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Home My WebLink About17-07 Urgency Ordinance, PEG feeORDINANCE NO. 17-07 AN URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COSTA MESA, CALIFORNIA, REAUTHORIZING THE PUBLIC, EDUCATIONAL, AND GOVERNMENTAL FEE ON STATE VIDEO FRANCHISEES OPERATING WITHIN THE CITY OF COSTA MESA WHEREAS, Section 5870(n) of the California Public Utilities Code ("Section 5870(n)") was enacted as part of the Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act of 2006 and authorized the City of Costa Mesa ("City") to adopt an ordinance establishing a fee on state -franchised video service providers to support public, educational, and governmental ("PEG") channel facilities; and WHEREAS, on December 4, 2007, the City adopted Ordinance No. 07-20, establishing a one percent (1 %) fee for the support of PEG channel facilities and activities within the City ("PEG Fee"), which is codified in Section 19-17 of the Costa Mesa Municipal Code; and WHEREAS, Ordinance No. 07-20 has never been repealed and did not include any expiration date, but was intended to apply to and regulate all current and future franchisees, through 2017 and beyond; and WHEREAS, Section 5870(n) states that such ordinance shall expire, and may be reauthorized, upon the expiration of the state franchise, and therefore it could be argued that the City's ordinance has lapsed; and WHEREAS, Pacific Telephone Company d/b/a SBC Pacific Telephone Company d/b/a AT&T California operates within the City under a state video franchise that expired on March 30, 2017 and was renewed as of the same date ("AT&T Franchise"); and WHEREAS, Time Warner Cable LLC d/b/a Time Warner Cable, now known as Spectrum, operates within the City under a state video franchise that is set to expire on or about January 2, 2018 ("Spectrum Franchise'); and WHEREAS, the City Council desires to expressly reauthorize the PEG Fee codified in Section 19-17 of the Costa Mesa Municipal Code, which fee shall remain unchanged and in full effect as to all state -franchised video service providers operating within the City, including but not limited to, the AT&T Franchise and the Spectrum Franchise, and to further provide for automatic reauthorization of the PEG Fee upon the expiration of future video franchises held by state -franchised video service providers operating within the City. Ordinance No. 17-07 Page 1 of 4 NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COSTA MESA DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Urgency Findings. The City Council finds and declares as follows: The adoption of this Urgency Ordinance is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety. Currently, the City depends upon the PEG Fee to support PEG access channel facilities, which are essential to providing City residents with important civic programming, including emergency alerts and community and government news. The City was only recently made aware that the AT&T Franchise expired on March 30, 2017, thus potentially requiring reauthorization of the City's PEG Fee pursuant to Public Utilities Code section 5870(n). Because the expiration date for the AT&T Franchise has passed, the City arguably faces a lapse in PEG funding from the AT&T Franchise until the City reauthorizes the PEG Fee. If the City's PEG Fee is not reauthorized immediately, the City may lose funding for its PEG programming facilities. Any loss of funding would jeopardize a trustworthy, reliable and immediate means by which the City communicates with its residents. Any lapse in funding may also lead to confusion among state video franchisees operating within the City regarding the payment of the PEG Fee, leading the City to incur additional costs to recover any overdue fees. Therefore, the City Council finds and determines that the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety requires that this Ordinance be enacted as an urgency ordinance pursuant to Government Code section 36937(b) and take effect immediately upon adoption. If this Ordinance does not become effective immediately, but instead becomes effective thirty (30) days after its second reading, funding for City PEG facilities could lapse, causing residents who rely on PEG channels for emergency broadcasts and news updates to lose a vital source of City information. Based on the foregoing, the City Council declares this Ordinance is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety. SECTION 2. Reauthorization. The City's PEG Fee imposed in Section 19-17 of the Costa Mesa Municipal Code is reauthorized to the extent required by California Public Utilities Code section 5870(n). All state -franchised video service providers operating within the City, including but not limited to those operating pursuant to the AT&T Franchise and the Spectrum Franchise, shall continue to be subject to the PEG Fee required by Section 19-17 of the Costa Mesa Municipal Code, which fee shall remain unchanged and in full effect as to all state -franchised video service providers operating within the City. SECTION 3. Automatic Reauthorization. Commencing from, and after, the effective date of this Ordinance, the City's PEG fee set forth in Section 19-17 of the Costa Mesa Municipal Code shall continue to apply to any new or existing franchisee operating in the City and shall automatically be reauthorized upon the expiration of any existing or future state video franchise(s) held by any state -franchised video service provider operating within the City. This Ordinance shall so renew until such time that the City Council takes formal affirmative action to cease the renewals. Ordinance No. 17-07 Page 2 of 4 SECTION 4. Compliance with CEQA. Adoption of this Ordinance is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA") under CEQA Guidelines section 15061(b)(3) because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the Ordinance may have a significant effect on the environment. SECTION 5. Inconsistencies. Any provision of the Costa Mesa Municipal Code or appendices thereto inconsistent with the provisions of this Ordinance, to the extent of such inconsistencies and no further, is hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary to effect the provisions of this Ordinance. SECTION 6. Severability. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council of the City of Costa Mesa hereby declares that it would have adopted this Ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, phrases or portions be declared invalid or unconstitutional. SECTION 7. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall become effective immediately. SECTION 8. Certification. The City Clerk shall certify to the passage and adoption of this Ordinance and shall cause the same to be published or posted in the manner required by law. PASSED AND ADOPTED this 18th day of April, 2017. ATTEST: FIM# i 5 101 a :131 M VAN 1111 i� ?VEd AS O FORM: s Duarte, City Attorney Ordinance No. 17-07 Page 3 of 4 STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF ORANGE ) ss CITY OF COSTA MESA ) I, BRENDA GREEN, City Clerk of the City of Costa Mesa, do hereby certify that the foregoing urgency ordinance was introduced and adopted by the City Council of the City of Costa Mesa at a regular meeting held on the 18th day of April, 2017, by the following roll call vote, to wit: AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Mansoor, Righeimer, Stephens, Genis, Foley NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereby set my hand and affixed the seal of the City of Costa Mesa this 19th day of April, 2017. BRENDA GREEN, CITY CLERK Ordinance No. 17-07 Page 4 of 4