Suisun City Municipal Code Art. II Grant of Franchise

It shall be unlawful for any person to construct, install, maintain or operate a cable television system in the city within any street without a franchise awarded pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.

(Ord. 607 § 2(part), 1992)

A franchise granted by the city council under the provisions of this chapter shall set forth the obligations of a grantee and shall authorize the grantee to do the following:

A. Engage in the business of providing cable television service, and such other services as may be permitted by law, to subscribers within the designated service area;

B. 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 a cable system in, on, over, under, upon, along and across streets or other public places within the designated service area;

C. Operate said franchise property for the origination, reception, transmission, amplification, and distribution of television and radio signals and for the delivery of cable services.

(Ord. 607 § 2(part), 1992)

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

(Ord. 607 § 2(part), 1992)

A. A franchise granted hereunder shall be for the term established in the franchise agreement.

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

(Ord. 607 § 2(part), 1992)

A. Grantee shall design, construct and maintain the cable television system to have the capability to pass every dwelling unit presently and hereafter constructed in the city, unless otherwise provided in the franchise agreement.

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

(Ord. 607 § 2(part), 1992)

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

(Ord. 607 § 2(part), 1992)

A. Grantor may grant any number of franchises on a city-wide or limited-area basis. Grantor may limit the number of franchises granted, based upon, but not necessarily limited to, the requirements of applicable law and specific local consideration, such as:

1. The capacity of the public rights-of-way to accommodate multiple coaxial 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 cable 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 rights-of-way.

B. Each grantee awarded a franchise to serve the entire city shall offer service to all residences in the city, in accordance with construction and service schedules mutually agreed upon between grantor and grantee, and consistent with applicable law.

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

(Ord. 607 § 2(part), 1992)

Any person desiring a cable television system franchise, or renewing a franchise, or acquiring a franchise through transfer or sale, shall file an application with the city. A nonrefundable application fee established by resolution shall accompany the application to cover all costs associated with processing and reviewing the application, including without limitation costs of administrative review, personnel costs, financial, legal and technical evaluation of the applicant, consultants (including technical and legal experts and all costs incurred by such experts), notice and publication of requirements with respect to the consideration of the application and document preparation expenses incurred by the city. In the event actual costs exceed the application fee, the selected applicant(s) shall pay the difference to the city within 30 days following receipt of an itemized statement of such costs.

(Ord. 607 § 2(part), 1992)

An application for a franchise or renewal of a franchise for a cable television system shall contain:

A. A statement as to the proposed franchise and service area;

B. Resume of prior history of applicant, including the expertise of applicant in the cable television field;

C. List of partners, general and limited, of the applicant, if a partnership, or the percentage of stock owner or controlled by each shareholder to the extent known by the corporation, if a corporation;

D. List of officers, directors and managing employees of applicant, together with a description of the background of such person;

E. The 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;

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 and service and/or system upgrade schedule;

H. Proposed public, educational or governmental access facilities;

I. Any additional information that the city reasonably deems applicable.

(Ord. 607 § 2(part), 1992)

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

B. A minimum of one public hearing shall be set prior to any franchise grant, renewal or transfer, at a time and date approved by the council. Within 30 days after the close of the final public hearing, the council shall make a decision based upon the evidence received at the hearing as to whether or not the franchise should be granted, and, if granted, subject to what conditions. The council may grant one or more franchises, or may decline to grant any franchise.

(Ord. 607 § 2(part), 1992)

Franchise renewals shall be in accordance with applicable law, including, but not necessarily limited to, the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984 and the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992. Grantor and grantee, by mutual consent, may enter into renewal negotiations at any time during the term of the franchise. Grantee shall reimburse grantor for costs associated with its renewal application as provided in Section 5.12.110.

(Ord. 607 § 2(part), 1992)

A. Grantee shall not sell, transfer, lease, assign, sublet or dispose of, in whole or in part, either by forced or involuntary sale, or by ordinary sale, contract, consolidation or otherwise, the franchise or any of the rights or privileges therein granted, without the prior written consent of the city council and then only upon such terms and conditions as may be prescribed by the council, which consent shall not be unreasonably denied or delayed. Any attempt to sell, transfer, lease, assign or otherwise dispose of the franchise without the consent of the city council shall be null and void. The granting of a security interest in any grantee assets, or any mortgage or other hypothecation, shall not be considered a transfer for the purposes of this section.

B. A change in control of grantee shall be deemed a transfer of the franchise and subject to the requirements of subsection A of this section. Change in control as used herein is not limited to change in major stockholders or partnership interests, but includes actual working control in whatever manner exercised. In the event that grantee is a corporation, prior approval of the city council shall be required where ownership or control of more than ten percent of the voting stock of 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 the city council 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 the city council as notice that a change in control of ownership of the franchise has taken place and the provisions of this section governing the consent of the city council to such change in control of ownership shall apply.

D. For the purpose of determining whether it shall consent to such sale, transfer, assignment, sublet, disposition or other change of control, grantor may inquire into the qualifications of the prospective transferee or controlling party, and grantee shall assist the city council in any such inquiry. In seeking the city council's consent to any change of ownership or control, grantee shall have the responsibility to insure that the prospective transferee or controlling party completes an application in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to grantor, which application shall include the information required under subsections A through I of Section 5.12.120 of this chapter. An application shall be submitted to the city council not less than 90 days prior to the date of transfer or change in control. The transferee or controlling party shall be required to establish that it possess the financial, legal and technical ability and qualifications to operate and maintain the system and comply with all franchise requirements for the remainder of the term of the franchise. If, after considering the application, the city council finds that such transfer is in the public interest, the council shall transfer and assign the rights and obligations of such franchise to the applicant. The consent of the grantor to such transfer shall not be unreasonably denied or delayed.

E. 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 television system, in the event of a grantee default in its financial obligations. Further, said financial institution shall also submit a plan or such operation within 30 days of assuming such control that will insure continued service and compliance with all franchise requirements during the term the financial institution exercises control over the system. The financial institution shall operate the franchise subject to the revocation provisions of Section 5.12.430 and shall not exercise control over the system for a period exceeding one year unless extended by the city council in its discretion. During said period of time the financial institution shall have the right to petition the city council to transfer the franchise to another grantee.

F. Grantee shall reimburse grantor for all grantor's reasonable processing and review expenses in connection with a transfer of the franchise or of control of the franchise, including, within limitation, costs of administrative review, personnel costs, financial, legal and technical evaluation of the proposed transferee, consultants (including technical and legal experts and all reasonable costs incurred by such experts), notice and publication costs and document and other preparation expenses, as set forth in Section 5.12.110 and the franchise agreement.

(Ord. 607 § 2(part), 1992)

A. A franchise granted hereunder shall, at the option of grantor, cease and terminate 120 days after appointment of a receiver or receivers, or trustee or trustees, to take over and conduct the business of grantee, whether in receivership, reorganization, bankruptcy or other action or proceeding, unless such receivership or trusteeship shall have been vacated prior to the expiration of said 120 days, or unless:

1. Such receivers or trustees shall have, within 120 days after their election or appointment, fully complied with all the terms and provisions of this chapter and the franchise granted pursuant hereto, and the receivership or trustees within said 120 days shall have remedied all grantee's defaults under the franchise or provided a plan or the remedy of such faults which is satisfactory to the grantor; and

2. Such receivers or trustees shall, within said 120 days, execute an agreement duly approved by the court having jurisdiction in the premises, whereby such receivers or trustees assume and agree to be bound by each and every term, provision and limitation of the franchise granted.

B. In the case of a foreclosure or other judicial sale of the franchise property, or any material part thereof, grantor may serve notice of termination upon grantee and the successful bidder at such sale, in which event the franchise granted and all rights and privileges of the grantee thereunder shall cease and terminate 30 days after service of such notice, unless:

1. Grantor shall have approved the transfer of the franchise, pursuant to Section 5.12.150; and

2. Such successful bidder shall have covenanted and agreed with grantor to assume and be bound by all terms and conditions of the franchise.

(Ord. 607 § 2(part), 1992)

A. This chapter and any franchise granted pursuant thereto shall be construed in a manner consistent with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations. Whenever the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) or Public Utilities Commission (PUC) of the state of California or any other federal or state agency shall now or hereafter exercise any paramount jurisdiction over any specific provisions of this chapter, such paramount jurisdiction shall preempt or preclude the exercise of like jurisdictions by the city. Any modification of such federal or state law shall to the extent applicable be considered a part of this chapter as of the effective date of such modification.

B. In the event that the state or federal government discontinues preemption in any area of cable communications over which it exercises paramount jurisdiction in such a manner as to allow municipal regulation, the city council may, if it so elects, adopt rules and regulations in these areas, provided that such rules and regulations shall not apply to any franchise issued pursuant to this chapter prior to the adoption of such rules and regulations to the extent they materially adversely affect such franchise by establishing additional or more stringent requirements with respect to system rebuilds; channel capacity; system design and construction; public, educational or governmental access facilities; support for any such facilities; interconnect commitments; or activation or interactive capability or institutional networks. Such new municipal rules and regulations may, however, affect existing franchises with respect to franchise renewal procedures, franchise fees, consumer protection provisions, regulation of rates, technical standards and related provisions.

C. This chapter shall apply to all franchises granted or renewed after the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter.

(Ord. 607 § 2(part), 1992)

The grantee shall establish rates for its services that shall be applied fairly and nondiscriminatorily to all subscribers in the franchise area. The grantor retains the right to institute rate regulation to the extent permitted by applicable law, and to reinstate such regulation in the event that currently preemptive deregulation ceases to exist.

(Ord. 607 § 2(part), 1992)

A. To the extent local regulations of rates is permitted under federal and state law, existing rates may be changed from time to time pursuant to this section. Failure to enforce this section by the grantor shall not amount to a waiver of its provisions.

B. If rate regulation by grantor is permitted in the future, and grantor exercises such authority, grantor may establish additional requirements for information to be provided as part of any rate change request. Grantor may require grantee to submit any information so long as the information is reasonably necessary to permit grantor to make its decision as to whether to approve the rate change in whole or in part. Grantor shall arrive at its decision within 90 days after such requested information has been received, or the request shall be deemed to be approved.

C. No rate increase shall take effect until each subscriber has received 30 days advance written notice of the rate increase and an explanation for the rate increase.

(Ord. 607 § 2(part), 1992)