A. 
Minimum Application Requirements. An application for a new cable system franchise shall be in writing, shall include an application fee deposit in an amount established from time to time by resolution of the city council shall be filed with the city clerk. Proposals shall contain sufficient material to enable the city council to make fully informed judgments concerning the adequacy of the proposal and the applicant's qualifications to establish, construct, operate and maintain a cable system in the city and shall include at a minimum:
1. 
The name, address and telephone number of the applicant;
2. 
A detailed statement of the corporate or other business organization of the applicant including, but not limited to, the following:
a. 
The names, residence and business addresses of all officers, directors and associates of the applicant,
b. 
The names, residence and business addresses of all officers, persons and entities having, controlling, or being entitled to have or control of one percent or more of the ownership of the applicant and the respective share of each person or entity,
c. 
The names and addresses of any parent or subsidiary of the applicant, namely, any other business entity owning or controlling the applicant in whole or in part or owned or controlled in whole or in part by the applicant, and a statement describing the nature of any such parent or subsidiary business entity, including, but not limited to cable communication systems owned or controlled by the applicant, its parent and subsidiary business entities and the areas served thereby,
d. 
A detailed description of all previous experience of the applicant in providing cable communication system service;
3. 
A thorough, detailed description of the proposed cable communication system and plan of operation of the applicant that shall include, but not be limited to the following:
a. 
A detailed map indicating all areas proposed to be served, and a proposed time schedule for the installation of all equipment necessary to become operational throughout the entire area to be served,
b. 
A detailed, informative and referenced statement describing the actual equipment and operational and performance standards proposed by the applicant. In no event shall the operational and performance standards be less than those adopted by the Rules and Regulations of the FCC (contained in Title 47, Subpart K, Section 76.701 et seq.),
c. 
A copy of the form of any agreement, undertaking or other instrument proposed to be entered into between the applicant and any subscriber,
d. 
A detailed statement setting forth in their entirety any and all agreements and undertakings, whether formal or informal, written, oral, or implied, existing or proposed to exist between the applicant and any person, firm or corporation that materially relate to or depend upon the application and the granting of the franchise,
e. 
A schedule of all proposed service levels and rates and charges,
f. 
A copy of any agreement existing between the applicant and any public utility subject to regulation by the California Public Utilities Commission providing for the use of any facilities of the public utility, including but not limited to poles, lines or conduits, within the city and/or adjacent areas,
g. 
Any other details, statements, information or references pertinent to the application that shall be required by the city council.
B. 
Additional Information May Be Required. The city may at any time require, and applicant shall provide, such supplementary, additional or other information as the city may deem reasonably necessary to determine whether the requested franchise should be granted. An applicant (and the transferor and transferee, in the case of a transfer) shall respond to any request for information from city, by the time specified by city.
C. 
Request for Proposals. If the city receives an unsolicited application, it may choose to issue a request for additional proposals and require the applicant to amend its proposal to respond thereto.
D. 
Payment of Reasonable Costs. The applicant for an initial franchise shall pay the reasonable costs of the city incurred in the processing, reviewing and awarding of the franchise, including but not limited to, staff costs, legal costs and consultant costs, if any. The city may conduct such investigations as are necessary to act on an application. The applicant in addition to submitting a deposit, as set forth above, towards payment of these costs, shall submit additional deposits if notified by the city that the prior deposit(s) have been expended by the city and that additional city incurred costs are anticipated. The city will not formally consider the application unless all requested deposits have been made prior to the time of the city's consideration. The applicant, prior to the franchise becoming effective, shall pay all of the city's costs. Should the city determine not to grant a franchise, the applicant shall only be entitled to a refund of any deposit in excess of the costs incurred by the city in reviewing the application.
E. 
Public Hearing. Before taking final action on an application, the city shall conduct a public hearing in accordance with applicable state and federal law. The city council may adjourn the hearing from time to time.
F. 
Considerations in Granting a Franchise. In determining whether to grant a franchise, the city council may, to the extent permitted by law, consider the character and quality of proposed services, proposed rates, the experience, character and financial capability of the applicant, proposed management system, system design, quality of proposed equipment, ability to meet construction requirements and any other factors deemed important to safeguard the interests of the public and the city. The city may also consider whether the applicant's record in other communities indicates that it can be relied upon to provide high-quality service throughout any franchise term.
G. 
Franchise Ordinance. If the city determines that issuance of a franchise would be in the public interest considering the factors described in this section, it may proffer a franchise ordinance to the applicant.
(Ord. 607 § 1, 2004)
A. 
Renewal Under 47 U.S.C. Section 546 (a) through (g). A grantee that intends to exercise its rights under 47 U.S.C. Section 546(a) through (g) as may be amended shall submit a notice in writing to city in a timely manner clearly stating that it is activating the procedures set forth in those sections. City shall thereafter commence any proceedings that may be required under federal law, and upon completion of those proceedings, city may issue a request for proposals and an application may be submitted for renewal. City may preliminarily deny the application by resolution, and if the application is preliminarily denied, city may conduct such proceedings and by resolution establish such procedures and appoint such individuals as may be necessary to conduct any proceedings to review the application.
B. 
Renewal Not Governed by 47 U.S.C. Section 546 (a) through (g). Any person may apply for a franchise renewal by submitting an application on that person's own initiative, or in response to a request for proposals issued by the city. In determining whether to renew a franchise, the city may consider whether the applicant has substantially complied with the applicable law and the terms of any existing cable franchise ordinance, and whether the applicant's quality of service under its existing franchise ordinance including signal quality, response to customer complaints, billing practice, and the like has been reasonable in light of the needs of the community.
(Ord. 607 § 1, 2004)
An application for transfer must contain all the information required to be filed under applicable federal and state law. If necessary to the city's determination, the city manager may require additional information related to the technical, legal and financial qualifications of the proposed transferee, the impact the proposed transfer may have on subscribers and/or the status of compliance with the terms of the franchise.
(Ord. 607 § 1, 2004)
A. 
Conditions. No transfer, sale, assignment, change in control of a franchise, grantee, or cable communications system, or of control over the same (including, but not limited to, transfer by forced or voluntary sale, merger, consolidation, receivership, or any other means) (hereinafter referred to as a "transfer") shall occur without the prior written consent of the city. Prior to a transfer the grantee shall submit a complete application to the city pursuant to the terms specified in Section 5.20.220 and pay any applicable fee, including reasonable costs incurred by the city in reviewing and evaluating the application. The application shall demonstrate that the proposed transferee has the legal, technical, and financial qualifications to own and operate a cable franchise and has not had any cable system franchise revoked within the three years preceding the submission of the application and that the grantee is in substantial compliance with the terms of the franchise. The city council shall hold a public hearing on the proposed transfer after which the city council shall determine whether to approve, approve subject to conditions or disapprove the proposed transfer. The city council may approve the transfer upon such terms and conditions as are consistent with federal requirements and are necessary to protect the public interest. Every franchise shall be deemed to be held in trust and to be personal to the grantee. Any transfer that is made without the prior approval of city shall be deemed to impair that trust and shall be void. Transfer of the franchise without the city's consent shall be deemed a material breach of the franchise. The granting of approval for a transfer in one instance shall not render unnecessary approval of any subsequent transfer.
B. 
Change in Control. A change of control of a franchise, grantee, or cable communications system shall be deemed to have occurred whenever ownership, including but not limited to beneficial ownership as defined by Rule 13d-3 and Rule 13d-5 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, of more than 50% of voting stock then outstanding of an operator or its indirect corporate parent is acquired by or transferred to a person or group of persons acting in concert, none of whom already own 50% or more of the voting stock. A transfer or change in control also occurs whenever there is a change in actual working control, in whatever manner exercised, over the affairs of a grantee or its direct or indirect parents; however, this provision shall not apply to any transfer or change of control where the transferee or new controlling entity is controlled by or under the common control of the then current owner or then current general partner.
C. 
Considerations. In determining whether a transfer application should be granted, denied or granted subject to conditions, the city may consider the legal, technical, and financial qualifications of the transferee to operate the cable system whether the grantee is in compliance with its franchise, and whether operation by the transferee or approval of the transfer would otherwise adversely affect subscribers, the public or the city's interest under this chapter, the franchise ordinance or other applicable law.
D. 
Assumption of Obligations. No transfer application shall be granted unless the transferee agrees in writing that it will abide by and accept all terms of this chapter and the franchise ordinance and that it will assume the obligations, liabilities and responsibility for all acts and omissions, known and unknown, of the previous grantee for all purposes.
(Ord. 607 § 1, 2004)
The cable system shall be designed and installed in accordance with the standards of the cable industry and at a minimum shall conform with the technical performance standards contained in the ordinance granting a franchise. In addition, should the FCC or other governmental authority having jurisdiction impose cable system technical performance standards either outside the scope of the technical performance standards contained in the ordinance granting a franchise, or requiring a higher level of cable system performance, those standards are incorporated by reference. The grantee shall provide to the city, upon request, a written report of the results of grantee's period proof of performance tests conducted pursuant to the FCC standards and guidelines.
(Ord. 607 § 1, 2004)
The grantee shall be required to make available one or more dedicated channels on its cable system and may provide facilities, services and equipment funding for public, educational and governmental access programming as provided for in the ordinance granting a franchise. Such channel(s) shall be available on the lowest tier of basic service. The channel, in the sole discretion of the city, may be utilized in any PEG combination and may be shared with other communities or designated for exclusive use within the city's jurisdiction.
(Ord. 607 § 1, 2004)