No franchise shall be granted for a period of more than 15 years,
except that a franchisee may apply for renewal or extension pursuant
to applicable law.
Any person who occupies the public rights-of-way of the Town
for the purpose of operating or constructing a cable system or an
OVS and who does not hold a valid franchise (or other authority allowing
such entity to be in the public rights-of-way to provide video services)
from the Town shall nonetheless, to the extent allowable by law, be
subject to all provisions of this chapter, including but not limited
to its provisions regarding construction and technical standards and
franchise fees. Such person shall apply for a franchise within 30
days of receipt of a written notice by the Town that a franchise agreement
is required. The Town may, in its discretion, require such person
to remove its property and restore the area to a condition satisfactory
to the Town within a reasonable time period, as the Town shall determine;
remove the property itself and restore the area to a satisfactory
condition and charge the person the costs therefor; and/or take any
other action it is entitled to take under applicable law, including
filing for and seeking damages under trespass. In no event shall a
franchise be created unless it is issued by action of the Town and
subject to a written franchise agreement.
Any act that a franchisee is or may be required to perform under
this chapter, a franchise agreement or applicable law, including but
not limited to removal, replacement or modification of the installation
of any of its facilities and restoration to Town standards and specifications
of any damage or disturbance caused to the public rights-of-way as
a result of its operations or construction on its behalf, shall be
performed at the franchisee's expense, unless expressly provided
to the contrary in this chapter, the franchise agreement or applicable
law.
Nothing herein shall be deemed or construed to impair or affect,
in any way or to any extent, the Town's rights of eminent domain
to the extent to which they may apply to any public utility or cable
system.