City may leave public cable TV group

The Huntington Beach City Council voted Monday night to consider getting out of the Public Cable Television Authority.

Slowly. Or maybe not at all.

The council voted 7-0 in favor of a resolution setting the stage for a possible withdrawal from the PCTA – composed currently of the cities of Fountain Valley, Stanton and Westminster, as well as Huntington Beach – and direct the city manager to return with a plan to make the break and then transition to a city-run cable television channel. Proponents of the proposal were council members Lyn Semeta and Patrick Brenden.

Representatives from PCTA were at the meeting and indicated their willingness to meet with the city in an effort to keep the organization intact.

The PCTA, founded in the mid-Seventies, is headquartered in Fountain Valley. It was created to provide local programming for area communities as cable TV was introduced to Orange County.

Also on Monday night, the council:

• approved on second and final reading an ordinance banning “shared mobility” vehicles – such as scooters and bicycles – and businesses from the city;
• approved an ordinance formally establishing a jet noise commission;
• deferred – on a 5-2 vote – until the next fiscal year discussion on a proposal to add a senior deputy city attorney to investigate and prosecute “illicit, unlicensed, and/or in-home businesses,” included short-term rentals. The proposed new position would cost an estimated $222,800.

The next council meeting is set for Nov. 19.