(a) In the event that the use of any property of the grantee within the franchise area or a portion thereof is discontinued for a continuous period of twelve months, the grantee shall be deemed to have abandoned that franchise property.
(b) The grantor, upon such terms as the grantor may impose, may give the grantee permission to abandon, without removing, any system facility or equipment laid, directly constructed, operated or maintained under the franchise. Unless such permission is granted or unless otherwise provided in this chapter, the grantee shall remove all abandoned above-ground facilities and equipment upon receipt of written notice from the grantor and shall restore any affected street to its former state at the time such facilities and equipment were installed, so as not to impair its usefulness. In removing its plant, structures and equipment, the grantee shall refill, at its own expense, any excavation that shall be made by it and shall leave all public ways and places in as good a condition as they were prior to such removal without materially interfering with any electrical or telephone cable or other utility wires, poles or attachments. The grantor shall have the right to inspect and approve the condition of the public ways, public places, cables, wires, attachments and poles prior to and after removal. The liability, indemnity and insurance provisions of this chapter and any performance bond provided in the franchise shall continue in full force and effect during the period of removal and until full compliance by the grantee with the terms and conditions of this section.
(c) Upon abandonment of any franchise property in place, the grantee, if required by the grantor, shall submit to the grantor an instrument, satisfactory in form to the grantor, transferring to the grantor the ownership of the franchise property abandoned.
(d) At the expiration of the term for which the franchise is granted, or upon its revocation or earlier expiration as provided for herein, in any such case without renewal, extension or transfer, the grantor shall have the right to require the grantee to remove, at its own expense, all above-ground portions of the cable television system from all streets and public ways within the City within a reasonable period of time, which shall not be less than 180 days. The indemnification and insurance provisions and the performance bond shall remain in full force and effect during the period of removal.
(e) If the grantee fails to complete any removal required by this section or any other work required by law within the time limits set by the grantor after the date of written notice and to the satisfaction of the grantor, the grantor may cause the work to be done and:
(1) The grantee shall reimburse the grantor for the reasonable costs incurred within thirty days after receipt of an itemized list of the costs; or
(2) The grantor may recover the costs through the performance bond provided by the grantee.
The grantor may also seek legal and equitable relief to enforce the provisions of this section.
(f) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary set forth in this chapter, the grantee may abandon any underground franchise property in place so long as it does not materially interfere with the use of the street or public rights-of-way in which such property is located or with the use thereof by any public utility or other cable grantee.
(Ord. 97-32. Passed 5-5-97.)