Moorpark Municipal Code Art. IV Franchise Terms and Conditions

A franchise granted by the city under the provisions of this chapter shall encompass the following purposes:

A. To permit the grantee to engage in the business of providing cable service, to subscribers within the designated service area;

B. To permit the grantee to erect, install, construct, repair, rebuild, reconstruct, replace, maintain and retain, cable lines, related electronic equipment, supporting structures, appurtenances, and other property in connection with the operation of the cable system in, on, over, under, upon, along and across streets or other public places within the designated service area;

C. To permit the grantee to maintain and operate said franchise properties for the origination, reception, transmission, amplification, and distribution of television and radio signals and for the delivery of cable services, and such other services as may be permitted by law;

D. To set forth the obligations of the grantee under the franchise.

(Ord. 303 § 1, 2004; Ord. 316 § 1 Exh. A, 2005)

After the effective date of this chapter, it shall be unlawful for any person to construct, install or operate a cable system in the city within any public way without a properly granted franchise awarded pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.

(Ord. 303 § 1, 2004; Ord. 316 § 1 Exh. A, 2005)

A. A franchise granted hereunder shall be for a term established in the franchise agreement, commencing on the grantor's adoption of an ordinance or resolution authorizing the franchise.

B. A franchise granted hereunder may be renewed upon application by the grantee pursuant to the provisions of applicable state and federal law.

(Ord. 303 § 1, 2004; Ord. 316 § 1 Exh. A, 2005)

Any franchise shall be valid within all the municipal limits of the city, and within any area added to the city during the term of the franchise, unless otherwise specified in the franchise agreement.

(Ord. 303 § 1, 2004; Ord. 316 § 1 Exh. A, 2005)

This chapter shall be construed in a manner consistent with all applicable federal and state laws, and shall apply to all franchises granted or renewed after the effective date of this chapter to the extent permitted by applicable law.

(Ord. 303 § 1, 2004; Ord. 316 § 1 Exh. A, 2005)

A. Grantee shall not sell, transfer, lease, assign or dispose of, in whole or in part, either by forced or involuntary sale, or by ordinary sale, contract, consolidation or otherwise (collectively "transfer"), the franchise or any of the rights or privileges therein granted, without the prior consent of the council; provided, however, that the prior written consent of the council shall not be required for an intracorporate or intracompany transfer from one subsidiary of grantee's ultimate parent to another subsidiary in which grantee's ultimate parent retains at least a 75% interest. The granting of a security interest in any grantee assets, or any mortgage or other hypothecation or by assignment of any right, title or interest in the cable system, or use of the cable system as collateral in order to secure indebtedness, shall not be considered a transfer for the purposes of this section.

B. The requirements of subsection A of this section shall apply to any change in control of grantee. The word "control" as used in this section includes majority ownership and actual working control in whatever manner exercised. In the event that grantee is a corporation, prior consent of the council shall be required where ownership or control of more than 25% of the voting stock of the grantee is acquired by a person or group of persons acting in concert, none of whom own or control the voting stock of the grantee as of the effective date of the franchise, singularly or collectively.

C. Grantee shall notify grantor in writing of any foreclosure or any other judicial sale of all or a substantial part of the franchise property of the grantee or upon the termination of any lease or interest covering all or a substantial part of said franchise property. Such notification shall be considered by grantor as notice that a change in control or ownership of the franchise has taken place and the provisions under this section governing the consent of grantor to such change in control or ownership shall apply.

D. Grantor may require grantee, or any prospective transferee, to provide additional information as it may deem necessary to determine whether the transfer is in the public interest and should be approved, denied or conditioned. Grantee and any prospective transferees shall assist grantor in any such inquiry and provide information requested. Failure to do so may result in the request for transfer being denied.

E. In determining whether to grant, deny or grant subject to conditions, an application for a transfer of a franchise, grantor's consideration may include, but is not necessarily limited to:

1. The legal, financial and technical qualifications of the transferee to operate the cable system:

2. Any potential impact of the transfer on subscriber rates or services;

3. Whether the incumbent grantee is in compliance with its franchise and applicable law and, if not, the proposed transferee's commitment to cure such noncompliance;

4. Whether the transferee owns or controls any other cable system in the service area and whether operation by the transferee may eliminate or reduce competition in the delivery of the cable service in the service area; and

5. Whether operation by the transferee or approval of the transfer would adversely affect subscribers, the public or grantor's interest in the cable franchise or applicable law.

F. Any transfer without grantor's prior written approval is ineffective, and shall make a franchise subject to revocation and to any other remedies available under the franchise or applicable law, except where a request for approval or sale is subject to a deadline for action under 47 U.S.C. 537 and grantor fails to act by the time required under 47 U.S.C. 537.

G. Grantor shall not approve a transfer request unless the transferee agrees in writing that it will abide by and accept all terms of the cable franchise grant and applicable law and that the transferee will assume the obligations, liabilities and responsibility for all acts and omissions of the previous grantee under the franchise grant and applicable law for all purposes, including renewal, unless grantor, in its sole discretion, expressly waives this requirement in whole or in part.

H. Any financial institution having a pledge of the grantee or its assets for the advancement of money for the construction and/or operation of the franchise shall have the right to notify the grantor that it or its designee satisfactory to the grantor shall take control of and operate the cable system, in the event of a grantee default of its financial obligations. Further, the financial institution shall also agree in writing to continue cable service and comply with all franchise requirements during the term the financial institution exercises control over the system.

I. Any submission of an application for transfer of a franchise shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable processing deposit in the amount of $3,000. Prior to the city council action on the transfer request, grantee shall reimburse grantor for grantor's reasonable processing and review expenses in connection with the transfer of the franchise including without limitation, costs of administrative review, financial, legal and technical evaluation of the proposed transferee, consultants (including technical and legal experts and all costs incurred by such experts), notice and publication costs and document preparation expenses, as specified in any franchise agreement. Any such reimbursement shall not be charged against any franchise fee due to grantor during the term of the franchise.

J. Approval by the grantor of a transfer application does not constitute a waiver or release of any rights of the city under this chapter or a franchise agreement, whether arising before or after the date of the transfer.

(Ord. 303 § 1, 2004; Ord. 316 § 1 Exh. A, 2005)

A. Grantee shall design, construct and maintain the cable system to have the capability to pass every residential dwelling unit in the service area, subject to any service area line extension requirements of the franchise agreement.

B. After service has been established by activating trunk and/or distribution cables for any service area, grantee shall provide service to any requesting subscriber within that service area within 30 days from the date of request, provided that the grantee is able to secure all rights-of-way, permits and landlord agreements necessary to extend service to such subscriber within such 30 day period on reasonable terms and conditions.

(Ord. 303 § 1, 2004; Ord. 316 § 1 Exh. A, 2005)

Any franchise granted pursuant to this chapter shall be nonexclusive. The grantor specifically reserves the right to grant, at any time, such additional franchises for a cable system, as it deems appropriate, subject to applicable state and federal law.

(Ord. 303 § 1, 2004; Ord. 316 § 1 Exh. A, 2005)

A. Grantor may grant any number of franchises subject to applicable state or federal law. Grantor may limit the number of franchises granted, based upon, but not necessarily limited to, the requirements of applicable law and specific local considerations, such as:

1. The capacity of the public rights-of-way to accommodate multiple cables in addition to the cables, conduits and pipes of the utility systems, such as electrical power, telephone, gas and sewerage;

2. The benefits that may accrue to subscribers as a result of cable system competition, such as lower rates and improved service;

3. The disadvantages that may result from cable system competition, such as the requirement for multiple pedestals on residents' property, and the disruption arising from numerous excavations of the public rights-of-way.

B. Grantor may require that any new entrant, nonincumbent grantee be responsible for its own underground trenching and the costs associated therewith, if, in grantor's opinion, the public rights-of-way in any particular area cannot feasibly and reasonably accommodate additional cables.

(Ord. 303 § 1, 2004; Ord. 316 § 1 Exh. A, 2005)

The grantee may be required to pay any reasonable costs incurred by the grantor in processing a grantee request for franchise modification. Such costs may include the reasonable costs incurred for hiring consultants to assist in evaluating the request. Upon written request from the grantee, the grantor shall provide grantee with an estimate of the total processing costs prior to entering into the review of the request. If grantor and grantee fail to agree on the amount of said costs to be incurred by grantor and reimbursed by grantee, grantee shall withdraw its request for franchise modification. Such costs shall be paid by the grantee prior to final consideration of the request by the grantor.

(Ord. 303 § 1, 2004; Ord. 316 § 1 Exh. A, 2005)