(A) The city shall not grant a franchise to another franchisee to operate a cable system on terms and conditions which are less burdensome or more favorable than the terms and conditions of this agreement.
(B) If another multichannel video programming distributor operates in the city’s streets and rights- of-way without a franchise agreement and the city has clear and express authority under applicable laws to impose a franchise agreement on that multichannel video programming distributor but fails to do so, then the franchisee shall not be required to comply with those terms of this chapter which are not also imposed upon the multichannel video distributor.
(C) If the city makes a decision to commence construction and operation of a cable system in the city, or should construction of a cable system by the city commence without an identifiable final decision, then franchisee may seek modification of this agreement as of the date of the final decision to commence construction and operation, or at the commencement of construction if it begins without an identifiable final decision, in the manner described below:
(1) Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary contained in this chapter, the franchisee shall not be required to provide the city with proprietary information or to respond for information that require it to release proprietary information where it reasonably believes that the release of the information would provide the city a competitive advantage, except as required by applicable laws;
(2) Any audits of franchise fees must be conducted by an independent auditor who has agreed in advance in writing not to disclose any portion of the franchisee’s books and records or other proprietary information to the city, other than the aggregate amount of gross revenues, without disclosing the amounts of underlying categories of gross revenues used to calculate the franchise fees payable hereunder; and
(3) If the franchisee shall be required to move, relay, or relocate any of its facilities in connection with the construction or preparation for construction of a cable system by the city, regardless of whether the removal, relaying, or relocation is required under the terms of this chapter or under any applicable pole attachment agreement to which the franchisee and the city are parties, then the city shall be obligated to pay all of the franchisee’s reasonable costs for labor and materials to effect the work.
(D) If the city and the franchisee cannot mutually agree on appropriate modifications to this chapter as outlined above, the franchisee may seek resolution of the matter in a court of competent jurisdiction.
(Ord. 186, passed 4-17-00)