No franchise or grant shall be granted by the City for a longer period than 30 years. No license shall be granted by the Commission for a longer term than one year.
Every permit granted by ordinance shall be accepted in writing by the grantee before said ordinance takes effect, and every franchise or modification of a franchise, before it is submitted to the electors, shall be so accepted. Such acceptance shall be filed with the Clerk. Any non-compliance with this section shall automatically annul such permit or franchise.
No franchise or grant which is not revocable at the will of the Commission, shall be granted or become operative until the same shall have been referred to the people at a general or special election and has received the approval of a majority of the electors voting thereon at such election.
No person, firm, or corporation shall ever be granted any exclusive franchise, license, right, or privilege whatsoever.
No franchise, granted by the City, shall ever be leased, assigned, or otherwise alienated except in accordance with the express provisions of said franchise, and all franchises granted by the City shall provide how, and in what manner, and under what conditions, said franchise may be leased, assigned, or alienated, and no dealing with the lessee or assignee on the part of the City, which shall recognize the performance of any act or payment of any compensation by the lessee or assignee, shall be deemed to have operated as such consent.
No change or modification of any franchise or grant or rights or powers previously granted to any corporation, firm, person, or association of persons shall be made, except in the manner and subject to all conditions herein provided for, in the making of original grants and franchises.
The grant of every franchise or privilege shall be subject to the right of the City, whether in terms reserved or not, to make all regulations which shall be necessary to secure the safety in the most ample manner, welfare, and accommodation of the public, including among other things, the right to pass and enforce ordinances to require proper and adequate extensions of the service of such grant, and to protect the public from danger or inconvenience in the operation of any work or business authorized by the grant of the franchise and the right to make and enforce all such regulations as shall be reasonably necessary to secure adequate, sufficient, and proper service, extensions, and accommodations for the people and insure their comfort and convenience.
The City, by and through its Commission, shall have the power to require any corporation holding a franchise from the City, to allow the use of its tracks, poles, and wires by any other corporation to which the City shall grant a franchise, subject to reasonable rental therefor. Any franchise or right which may hereafter be granted, to any person or corporation to operate a street railway within the City or its suburbs, shall be subject to the condition that the City shall have the right to grant to any other person or corporation desiring to build or operate a street railway or interurban railway, within or into the City, the right to operate its cars over the tracks of said street railway insofar as it may be necessary to enter and leave the City and to reach any section thereof used for business purposes provided, however, that the person or corporation desiring to operate its cars over the lines of said street railway, shall first agree in writing with the owner thereof as to terms and conditions and to pay it reasonable compensation for the use of its tracks and facilities. And if the person or corporation desiring to use the same cannot agree with said owner of said street railway as to said compensation, terms, and conditions within 60 days from offering the same in writing, then the Commission shall, by resolution, after hearing the parties concerned, fix the terms and conditions of such use and compensation to be paid therefor, which award of the Commission, when so made, shall be binding upon and observed by the parties concerned.
The Manager and Director of Public Works and Service shall maintain general supervision over all public utility companies insofar as they are subject to municipal control. The Manager shall cause to be instituted such actions or proceedings as may be necessary to prosecute public utility companies for violations of law and may revoke, cancel, or annul all franchises that may have been granted by the City, which have become in whole or in part or which for any reason are illegal or void and not binding upon the City.
The enumeration and specification of particular matters in this Charter which must be included in every franchise or grant, shall never be construed as impairing the right of the Commission to insert in such franchise or grant any other and further matters, conditions, covenants, terms, restrictions, limitations, burdens, taxes, assessments, rates, fares, rentals, charges, control, forfeitures, or any other provisions whatever as it shall deem proper to protect the interests of the people.
[Amended and adopted 8-3-1954]
The Commission may grant a permit at any time, in or upon any street, alley, or public place, provided such a permit shall be revocable by the Commission at its pleasure at any time, whether such right to revoke be expressly reserved in said permit or not: Provided, that when such a permit is granted for water mains, sewers, or drains, it may be irrevocable unless the grantee be a private person, firm, or corporation.
No franchise, lease, or right to use the street or public places or property of the City shall be granted by the City without fair compensation to the City therefor. Where the franchise, lease, or grant fixes the rate of fare or the rate to be charged for the service rendered or commodity furnished by the grantee, such rate of fare or price of service or commodity furnished shall be subject to review and change at the end of every ten-year period during the life of said franchise in such manner and form as in said franchise shall be provided. No such compensation by any such grantee shall ever be in lieu of any lawful taxation upon its property, or of any license or charges which are not levied on account of such use.
All contracts, grants, rights, privileges, or franchises for the use of streets and alleys of this City not herein mentioned shall be governed by all the provisions of this Charter, and all amendments, extensions, or enlargements of any contract, right, privilege, or franchise previously granted by this City to any persons, firm, or corporation, for the use of the streets and alleys of such City, shall be subject to all the conditions herein provided for the making of original grants and franchises.
All contracts, granting or giving any original franchise, right, or privilege, or extending or renewing or amending any existing grant, right, privilege, or franchise, shall be made by ordinance and not otherwise.
The Commission shall by ordinance provide for efficient inspection and regulation of all public utilities operated in the City and to that and[1] shall provide for the inspection of the quality and pressure of the gas furnished to consumers, the candle power, voltage, and insulation of electric wires, heat, and power furnished the City and its inhabitants, and the inspection and installation of meters for registering the consumption of any commodity sold by any grantee operating under any franchise, grant, or license from the City of Royal Oak or the State of Michigan. It being the intention of this section to provide means for securing to the City efficient service from all public utilities operated in the City and the proper observance by such operators of the conditions imposed by their respective franchises, ordinance, and the laws of the State.
[1]
Editor's Note: So in original.
The City may purchase or condemn the franchises and property used in the operation, by companies or individuals, engaged in hospital, electric light, gas, heat, power business, and may purchase the franchises and property of street railway and tram railway companies. The City may make a contract, upon such terms, including terms of present or deferred payment or by the issuance of bonds in payment therefor, as herein provided, and upon such conditions and in such manner as the municipality may deem proper, to purchase, operate, and maintain any existing public utility property for supplying heat, light, power, or transportation to the City and the inhabitants thereof.
No such contract shall bind the municipality unless the proposition therefor shall receive the affirmative vote of three-fifths of the electors voting thereon at a regular or special election. In the event of the purchase of a transportation utility, the Commission shall within a reasonable time establish a system of civil service for selection and retention of the employees.
