[R.O. 2011 § 670.040; R.O. 2009
§ 111.011; Ord. No. 01-125, 6-20-2001]
It shall be unlawful for any person
to construct, operate or maintain a cable system or to provide cable
service or other competing multi-channel video services in the City
without a franchise, unless otherwise specifically authorized under
applicable Federal or State law.
[R.O. 2011 § 670.050; R.O. 2009
§ 111.012; Ord. No. 01-125, 6-20-2001]
Any franchise granted pursuant to
this Chapter shall be non-exclusive. The grantor specifically reserves
the right to grant, at any time, such additional franchises for a
cable television system or any component thereof to any other person
including itself, as it deems appropriate, subject to applicable Federal
and State law.
[R.O. 2011 § 670.060; R.O. 2009
§ 111.013; Ord. No. 01-125, 6-20-2001]
In the event the City grants more
than one (1) franchise or similar authorization for the construction,
operation or maintenance of any cable system to a qualified person
in a franchise area, the City's policy shall be to grant the franchises
on terms that are non-discriminatory and competitively neutral, provided
that nothing herein shall be construed as requiring the use of identical
terms or conditions or limit the enforceability of conditions that
are freely negotiated.
[R.O. 2011 § 670.070; R.O. 2009
§ 111.014; Ord. No. 01-125, 6-20-2001]
Any franchise shall be valid within
the entire franchise area. Unless a franchise agreement specifically
states otherwise, every franchise shall apply to the entire territorial
area of the City.
[R.O. 2011 § 670.080; R.O. 2009
§ 111.015; Ord. No. 01-125, 6-20-2001]
No franchise agreement shall have
a term in excess of fifteen (15) years.
[R.O. 2011 § 670.090; R.O. 2009
§ 111.016; Ord. No. 01-125, 6-20-2001]
A.
This Chapter shall be construed in a manner
consistent with all applicable Federal and State laws.
B.
In the event that the Federal or State Government discontinues pre-emption in any area of cable communications over which it currently exercises jurisdiction in such manner as to expand rather than limit municipal regulatory authority, grantor may, if it so elects, adopt rules and regulations in these areas, after conducting a public hearing process comparable to that which is provided for in Section 670.720 of this Chapter and to the extent permitted by law.
C.
Grantee's rights are subject to the police
powers of the City to adopt and enforce ordinances necessary to the
health, safety and welfare of the public. Grantee shall comply with
all applicable general laws and ordinances enacted by the City pursuant
to that power.
D.
The provisions of this Chapter shall apply
to all franchises granted or renewed after or simultaneously with
the effective date of this Chapter. This Chapter shall also apply
to all existing franchises, to the extent not inconsistent with the
terms of any such franchise or applicable law. A franchise agreement
(including all of grantee's particular rights, powers, protections,
privileges, immunities and obligations associated therewith as the
same exist on the date hereof) shall constitute a legally binding
contract between the grantor and grantee and, as such, cannot be amended,
modified or changed by the grantor without the consent of grantee
in any manner whatsoever, whether by ordinance, rule, regulation or
otherwise, to impose on grantee more stringent or burdensome requirements
or conditions. In the event of any conflict between the terms and
conditions of a franchise agreement and the provisions of this Chapter
and other generally applicable regulatory ordinances of the City,
the specific terms of the franchise agreement shall control; provided
however, that nothing herein contained shall preclude the City from
the proper exercise of its police powers or its powers of eminent
domain.
E.
In the event of a change in State or Federal
law which by its terms would require the City to amend this Chapter,
the parties may modify the existing franchise in a mutually agreed
upon manner.
F.
Grantee shall not be relieved of its obligation
to comply with any of the provisions of this Chapter or a franchise
agreement by reason of any failure of the City to enforce prompt compliance.
G.
This Chapter and all franchise agreements
shall be construed and enforced in accordance with the substantive
laws of the State of Missouri.
[R.O. 2011 § 670.100; R.O. 2009
§ 111.017; Ord. No. 01-125, 6-20-2001]
A.
In addition to any rights specifically
reserved to grantor by this Chapter or a franchise agreement, grantor
reserves to itself every right and power that is required to be reserved
by a provision of any other ordinance or under any other franchise.
B.
Grantor shall have the right to waive any
provision of this Chapter or a franchise agreement, except those required
by Federal or State regulation, if the grantor determines:
1.
It is in the public interest to do
so, and
2.
The enforcement of such provision
will impose an undue hardship on a grantee or the subscribers.
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To be effective, such waiver shall
be evidenced by a statement in writing signed by a duly authorized
representative of grantor. Waiver of any provision in one (1) instance
shall not be deemed a waiver of such provision subsequent to such
instance, nor be deemed a waiver of any other provision of this Chapter
or a franchise agreement unless the statement in its final form approved
by the City Council so recites.
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[R.O. 2011 § 670.110; R.O. 2009
§ 111.018; Ord. No. 01-125, 6-20-2001]
A.
Every grantee shall agree to the terms
and provisions of a franchise agreement as negotiated between the
grantee and the grantor.
B.
In addition to those matters required elsewhere
in this Chapter to be included in the franchise agreement, each franchise
agreement must contain the following express representations by each
grantee:
1.
Grantee accepts and agrees to all
of the provisions of this Chapter and any supplementary specifications
as to construction, operation or maintenance of the system which may
be included in the franchise agreement.
2.
Grantee has examined all of the provisions
of this Chapter and agrees that the Chapter is valid as of the effective
date of grantee's franchise.
3.
Grantee recognizes the right of the
City to adopt such additional regulations of general applicability
as it shall find necessary in the exercise of its police power.
C.
Every franchise agreement shall contain
such further conditions or provisions as may be negotiated between
the City and a grantee, except that no such conditions or provisions
shall be such as to conflict with any provisions of State or Federal
law. In case of conflict or of any ambiguity between any terms or
provisions of a franchise agreement and this Chapter, the words of
the agreement shall control.
[R.O. 2011 § 670.120; R.O. 2009
§ 111.019; Ord. No. 01-125, 6-20-2001]
A.
Any person desiring an initial franchise
for a cable system shall file an application with the City. A reasonable
non-refundable application fee established by the City shall accompany
the application, which shall not be considered or credited against
the collection of applicable franchise fees. An application for an
initial franchise for a cable television system shall contain, where
applicable:
1.
A statement as to the proposed franchise
area;
2.
Resume of prior history of applicant,
including the legal, technical and financial expertise of applicant
in the cable television field;
3.
List of the partners, general and
limited, of the applicant, if a partnership or the percentage of stock
owned or controlled by each shareholder, if a corporation;
4.
List of officers, directors and managing
employees of applicant, together with a description of the background
of each such person;
5.
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;
6.
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;
7.
Proposed construction and service
schedule; and
8.
Any additional information that the
City may require for the administration of the franchise.
[R.O. 2011 § 670.130; R.O. 2009
§ 111.020; Ord. No. 01-125, 6-20-2001; Ord. No. 07-162, 6-11-2007]
A.
Upon receipt of any application for an
initial franchise, the Mayor shall prepare a report and make his/her
recommendations respecting such application to the City Council.
B.
A public hearing shall be held prior to
any initial franchise grant, at a time and date approved by the Council.
Within thirty (30) days after the close of the hearing, the Council
shall make a decision based upon the evidence received at the hearing
as to whether or not the franchise(s) should be granted and, if granted,
subject to what conditions.
C.
All applicants for an initial franchise that are awarded a franchise shall pay the grantor's reasonable costs in reviewing and negotiating a franchise agreement. The Section 670.120 application fee shall be credited towards these costs. Such payment shall not constitute a franchise fee or be credited as such.
[R.O. 2011 § 670.140; R.O. 2009
§ 111.021; Ord. No. 01-125, 6-20-2001]
Franchise renewals shall be in accordance
with applicable law including, but not necessarily limited to, the
Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984, as amended. Grantor and a
grantee, by mutual consent, may enter into renewal negotiations at
any time during the term of the franchise.
[R.O. 2011 § 670.150; R.O. 2009
§ 111.022; Ord. No. 01-125, 6-20-2001]
A.
Since competing or overlapping franchises
may have an adverse impact on the public rights-of-way, on the quality
and availability of services to the public and may adversely affect
an existing operator's ability to continue to provide the services
and facilities it is presently providing under a franchise, the City
may issue a franchise in an area where another grantee is operating
only following a public hearing to consider the potential impact which
the grant of an additional franchise may have on the community. In
considering whether to grant one (1) or more additional franchises,
the City shall specifically consider and address in a written report
the following issues:
1.
The positive and/or negative impact
of an additional franchise on the community.
2.
The ability and willingness of the
specific applicant in question to provide cable services to the entire
franchise area which is served by the existing cable operator. The
purpose of this Subsection is to ensure that any competition which
may occur among grantees will be on terms which when taken as a whole
do not give a competitive advantage to one (1) grantee over another.
3.
The amount of time it will take the
applicant to complete construction of the proposed system and activate
service in the entire franchise area; and whether the applicant can
complete construction and activation of its system in a timely manner.
4.
The financial capabilities of the
applicant and its guaranteed commitment to make the necessary investment
to erect, maintain and operate the proposed cable system for the duration
of the franchise term. In order to ensure that any prospective grantee
does have the requisite current financial capabilities, the City may
request equity and debt financing commitment letters, current financial
statements, bonds, letters of credit or other documentation to demonstrate
to the City's satisfaction that the requisite funds to construct and
operate the proposed system are available.
5.
The quality and technical reliability
of the proposed system, based upon the applicant's plan of construction
and the method of distribution of signals and the applicant's technical
qualifications to construct and operate such system.
6.
The experience of the applicant in
the erection, maintenance and operation of a cable television system.
7.
The capacity of the public rights-of-way
to accommodate one (1) or more additional cable systems and the potential
disruption of those public rights-of-way and private property that
may occur if one (1) or more additional franchises are granted.
8.
The disruption of existing cable
television service and the potential that the proposed franchise would
adversely affect the residents of the City.
9.
The likelihood and ability of the
applicant to continue to provide competing cable television service
to subscribers within the entire franchise area for the duration of
the franchise.
10.
Such other information as the City
may deem appropriate to be considered prior to granting any competing
or overlapping franchise.
[R.O. 2011 § 670.160; R.O. 2009
§ 111.023; Ord. No. 01-125, 6-20-2001]
A.
The City may issue a license, easement
or other permit to a person other than the grantee to permit that
person to traverse any portion of the grantee's franchise area within
the City in order to provide cable service outside, but not within
the City. Such license or easement, absent a grant of a franchise
in accordance with this Chapter, shall not authorize nor permit said
person to provide cable service of any type to any home or place of
business within the City nor render any other service within the City.
B.
Such license, easement or permit shall
require the payment of fee for occupancy of the public right-of-way
to the extent permitted by applicable law.
