Pomona Municipal Code Art. XIII Franchises

Except as provided by Federal or State law, any person or organization furnishing the City or its inhabitants with any public utility product or service, or traversing any portion of the City for the transmitting or conveying of any such product or service elsewhere, or using or occupying public streets, alleys, ways or places within the City for any purpose, shall be required by ordinance to have a franchise from the City.

The Council may grant a franchise to any person or organization, whether operating under an existing franchise or not, and may set the terms and conditions of any such grant, including the compensation to be paid to the City.

The Council may also provide the method of and procedure for the application for the granting of any such franchise and any other terms and conditions of such grants as specified in Section 1302.

(a) Before granting any franchise, the Council shall adopt a resolution declaring its intention to grant the franchise stating the name of the proposed grantee, the character of the proposed franchise, and the terms and conditions upon which it is proposed to be granted. Such resolution shall provide for a public hearing.

(b) Notice and Hearing. To achieve wide dissemination of information to residents, the Council shall publish a general summary of the proposed franchise in one (1) or more general circulation newspapers. The Council is encouraged to publish the general summary in additional media including foreign language newspapers and electronic media. The message shall include:

(1) Times and places where copies of the proposed franchise are available for inspection by the public, and

(2) Time and place, not less than ten (10) days after such publication, for a public hearing on granting the franchise.

Thereafter the franchise may be granted by ordinance on the terms and conditions specified in the resolution. Any ordinance granting a franchise shall not be adopted as an urgency ordinance to take immediate effect. Such ordinance is subject to the power of referendum as provided for elsewhere in this Charter.

Every franchise shall state the term for which it is granted, which shall not exceed ten (10) years unless approved by five-sevenths ( 5/7 ) of the total membership of the Council. If a franchise is granted for or in connection with a public utility subject to the jurisdiction, regulation and control of the State Public Utilities Commission it may be indeterminate.

Indeterminate franchises shall remain in effect until:

(a) voluntarily surrendered or abandoned,

(b) purchased,

(c) acquired through eminent domain, or

(d) forfeited due to noncompliance.

No franchise, or grant of a franchise, shall in any way, or to any extent, impair or affect the right of the City to acquire the property of the possessor by purchase or condemnation, and nothing therein contained shall be construed to contract away or to modify or abridge, either for a term or in perpetuity, the City's right of eminent domain with respect to the property of the possessor of any franchise. Every franchise granted by the City is granted upon the condition, whether expressed in the grant or not, that such franchise shall not be given any value before any court or other public authority in any proceeding of any character in excess of any amount actually paid by the grantee to the City at the time of the grant.

In connection with the establishment, operation or maintenance by the City of any fire, police, or other alarm, telephone or other communication system, the City shall have the right to use poles placed in the streets by any public utility company, whether or not such right has been expressly set forth and reserved in the franchise of such company.