1. To engage in the business of providing cable service, and such other services as may be permitted by law which grantee provides to subscribers within the designated service area;

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

3. To maintain and operate the franchise properties for the origination, reception, transmission, amplification and distribution of television and radio signals and for the delivery of cable services, and such other services as may be permitted by law;

4. To set forth the obligations of a grantee under the franchise.

1. A franchise granted hereunder shall be for a term established in the franchise agreement, commencing on the grantor’s adoption of an ordinance or resolution authorizing the franchise.

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

1. Grantee shall not sell, transfer, lease, assign 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 consent of the council, which consent shall not be unreasonably denied, withheld or delayed; provided, however, that the prior consent of the council shall not be required for an intracorporate or intracompany transfer from one wholly-owned subsidiary to another wholly-owned subsidiary. Any attempt to sell, transfer, lease, assign or otherwise dispose of the franchise without the consent of the council shall be null and void. The granting of a security interest in any grantee assets, or any mortgage or other hypothecation or by assignment of any right, title or interest in the cable system in order to secure indebtedness, shall not be considered a transfer for the purposes of this section.

2. The requirements of subsection F1 shall apply to any change in control of grantee. The word “control” as used in this chapter includes majority ownership, and actual working control in whatever manner exercised. In the event that grantee is a corporation, prior consent of the council shall be required where ownership or control of more than twenty percent of the voting stock of the 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.

3. Grantee shall notify grantor 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 the franchise property. Such notification shall be considered by grantor as notice that a change in control of ownership of the franchise has taken place and the provisions under this section governing the consent of grantor to such change in control of ownership shall apply.

4. For the purpose of determining whether it shall consent to such change, transfer or acquisition of control, grantor may inquire into the qualifications of the prospective transferee or controlling party, and grantee shall assist grantor in such inquiry. In seeking grantor’s consent to any change of ownership or control, grantee shall have the responsibility of insuring that the grantee and/or the proposed transferee complete an application in accordance with Federal Communications Commission Form 394 or equivalent. An application shall be submitted to grantor not less than one hundred twenty days prior to the proposed date of transfer. The transferee shall be required to establish that it possesses the qualifications and financial and technical capability to operate and maintain the system and comply with all franchise requirements for the remainder of the term of the franchise. If the legal, financial and technical qualifications of the applicant are satisfactory, the grantor shall consent to the transfer of the franchise. If the grantor has not taken action on the grantee’s request for transfer within one hundred twenty days after receiving such request, grantor’s consent to such transfer shall be deemed given. The consent of the grantor to such transfer shall not be unreasonably denied or delayed.

5. 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 system, in the event of a grantee default of its financial obligations. Further, such financial institution shall also agree in writing to continue cable service and comply with all franchise requirements during the term the financial institution exercises control over the system.

6. Upon transfer, grantee shall reimburse grantor for grantor’s reasonable processing and review expenses in connection with the transfer or the franchise, up to a maximum of five thousand dollars, including without limitation, costs of administrative review, financial, legal and technical evaluation of the proposed transferee, consultants (including technical and legal experts and all costs incurred by such experts), notice and publication costs and document preparation expenses. Any such reimbursement shall not be charged against any franchise fee due to grantor during the term of the franchise.

1. Grantee shall design, construct and maintain the cable system to have the capability to pass every residential dwelling unit in the service area, subject to any service area line extension requirements of the franchise agreement.

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

1. Grantor may grant any number of franchises subject to applicable state or federal law. Grantor may limit the number of franchises granted, based upon, but not necessarily limited to, the requirements of applicable law and specific local considerations, such as:

2. Where electric and telephone utilities are to be placed underground in residential housing developments, grantor and the developer of such new residential housing shall give each grantee serving the franchise area within which the new residential housing development is located at least seventy-two hours prior written notice of the date on which open trenching will be available for the grantee’s installation of conduit, pedestals and vaults. On request of the grantor or developer, the grantee shall provide specifications needed for trenching. Developers of new residential housing with underground utilities shall provide conduit to accommodate cables for at least two new entrant cable systems and dedicate the use of such conduit to the city.

3. Grantor may require that any new entrant, nonincumbent grantee be responsible for its own underground trenching and the costs associated therewith, if, in grantor’s opinion, the public rights-of-way in any particular area cannot feasibly and reasonably accommodate additional cables. (Ord. 98-09 § 1, 1998)