REGULATION OF FRANCHISE

Charlotte City Code ch. 6, art. II, div. 3

in effect

Charlotte City Code § 6-86 Regulatory authority.

Sec. 6-86. - Regulatory authority. (a) The city may exercise appropriate regulatory authority under this article and applicable law. This authority shall be vested in the council and administered through the city manager or his designee in order to provide day-to-day administration of this article and any franchise granted under this article. (b) Notwithstanding any other section of this article to the contrary, the grantee shall at all times comply with all applicable laws and regulations of the local, state and federal government. If any actions of the state or federal government or any agency thereof, or any court of competent jurisdiction upon final adjudication, substantially reduce in any way the power or authority of the city under this article or the franchise or if, in compliance with any local, state or federal law or regulation, the grantee finds conflict with the terms of this article, the franchise, or any law or regulation of the city, as soon as possible following knowledge thereof, the grantee shall notify the city of the point of conflict believed to exist between such law or regulation and the laws or regulations of the city, this article and the franchise. The city shall have the right to modify any section of this article to such reasonable extent as may be necessary to carry out the intent and purpose of this article. (c) The city reserves the right to exercise the maximum plenary authority, as may at any time be lawfully permissible, to regulate the cable communications system, the franchise and the grantee. Should applicable legislative, judicial or regulatory authorities at any time permit regulation not presently permitted to the city, the city may, without the approval of the grantee, legislate any such additional regulation as may then be permissible, whether or not contemplated by this article. (Code 1985, § 6-66; Ord. No. 8194, § 1, 12-19-2016; Ord. No. 8195, § 1, 12-21-2016)

Charlotte City Code § 6-87 City's responsibilities and functions.

Sec. 6-87. - City's responsibilities and functions. (a) The city shall have the following regulatory responsibility pursuant to this article: (1) Administration and enforcement of this article and any franchise granted under this article. (2) Award the renewal, extension or termination of a franchise pursuant to this article, the franchise, and other applicable law. (3) Consent prior to the sale or transfer of any franchise granted under this article. (4) Performance evaluations pursuant to this article and the franchise. (b) The city also reserves the right to perform the following functions: (1) Develop objectives and coordinate activities related to the operation of government channels. (2) Provide technical, programming and operational support to public agency users such as city departments, schools and health care institutions. (3) Coordinate plans for interconnection of cable services. (4) Analyze the possibility of integrating cable communications with other city, state or regional telecommunications networks. (5) Formulate and recommend long-range telecommunications policy for the city and provide for the determination of future cable-related needs and interests of the community. (6) Provide the administrative effort necessary for the conduct of performance evaluations pursuant to this article and the franchise, and any other activities required for the administration of the franchise. (7) Monitor the grantee's process for handling citizen complaints and periodically inspect and analyze the records related to such complaints. (8) Monitor the grantee's adherence to operational procedures and line-extension policies. (9) Ensure compliance with applicable laws and ordinances. (10) Arrange tests and analyses of equipment and performance, pursuant to this article and the franchise, to ensure compliance with this article and the franchise. (11) Provide for reasonable continuity in service. (12) Receive for examination all data and reports required by this article. (Code 1985, § 6-67; Ord. No. 8194, § 1, 12-19-2016; Ord. No. 8195, § 1, 12-21-2016)

Charlotte City Code § 6-88 Rates and charges.

Sec. 6-88. - Rates and charges. (a) The city may regulate basic cable service tier rates and related equipment, installation and service charges of any cable television system operating in the city under the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992. In its regulation of rates, the city will follow the Federal Communications Commission regulations, notwithstanding any different or inconsistent provisions in the franchise. (b) In connection with such rate regulation, the city shall ensure a reasonable opportunity for consideration of the views of interested parties. (c) The city manager, or his designee, is authorized to execute on behalf of the city and file with the Federal Communications Commission such certification forms or other instruments as are or may be required by the Federal Communications Commission rate regulations in order to enable the city to regulate basic service rates and charges. (d) The grantee shall file with the city schedules which shall describe all services offered, all rates and charges of any kind, and all terms and conditions relating thereto. (Code 1985, § 6-68; Ord. No. 8194, § 1, 12-19-2016; Ord. No. 8195, § 1, 12-21-2016)

Charlotte City Code § 6-89 Performance evaluations.

Sec. 6-89. - Performance evaluations. (a) The city and the grantee shall, at the discretion of the city, hold scheduled performance evaluation sessions every third year during the term of the cable communications system franchise. (b) Special evaluation sessions may be held at any time during the term of the franchise at the request of the city. (c) All evaluation sessions shall be open to the public and announced in a newspaper of general circulation in accordance with public notice, as provided in section 6-199. The grantee shall notify subscribers of all such evaluation sessions by announcement on the designated local-origination channel on the system at such various times and frequencies so as to ensure comprehension between the hours of 11:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. for five consecutive days preceding each session. (d) Topics which may be discussed at any scheduled or special evaluation session may include, but not be limited to, system performance, grantee compliance with this article and the franchise, customer service and complaint response, subscriber privacy, franchise fees, penalties, applications of new technologies, judicial and Federal Communications Commission filings, and line extensions. (e) During the review and evaluation by the city, the grantee shall cooperate with the city and shall provide such information and documents as the city may need to reasonably perform its review. (Code 1985, § 6-69; Ord. No. 8194, § 1, 12-19-2016; Ord. No. 8195, § 1, 12-21-2016)

Charlotte City Code § 6-90 Schedule of liquidated damages.

Sec. 6-90. - Schedule of liquidated damages. (a) For the willful violation of any of the following, the city shall notify the grantee in writing of the violation, and the grantee shall be allowed 30 days, or such greater amount of time as the city may specify, to correct such violation. Such undisputed liquidated damages shall be chargeable, to the extent available, to the security fund and performance bond if not tendered by the grantee within such period of time. These liquidated damages shall be in addition to and not a limitation upon the other penal sections of this article, including penalties or revocation, or other statutorily or judicially imposed penalties. No decision by the city to invoke any remedy under this article, the franchise agreement, or any statute, law or ordinance, shall preclude the availability of any other such remedy. Penalties for violations shall be as follows: (1) Failure to render payment of the reimbursement of the city's franchise expenses, franchise fee or penalty payments: $500.00 per day from the time due until paid. (2) Failure to file annual reports: $100.00 per day from the time due until paid. (3) Failure to complete system construction: $1,000.00 per day from the time due until paid. (4) Failure to provide access equipment, facilities or services: $500.00 per day from the time due until paid. (b) The city retains the right, at its sole option, to reduce or waive any of the penalties listed in subsection (a) of this section where extenuating circumstances or conditions beyond the control of the grantee are deemed to exist. The city manager or his designee shall determine the city's willingness to reduce or waive any of such penalties. (Code 1985, § 6-70; Ord. No. 8194, § 1, 12-19-2016; Ord. No. 8195, § 1, 12-21-2016)

Source: City of Charlotte, Code of Ordinances and City Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/nc/charlotte/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICOOR_CH6BUTR_ARTIICACO_DIV3REFRFetched: 10/27/2026