Agoura Hills Municipal Code Part 2 Application for and Granting of Franchises

Any person desiring a franchise or franchise renewal for a cable television system shall file an application with the city. A nonrefundable application fee established by the city shall accompany the application or renewal application to cover all costs associated with processing and reviewing the application, including without limitation costs of administrative review, financial, legal and technical evaluation of the applicant, consultants (including technical and legal experts and all costs incurred by such experts), notice and publication requirements with respect to consideration of the application, and document preparation expenses. In the event such costs exceed the application fee, applicant shall pay the difference to the city within thirty (30) days following receipt of an itemized statement of such costs from the city. In the event such application fee exceeds the amount of such costs, the city shall refund the amount of the excess to the applicant within thirty (30) days following completion of the proceedings relating to such application.

(Ord. No. 198, § 1, 10-9-91)

An application for a franchise or for transfer of a cable television system shall contain, where applicable:

(a) Designation of specific area to be served by the franchise;

(b) Resume of prior history of applicant, including expertise of applicant in the cable television field;

(c) List of partners, general and limited, if applicant is a partnership, and a list of persons and/or entities involved if applicant is a joint venture;

(d) List of names and addresses of stockholders of applicant and percentage of stock owned or controlled by each shareholder. List shall include all persons having a legal or equitable interest in five (5) percent or more of its voting stock;

(e) List of officers, directors, and managing employees of applicant, together with a description of education and business background of each such person;

(f) A current financial statement of applicant verified by a CPA audit or otherwise certified to be true, complete, and correct to the reasonable satisfaction of the city.

(g) Proposed construction schedule, providing for at least thirty-three and one-third (33⅓) percent construction per year for three (3) years;

(h) Street map of area to be served showing the location of proposed or existing head-end site (antenna site) and business office;

(i) Legal description of area to be served;

(j) Proposed rates and charges to be charged subscribers;

(k) Itemized electronic equipment to be used, channels to be provided, pay T.V. or additional services, and type of converter;

(l) Technical market survey of area and economic analysis including number of homes, population, income bracket, and percent of those requesting and those projected or estimated to request service, if available;

(m) Names and addresses of any parent or subsidiary of applicant or any other business entity owning or controlling applicant in whole or in part, or owned or controlled in whole or in part by applicant;

(n) A signed statement by an officer indicating whether any principal, officer, director, or managing employee:

(1) Has ever been convicted or held liable for acts involving moral turpitude (including, but not limited to, charges sustained before any federal or state agency, or violation of any tax or securities law), or is presently under any indictment, investigation, or complaint charging any such acts;

(2) Has ever had a judgment in an action for fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation entered against it, her, him, or them by any court of competent jurisdiction; or

(3) Has pending any legal claim, lawsuit, or administrative proceeding arising out of or involving a cable television system.

(o) Any reasonable additional requirements or information that the city deems to be applicable.

(Ord. No. 198, § 1, 10-9-91)

(a) If an applicant proposes to serve an area which an existing grantee is authorized to serve, that applicant shall present additional information to assist grantor in evaluating effects of an additional cable television operator. Such information shall include:

(1) Capacity of streets and public rights-of-way to accommodate an additional cable system, as well as present and future users;

(2) The economic impact on quality and extent of cable service within the franchise area, including the experiences of other communities with duplicate cable television facilities;

(3) Extent and frequency of potential disruption to existing users of streets and public rights-of-way, including utility services and vehicular traffic, impact on private property rights, and impact on public convenience;

(4) Ability of grantor to regulate multiple grantees, including grantor's permitting process and ability to locate and determine the owner of facilities and equipment readily;

(5) Aesthetic consequences of duplicate facilities;

(6) The extent of installation of facilities and equipment of existing cable operators detailing the per-strand-mile density of such, location of facilities and equipment of existing operators, and proposed location of facilities and equipment of applicant;

(7) The extent to which existing grantees are meeting and applicant proposes to meet cable-related community needs and interests, and the public need for an additional grantee;

(8) The financial ability of applicant to perform, including detailed economic and financial information and assumptions of the applicant; and

(9) Such other societal interests as may be relevant to cable television franchising.

(b) The application shall be submitted with proof of service of a copy of this application upon each other grantee then holding a franchise in the city.

(c) Grantor shall provide all existing grantees with an opportunity to submit objections or requests for clarification of an application which affects such existing grantees and with an opportunity to be heard and to make presentations pertaining to such application during a public hearing.

(d) In evaluating an application, grantor shall consider the applicant's legal, financial, technical, and other qualifications, adequacy of the proposed system, the applicant's interest in obtaining a franchise, the public's interest in receiving competitive cable services, and all other factors identified in subsection (a) of this section and in section 6910 of this chapter. Grantor shall investigate and balance competing interests. An overlapping franchise shall be granted only when, by the balance of interests, public welfare will be enhanced.

(e) A grantee of an overlapping franchise shall be required to indemnify and hold harmless all prior grantees from and against all costs and expenses incurred in strengthening poles, replacing poles, rearranging attachments, placing underground facilities and all other costs, including without limitation those of existing grantees, grantor, and utilities, incident to inspections, makeready, and construction of an additional cable television system in the franchise area.

(Ord. No. 198, § 1, 10-9-91)

Council may, by advertisement or any other means, solicit and call for applications for cable television system franchises, and may determine and fix any date upon or after which the same shall be received by the city, or the date before which the same must be received, or the date after which the same shall not be received, and may make any other determinations and specify any other times, terms, conditions, or limitations respecting soliciting, calling for, making, and receiving of such applications.

Upon receipt of any application for a franchise, council shall refer the same to the city manager, who shall prepare a report and make recommendations respecting such application.

The city clerk shall set applications for hearing at a time and date approved by the city council.

(Ord. No. 198, § 1, 10-9-91)

Not less than fifteen (15) days before the hearing, the city clerk shall notify applicant in writing of the time, date, and place of hearing. The city clerk shall serve such notice upon applicant either by first-class mail, postage prepaid, or by personal delivery thereof to the applicant.

(Ord. No. 198, § 1, 10-9-91)

The city clerk shall cause a notice to be posted in three (3) places within the area to be served stating the time, date, and place of a hearing not less than fifteen (15) days prior to that hearing. The city clerk shall also cause to be published in a newspaper of general circulation circulated within the area to be served and pursuant to Section 6063 of the Government Code the same notice as is required to be posted.

(Ord. No. 198, § 1, 10-9-91)

Any time after the filing of an application as provided in this chapter and prior to the hearing thereon, any interested person may file with the city clerk written comments, protests, and/or suggestions, either for or against granting the franchise, or to suggest any terms and conditions which should be included in the franchise.

(Ord. No. 198, § 1, 10-9-91)

At the time and place set for the hearing or at the time and place to which the hearing may be continued by council, council shall hear applicant, who may present any relevant evidence to show why the franchise should be granted, why certain terms or conditions should be imposed or not imposed on such franchise if granted, and shall also hear testimony or statements of other persons who may attend the hearing.

(Ord. No. 198, § 1, 10-9-91)

Within thirty (30) days after close of the hearing, council shall decide, based upon the evidence received at the hearing, whether or not the application should be granted, and if granted, subject to what conditions. Council may grant one (1) or more franchises, or may decline to grant any franchise. Council shall send a copy of its decision to the applicant.

(Ord. No. 198, § 1, 10-9-91)