(a) Transfer Approval Required. A certificate of registration shall not be transferred, either in whole or in part, other than to an affiliate, without the prior written consent of City, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld. Any transfer of certificate of registration, including a transfer by means of a fundamental corporate change, requires the written approval of the City.
(b) Procedure to Request Transfer Approval. The parties to the transfer of certificate of registration shall make a written request to the City for its consent in the form of the certificate of registration application. The City shall reply in writing within thirty days of actual receipt of the request and shall indicate its approval of the request or its determination that a public hearing is necessary. The City may conduct a public hearing on the request within thirty days of such determination if it determines that the transfer of the certificate of registration adversely affects the City.
(c) Notice and Hearing. Notice of a hearing shall be given fourteen days prior to the hearing by publishing notice thereof once in a newspaper of general circulation in the City. The notice shall contain the date, time and place of the hearing and shall briefly state the substance of the action to be considered by City.
(d) Review by City. Except for public utilities as defined in R.C. § 4939.01, City will review the legal, technical and financial qualifications of the transferee and terms of the existing certificate of registration. City will make its decision in writing setting forth any conditions for the transfer. Within thirty days of actual receipt of the request for the transfer or within thirty days after the public hearing, City shall approve or deny the transfer request in writing.
(e) Fundamental Corporate Change. For purposes of this section, fundamental corporate change means the sale or transfer of a controlling interest in the stock of a corporation or the sale or transfer of all or a majority of a corporation’s assets, merger (including a parent and its subsidiary corporation), consolidation or creation of a subsidiary corporation. For the purposes of this section, fundamental partnership change means the sale or transfer of all or a majority of a partnership's assets, change of a general partner in a limited partnership, change from a limited to a general partnership, incorporation of a partnership, or change in the control of a partnership.
(f) Certificate of Registration and Assignee/Transferee Replacement Issuance Required. In no event shall a transfer of ownership or control be ultimately acceptable to the City without transferee requesting and being issued a replacement certificate of registration within ninety days of transfer.
(g) Not a Transfer. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, no such consent or approval shall be required for a transfer to any person controlling, controlled by or under the same common control of the original holder of the certificate of registration.
(Ord. 12-03. Passed 5-19-03; Ord. 05-17. Passed 4-17-17.)