(A) Any franchise granted under this chapter shall be nonexclusive. The grantor specifically reserves the right to grant, at any time, additional franchises for a cable television system or any component thereof, as it deems appropriate, subject to applicable laws. The grantor also specifically reserves the right to operate a municipal cable television system pursuant to applicable laws and shall not be required to grant a franchise to the city for the operation of a municipal cable television system unless specifically required by applicable laws.
(B) In the event grantor grants more than one franchise agreement to allow persons to enter into grantor’s streets for the purpose of constructing and operating a cable system to provide cable services in the service area, the material provisions of each subsequent franchise agreement shall be no more favorable nor less burdensome than those of previously granted franchise agreements so that no one grantee is provided an unfair competitive advantage over another and to provide all parties equal protection under the law. Notwithstanding the aforementioned requirement, nothing herein shall in any way prohibit grantor from imposing provisions in subsequent franchise agreements which may be less favorable or more burdensome than those provisions contained in existing franchise agreements so long as consistent with all applicable laws.
(Ord. 78, passed 10-13-1997)