The grantee of any franchise granted by the Council shall not sell, transfer, or assign any franchise, or any of the rights or privileges granted thereby, except by a duly executed instrument in writing; provided, however, no such sale, transfer, or assignment may be made without the consent of the Council thereto, except that no provision of any franchise shall require any such consent, and no consent shall be required for any transfer by the grantee in trust or by way of mortgage or hypothecation covering all and any part of the grantee's property, which transfer, mortgage, or hypothecation shall be for the purpose of securing an indebtedness of the grantee or for the purpose of renewing, extending, refunding, retiring, paying, or canceling in whole or in part any such indebtedness at any time or from time to time.
(§ 1, Ord. 130)