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Home My WebLink AboutORD 5410Amends ORD:4412 CITY OF RENTON,WASHINGTON ORDINANCE NO.5410 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF RENTON,WASHINGTON, AMENDING ORDINANCE NO.4412,GRANTING TO TCI SEATTLE, INC.,A FRANCHISE TO OPERATE A CABLE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM WITHIN THE CITY OF RENTON. WHEREAS,the City of Renton,Washington ("Cit)''')granted by Ordinance No.4412,a Franchise to TCI Seattle,Inc.,to provide a cable television system on August 9,1993;and WHEREAS,the Franchise was acquired through succession by Comcast of Washington IV &Comcast of California/Colorado/Washington I,Inc.("Comcast"or "Operator");and WHEREAS,the Franchise is due to expire on midnight,September 13,2008;and WHEREAS,Comcast and the City have engaged in negotiations concerning the renewal of the Franchise and other disputes and are in agreement concerning certain issues; NOW,THEREFORE,THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RENTON, WASHINGTON,DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION I.Section 2,Length of Franchise,of the Franchise Agreement embodied in Ordinance No.4412,is hereby amended to read as follows: Section 2:Length of Franchise. This Franchise shall expire on midnight,September 13,2013. SECTION II.Section 5,Future Provisions,of the Franchise Agreement embodied in Ordinance No.4412,is hereby amended by adding to it the following language at the end of the current Section 5: 1 ORDINANCE NO.5410 Technical Audit. Comcast shall annually provide to the City a certification signed by its Vice President of Engineering for the State of Washington,or other senior engineer as agreed upon by the City,certifying that its policies and procedures comply with all applicable laws and codes and that all known maintenance issues have been repaired in compliance therewith. Comcast will provide a letter confirming the following: Comcast has reviewed the Technical Review and Audit of the Comcast Cable System Serving Renton,WA (the "Technical Audit"),by CBG Communications,Inc.,dated June 2007,and further confirms that Comcast has corrected all of the performance issues and alleged City Code violations cited (including the alleged NEC and NESC code violations)in the Technical Audit. SECTION III.Section 6,Access Channels,of the Franchise Agreement embodied in Ordinance No.4412,is hereby amended by deleting the last paragraph of Section 6 and replacing it with the following language: PEG Support. Upon the effective date of this Amendment,the Operator shall pay to the City on a quarterly basis,at the same time as the franchise fee,$0.19 per subscriber per month (the "PEG Fee")from all subscribers receiving and paying for cable service.To the extent permitted by applicable law,the PEG Fee may be itemized on Subscriber billing statements.The PEG Fee shall not be treated as franchise fees for purposes of 47 U.S.C.§542 or any other purpose,and shall at 2 ORDINANCE NO.5~~O no time be offset or deducted from franchise fee payments made to the City under this franchise or applicable law. In the event any payment required by paragraph l(a)is not made on or before the required date,the Operator shall pay,during the period such unpaid amount is owed,additional compensation and interest charges computed from such due date,at an annual rate of ten percent (10%).Any interest or penalties imposed hereunder shall not be treated as franchise fees for purposes of 47 U.S.C. §542 or any other purpose,and shall at no time be offset or deducted from franchise fee payments made to the City under this franchise or applicable law. SECTION IV.Section 8,Institutional Networks,of the Franchise Agreement embodied in Ordinance No.4412,is hereby deleted.The City and Operator have entered into a separate lease agreement regarding the Institutional Network. SECTION V.The Franchise Agreement embodied in Ordinance No.4412,is hereby amended by adding a new Section 23 entitled "Competitive Equity"and to read as follows: Section 23:Competitive Equity. (a)Any franchise granted pursuant to this Chapter shall be nonexclusive and shall not preclude the City from granting other or further franchises or permits or preclude the City from using any roads,rights-of- way,streets,or other public properties or affect its jurisdiction over them or any part of them,or limit the full power of the City to make such changes,as the City shall deem necessary,including the dedication,establishment, maintenance and improvement of all new rights-of-way and thoroughfares and 3 ORDINANCE NO.5410 other public properties.The City reserves the right to grant one (1)or more additional franchises.The City shall amend a franchise,as requested by the franchisee,if it grants additional franchises or similar authorizations that contain material terms or conditions which are substantially more favorable or less burdensome to the competitive entity than the material terms and conditions herein.A word for word identical franchise or authorization for a competitive entity is not required so long as the regulatory and financial burdens on each entity are generally equivalent taking into account any difference in the number of subscribers served,the number of PEG channels and aggregate support provided,the level of fees and taxes imposed,the term of the franchise,and all other circumstances affecting the relative burdens. (b)Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary,at any time prior to the commencement of a franchisee's thirty-six (36)month renewal window provided by Section 626 of the Cable Act,that a non-wireless facilities based entity,legally authorized by state or federal law,makes available for purchase by Subscribers or customers,Cable Services or multiple channels of Video Programming within the Franchise Area without a franchise or other similar lawful authorization granted by the City,then a franchisee shall have a right to request Franchise amendments that relieve the franchisee of regulatory burdens that create a competitive disadvantage to the franchisee.In requesting amendments,the franchisee shall file a petition seeking to amend the franchise.Such petition shall:(1)indicate the presence of such wireline competitor;and (2)identify all material terms or conditions which are 4 ORDINANCE NO.5410 substantially more favorable or less burdensome to the competitive entity.The City shall act on the petition within 120 days. (c)In the event an application for a new cable television franchise is filed with the City proposing to serve the franchise area,in whole or in part, the City shall notify all existing franchisees. SECTION VI.This Amendment to the Franchise and its terms and provisions shall be accepted by Comcast by the submission of a written instrument,executed and sworn to by a corporate officer of Comcast before a Notary Public,and filed with the City Clerk within sixty (60)days after the effective date of this Ordinance.Such instrument shall evidence the unconditional acceptance of this Amendment to the Franchise and the promise to comply with and abide by all its provisions,terms and conditions. SECTION VII.This ordinance shall be effective upon its passage,approval,and thirty (30)days after publication. PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL this 15th day of September Bonnie Walton,City Clerk ,2008. APPROVED BY THE MAYOR this 15th day of September ,2008. ~~lw-_ Denis Law,Mayor 5 ORDINANCE NO.5410 Approved as to form: dtw.l .........:~(;...~ Lawrence 1.Warren,City Attorney Date of Publication:9/20/2008 (summary) ORD.1491 :9/8/08 :scr 6