[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.
[1]
Cross Reference: As to penalty, § 670.850.
[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.
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.
[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.