Mountain View Municipal Code § 2.56 Application of article

Every franchise or privilege, whether operating under an existing franchise or not, to furnish the city and its inhabitants with transportation, communications, terminal facilities, water, light, heat, power, refrigeration, storage or any other public utility or service, or to use the public streets, ways, alleys and places, as the same may now or may hereafter exist, either separately or in connection therewith, shall be granted by the city council upon the conditions in this article provided.

(Ord. No. 175.189, 11/12/52.)

* For other provisions relating to franchises, see Article XII of the Charter.

This section shall govern the procedures for granting all cable communications system franchises, and shall supersede and pre-empt all other code sections governing the procedure for granting franchises, except Chapter 37 herein.

a. When and if the city council, in its sole discretion, determines that it is in the public interest to entertain applications for a cable communication system franchise, it shall cause public notice to be given. Such public notice shall be designed to elicit a high response from the cable communication system industry so that a maximum number of competitive applications will be received.

b. After said cable communication system franchise applications have been received and reviewed, a public hearing shall be held, after public notice, for the purpose of hearing public comment on the cable communication system franchise applications. Protests may also be received and considered at said public hearing, either in writing or verbally, concerning the granting of such a cable communication system franchise.

c. After the conclusion of said hearing, a cable communication system franchise may be awarded under terms and conditions to be determined by the city council.

d. All proceedings that have taken place in furtherance of the granting of a cable communication system franchise prior to the adoption of this ordinance conform to the procedures herein specified, and those proceedings are hereby ratified and validated.

(Ord. No. 14.81, 8/31/81.)

No clause or condition of any kind shall be inserted in any franchise or grant offered or sold under the terms of this ordinance or city Charter which shall directly or indirectly restrict free and open competition in bidding therefore, should the city council in its discretion elect to advertise for bids; and no clause or provision shall be inserted in any franchise offered for sale, which shall in anywise favor one person as against another, in bidding for the purchase thereof, should the city council in its discretion elect to so advertise for bids.

(Ord. No. 175.189, 11/12/52.)

An applicant for a franchise or privilege shall file with the city council an application, and thereupon the city council may, in its discretion, advertise the fact of the application, together with a statement that it is proposed to grant the franchise or privilege, in the official newspaper of the city.

(Ord. No. 175.189, 11/12/52.)

The advertisement shall be published once a day for ten (10) successive days, or as often during that period as the paper is published, if it is a daily newspaper. If it is a weekly newspaper, it shall be published once a week for four (4) successive weeks. In either case the full publication shall be completed not less than twenty (20) or more than thirty (30) days before any further action can be taken thereon.

The publication shall state the character of the franchise or privilege proposed to be granted, the term for which it is granted, and, if it is for a street railroad, the route to be traversed; and if the city council elected to receive bids, that such sealed bids therefor will be received up to a certain hour and day named therein, and that the successful bidder and his assigns shall during the life of the franchise pay to the city a specified percent of the gross annual receipts of the grantee arising from the use, operation, or possession of the franchise. The notice shall further state the time and place where the city council will hear protests against the granting of such franchise and for public hearings on such applications.

(Ord. No. 175.189, 11/12/52.)

The advertisement shall state that bids will be received for the franchise and that it will be awarded to the highest bidder; provided that, the city council in its discretion elects to so advertise for bids. In any event, however, such advertisement shall state that a franchise application has been filed and that a time and place has been set for a public hearing for protests against the granting of such franchise and for public hearings on such application.

In the event that the city council elects to advertise for bids, then the advertisement shall also contain a statement that the franchise will be granted to the person making the highest cash bid therefor; that at the time of the opening of the bids any responsible person present or represented may bid for the franchise or privilege a sum not less than ten (10) percent above the highest sealed bid therefor, and the bid so made may be raised not less than ten (10) percent by any other responsible bidder and the bidding may so continue until the franchise is finally granted to the highest bidder therefor in lawful money of the United States.

(Ord. No. 175.189, 11/12/52.)

Each sealed bid shall be accompanied with cash or a certified check payable to the director of finance of the city for the full amount of the bid, and no sealed bid shall be considered unless the cash or check is enclosed therewith.

(Ord. No. 175.189, 11/12/52.)

The successful bidder shall deposit at least ten (10) percent of the amount of his bid with the clerk of the city before the franchise is struck off to him. If he fails to make the deposit immediately his bid shall not be received, and, is void, and the franchise shall then and there be again offered for sale to the bidder who makes the highest cash bid therefor, subject to the same conditions as to deposit. This procedure shall be had until the franchise is granted to a bidder who makes the necessary deposit of at least ten (10) percent of the amount of his bid.

(Ord. No. 175.189, 11/12/52.)

The successful bidder shall deposit with the clerk of the city, within twenty-four (24) hours of the acceptance of his bid, the remaining ninety (90) percent of the amount thereof. If the bidder fails to deposit with the clerk the remaining ninety (90) percent of his bid within twenty-four (24) hours after its acceptance, the award to him of the franchise shall be set aside, the deposit made by him shall be forfeited and no further proceedings for a sale of the franchise shall be had unless it is readvertised and again offered for sale in the manner provided in this article.

(Ord. No. 175.189, 11/12/52.)

The successful bidder for any franchise or privilege granted under this article shall file a bond running to the city with at least two (2) good and sufficient sureties approved by the city council, in a penal sum by it prescribed and set forth in the advertisement for bids, and conditioned that such bidder shall well and truly observe, fulfill and perform each term and condition of the franchise and that in case of any breach of condition of the bond the whole amount of the penal sum therein named shall be deemed to be liquidated damages, and shall be recoverable from the principal and sureties upon the bond. The bond shall be filed with the city council within five (5) days after the franchise is awarded, and upon the filing and approval of the bond the franchise shall be granted by ordinance to the person to whom it has been granted. If the bond is not so filed, the award of the franchise shall, in the discretion of the city council, be readvertised and again offered for sale in the same manner and under the same restriction, as provided in this article.

(Ord. No. 175.189, 11/12/52.)

If the franchise is a renewal of a right already in existence, payment of the percentage of gross receipts shall begin at once upon the granting of the franchise. If the franchise is not a renewal of a right already in existence, and is for a term in excess of five (5) years, the city council may in its discretion provide that no percentage shall be paid for the first five (5) years succeeding the date of the franchise, but thereafter the percentage shall be payable annually. If payment is not made, the franchise shall be forfeited.

(Ord. No. 175.189, 11/12/52.)

* For general provision as to payment of percentage of gross receipts, see Char., Sec. 1206.