West Sacramento Municipal Code Art. II Procedures

A. This title itself grants no authority to operate a cable communications system to any person. Such grants are only made by the adoption of a separate ordinance awarding a specific franchise to an applicant who has complied with the provisions of this title.

B. Any person, corporation or other legal entity may apply to the city for a cable communications franchise by submitting an application pursuant to Section 4.08.150 and by otherwise complying with the terms of this title. Such application may be made at any time, either in response to a request for proposals or any other time.

(County code § 11-1.601; Ord. 88-18 §§ 1, 2)

A. The city council, by advertisement or otherwise, may solicit for any other applications for cable communications system franchises and may determine and fix the date upon or after which the applications shall be received by the city or the date before which the applications shall not be received, and may make any other determinations and specify any other times, terms, conditions, or limitations respecting the soliciting, calling for, making and receiving of such applications.

B. Each application for a franchise to construct, operate or maintain any cable communications system in the city shall be filed with the city clerk and shall contain or be accompanied by the following minimum information:

1. The name, address and telephone number of the applicant;

2. A detailed statement of the corporate or other business entity organization of the applicant, including, but not limited to, the following and to whatever extent required by the city:

a. The names and residence and business addresses of all officers, directors, and associates of the applicant,

b. The names and residence and business addresses of all officers, persons and entities having control of one percent or more of the ownership of the applicant and the respective ownership share of each such person or entity,

c. The names and addresses of any parent or subsidiary of the applicant, namely, any other business entity owning or controlling the applicant in whole or in part and controlled in whole or in part by the applicant, and a statement describing the nature of any such parent or subsidiary business entity, including, but not limited to, cable communications systems owned or controlled by the applicant and its parent and subsidiary and the areas served thereby,

d. A detailed description of all previous experience of the applicant in providing cable communications system services in related or similar fields,

e. A detailed and complete financial statement of the applicant, and

f. A statement identifying, by place and date, any and all cable communication franchises awarded to the applicant, or its parent or subsidiary; the status of such franchises with respect to the completion thereof; the total cost of completion to such systems; and the amount of the applicant's, and its parent's or subsidiary's, resources committed to the completion thereof;

3. A thorough, detailed description of the proposed cable communications system and a plan of operation of the applicant which shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

a. A detailed map indicating all areas proposed to be served and a proposed time schedule for the installation of all equipment necessary to become operational throughout the entire area to be served,

b. A detailed, informative and referenced statement describing the actual equipment and operational standards proposed by the applicant. In no event shall such operational and performance standards be less than those adopted by the rules and regulations of the Federal Communications Commission (contained in Title 47, Subpart K, Sections 76.601, et seq., and as augmented by this chapter and modified by the franchise awarded,

c. A detailed estimate of the cost of constructing the applicant's proposed system,

d. A copy of the form of any agreement, undertaking or other instrument proposed to be entered into between the applicant and any subscriber,

e. A detailed statement setting forth in its entirety any and all agreements and undertakings, whether formal or informal, written, oral or implied, existing or proposed to exist between the applicant and any person, firm or corporation which materially relate or pertain to or depend upon the application and the granting of the franchise, and

f. A statement or schedule setting forth all proposed classifications of rates and charges to be made against subscribers and all rates and charges as to each of such classifications, including installation charges and service charges;

4. A copy of any agreement existing between the applicant and any public utility subject to regulation by the Public Utilities Commission of the state providing for the use of any facilities of the public utility, including, but not limited to, poles, lines, or conduits, within the city's incorporated area and/or adjacent area;

5. Any other details, statements, information or references pertinent to the subject matter of such application which shall be required or requested by the city council or by any provision of any other law of the city; and

6. An initial application fee in the amount of ten thousand dollars which shall be in the form of cash, certified or cashier's check, or money order, to pay the initial cost of studying, investigating and otherwise processing such application, and which shall be in consideration thereof and not returnable or refundable in whole, or in part, except to the extent such fee exceeds the actual costs incurred by the city in studying, investigating and otherwise processing the application. Applicant shall pay such further funds as may be necessary if the city's costs exceed the initial application fee.

C. Upon the receipt of any application for a franchise, the city council shall refer the application to the city manager or expert or cable communications advisory committee, if such exists, who shall prepare a report and make recommendations respecting such application and cause such report and recommendations to be completed and filed with the city council within one hundred twenty days.

D. In making the determinations hereunder as to any application, the city council shall give due consideration to the character and quality of the service proposed, rates to subscribers, income to the city, experience, character, background and financial responsibility of any applicant and its management and owners, technical and performance quality of equipment, willingness and ability to meet construction and physical requirements and to abide by policy conditions, franchise limitations and requirements, and any other considerations deemed pertinent by the city council for safeguarding the interests of the city and the public. The city council, in its sole discretion, shall determine the award of any franchise on the basis of such considerations and without competitive bidding.

E. If the city council, after public hearings, determines to reject an application, such determination shall be final and conclusive, and the application shall be rejected.

F. If the city council determines to further consider an application, the following shall be done:

1. The city council shall identify a tentative grantee and decide and specify the terms and conditions of any franchise to be granted pursuant to this title and as provided in this chapter;

2. The city council shall give notice of its intention to consider the granting of such a franchise, stating the name of the tentative grantee, that copies of the proposed franchise may be obtained at the office of the city clerk, fixing and setting forth a time and public place certain when and where interested parties may inspect all the bona fide applications, fixing and setting forth a day, hour and place certain when and where any persons having any interest therein or objection to the granting thereof may file written protests and appear before the city council and be heard, and directing the city clerk to publish notice of the resolution's adoption at least once within ten days after the passage thereof in a newspaper of general circulation within the city.

G. At the time set for the hearing, or at any adjournment thereof, the city council shall proceed to hear all written protests. Thereafter the city council shall make one of the following determinations:

1. That the franchise be denied; or

2. That the franchise be granted upon such conditions as the city council deems appropriate, which conditions may include, on a not-to-exceed basis, where in accordance with the Act, applicable FCC regulations, and state laws:

a. Charges for installations,

b. Subscriber rates, and

c. Service rates for separate classifications of service, such as additional connections.

H. If the city council determines that a franchise be denied, such determination shall be expressed by resolution; if the city council determines that a franchise be granted, such determination shall be expressed by ordinance granting a franchise to the applicant. The action of the city council shall be final and conclusive.

I. The grantee shall pay to the city a sum of money sufficient to reimburse it for all expenses incurred by the provisions of this title beyond those defrayed by application fees. Such payment shall be made within thirty days after the city furnishes the grantee with a written statement of such expenses.

(County code § 11-1.602; Ord. 01-01 § 1)

Applications for a franchise submitted in response to a request for proposals shall be sealed at the time of submission by an applicant. Prior to the deadline for the submission of an application, it is unlawful for any applicant, and any officer, agent or employee thereof, whether directly or indirectly, to exchange information concerning proposals, enter into any agreement or understanding or take any other action for the purpose of reducing or eliminating competition among applicants in the selection process.

(County code § 11-1.603)

For each franchise issued pursuant to the provisions of this title, one or more environmental analyses shall be undertaken pursuant to the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act commencing at Section 21000 of the Public Resources Code of the state. The provisions of this title, requests for proposals and an ordinance offering the franchise shall be subject to amendment for the purpose of implementing any change dictated by the environmental analyses.

(County code § 11-1.604)

A. Each franchise issued pursuant to the provisions of this title shall be issued by the city council and in the name of the city as the issuing authority. A franchise shall be offered to the successful applicant by ordinance duly adopted by the city council. The ordinance may prescribe terms, conditions or requirements respecting the franchise which are in addition to those set forth in this title but which are not inconsistent with the express terms of this title. The ordinance may also prescribe terms, conditions or requirements respecting the franchise which are in addition to or in conflict with the provisions of the request for proposals and application by the party to whom the resolution offers the franchise.

B. The ordinance offering the franchise shall be repealed thirty calendar days after its adoption, unless not later than the thirtieth day following the adoption of the ordinance the party to whom the franchise is offered files a certificate in writing which expressly and unconditionally accepts the franchise in compliance with the terms, conditions, and requirements of such ordinance, the application, the request for proposals and this title. The certification shall be signed by a person duly authorized to act in behalf of the franchise, shall be acknowledged, shall have attached thereto a certified copy of an order by the board of directors of the grantee directing the execution and filing of the certification, and shall be accompanied by any fee required by the request for proposals, the performance bond, the security deposit and the policy or policies of insurance prescribed by Sections 4.28.080, 4.28.090 and 4.28.110, respectively. A certification which constitutes a qualified acceptance, or places other limits or conditions thereon, shall be repealed. The thirty-day period for acceptance prescribed by this section may be extended either prior or subsequent to its expiration by the city council through express action which prescribes the period of extension.

(County code § 11-1.605)

A. A franchise shall be effective on the thirty-first day after the offer of the franchise agreement, provided the grantee has filed, within thirty days after such effective date, a written instrument, in accordance with Section 4.08.180(B), addressed to the city council accepting the franchise and agreeing to comply with all of the provisions thereof. If an extension is granted as set forth in Section 4.08.180(B), the franchise will be effective the first day after the date of acceptance.

B. A franchise or license shall expire twenty years after the acceptance thereof, unless sooner terminated by ordinance.

(County code § 11-1.606)

A. The service provided by the grantee under a franchise may be required to continue uninterrupted beyond the expiration or cancellation of a franchise. The procedures for the renewal of a franchise shall be those provided in Section 626 of the Act as supplemented by the provisions of this section.

B. Any franchise may be renewed for a term not to exceed twenty years at any time prior to the expiration of the franchise. An application therefor shall be submitted to the city manager containing such material as the city council may require, including, but not limited to, proposals for an upgrade of the cable communications system.

C. In the event the city council decides to offer renewal to the grantee, the city council shall adopt an ordinance offering the renewal of the franchise to the grantee. The franchise agreement may prescribe terms, conditions or requirements respecting the franchise which are in addition to those set forth in this chapter, the request for renewal, or the original franchise agreement. In the event of a conflict between the provisions of the request for renewal and the provisions of the franchise agreement adopted pursuant to this section, the provisions of the franchise agreement shall prevail. In the event of a conflict between the provisions of the original franchise agreement and the franchise renewal agreement adopted pursuant to this section, the provisions of the latter shall prevail.

D. The ordinance offering renewal shall be repealed and the request for renewal rejected thirty calendar days after its adoption unless, not later than the thirtieth day following the adoption, the grantee files a certification in writing which expressly and unconditionally accepts the renewal of the franchise in compliance with the terms, conditions and requirements of such ordinance, the request for renewal and this title. The certification shall be signed by a person duly authorized to act in behalf of the grantee, shall be notarized, shall have attached thereto a certified copy of an order by the board of directors of the grantee directing the execution of and filing of the certification, and shall be accompanied by the performance bond, the security deposit and the policy or policies of insurance prescribed by Sections 4.28.080, 4.28.090 and 4.28.110, respectively. The certification and accompaniments shall be filed with the city clerk. A certification which constitutes a qualified acceptance, or places other limits or conditions thereon, shall be a nullity, and the franchise agreement shall be repealed and the request for renewal denied. The thirty-day period for acceptance prescribed by this section may be extended either prior or subsequent to its expiration by the city council by resolution which prescribes the period of extension.

E. The filing of the certification in the manner and within the time prescribed in this section shall renew the franchise.

(County code § 11-1.607)