No person, partnership, association, or corporation operating a public utility shall have the right to the use of highways, streets, alleys, or other public places of the city, for wires, poles, pipes, tracks, or conduits, without the consent of the City; nor to transact a local business therein without first obtaining a franchise from the City. The right of the City to the reasonable control of its streets, alleys, and public places, and of the space above and beneath them is hereby reserved to the City, except as limited by state law.