sound within the City of Miami Beach.
(b) It shall be unlawful for any person,
firm or corporation to make or use any
unauthorized connection, whether physic-
ally, electrically, acoustically, inductively
or otherwise, with any part of a licensed
cable television system within the City
of Miami Beach 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) Violation of any of the provisions of
this section is a crime and punishable
in accordance with Section 1.8 of the
Code of the City of Miami Beach.
Section 21. Continued Use of Individual Antennas
Protected. It is not the City Commission's intention to
prohibit the erection or continued use of individual tele-
vision antennas, and no one is or will be required to receive
cable television service or connect with a cable television
system.
Section 22. Grantee May Promulgate Rules. A grantee
shall have the authority to promulgate such rules, regulations,
terms and conditions of its business as shall be reasonably
necessary to enable it to exercise its rights and perform
its services under this Ordinance and the Rules of the FCC,
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•
and to assure uninterrupted service to each and all of its
subscribers. Such rules and regulations shall not be deemed
to have the force of law.
Section 23. Delegation of Powers. Any delegable
right, power or duty of the City Commission of the City of
Miami Beach, the City Manager, or any official of the City
of Miami Beach may be transferred or delegated by resolution
to an appropriate officer, employee, or department of the
City of Miami Beach.
Section 24. Notices. Every direction, notice, or
order to be served upon a grantee shall be sent to the local
office described in Section 9 (2), supra. Every notice to
be served upon the City of Miami Beach shall be delivered,
or sent by certified mail to the City Manager at: 1700
Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach, Florida 33139. The
delivery of such notice shall be deemed to have been at the
time of receipt.
Section 25. Rights and Remedies are Cumulative. The
rights and remedies reserved to the parties by this Ordinance
are cumulative and shall not add or subtract from any other
rights or remedies which they may have with respect to the
subject matter of this Ordinance, and a waiver thereof at
any time shall not affect any other time.
Section 26. Right of City of Miami Beach to Intervene.
The City of Miami Beach hereby reserves to itself the right
to intervene in any suit, action, or proceeding involving
any provision of this Ordinance.
Section 27. Repeal. All ordinances or parts of
Ordinances in conflict herewith or inconsistent herewith are
hereby repealed, but only insofar as such ordinances may be
inconsistent or in conflict with the provisions of this
Ordinance.
Section 28. Severability. If any word, clause, phrase,
sentence, paragraph, or section of this Ordinance is held to
be invalid by a Court of competent jurisdiction, such declaration
of invalidity shall not affect any other word, clause,
phrase, sentence, paragraph or section of this Ordinance.
Section 29. Codification. It is the intent of the City
Commission that this oruinance be codified and included in
the City Code as a new chapter to the designated "Chapter
42A, Cable TV." The sections of this ordinance may be
re -numbered or re -lettered and the word "chapter" substituted
for the word "ordinance" wherever the text may so require.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 18th day of July, 1979.
MAYOR
ATTEST:
06fel
CITY CLERK
1st Reading - June 20, 1979
2nd Reading - July 18, 1979
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