A. No person seeking to provide cable service within the village pursuant to this section 3-1-10 shall use the public ways for the installation or construction of facilities for the provision of cable service until it has obtained a franchise. The village shall have authority to grant a nonexclusive franchise for a term of up to fifteen (15) years. The village may grant a franchise for a shorter term if the board deems it in the best interest of the village to do so. The grant of a franchise shall include the following:
1. A grant of authority to provide cable service in all of the franchise area, subject to the cable act, laws of Illinois, and the village's generally applicable ordinances, rules and regulations.
2. A grant of authority to use, occupy and construct facilities in the public ways for the delivery of cable service, subject to the laws of Illinois, and the village's ordinances, rules and regulations; provided, however, that a franchise granted under this section 3-1-10 shall be deemed to confer only such rights to use public ways or other property in the village as the village may have the right and power to grant in a franchise agreement, without obligating the village in any manner to undertake any action to acquire such right and power, including through the use of eminent domain or by a suit for declaratory relief, and without obligating the village to incur any costs or expenses to secure such rights to use public ways.
3. A statement that the grant of authority is subject to the lawful operation of the cable service by the grantee, its affiliated entities or its successors in interest.
B. When the person or entity seeking to become a grantee applies to the village for a franchise, the village board may require such person or entity to make such submissions as the village board may request, and the village board may be guided in such requests by considering the submissions that would be made to the Illinois commerce commission to receive a state issued authorization pursuant to section 21-401 of the cable and video competition law. No provision of this section 3-1-10 shall be deemed or construed to require the village to grant a franchise. A franchise granted under this section 3-1-10 shall not take the place of any other license or permit legally required of a grantee. With respect to any private street, nothing contained in this section 3-1-10 shall waive the obligation of any grantee to secure from such owner(s) of such private street all necessary approvals and consents required by law to permit the construction, installation and operation of the cable system within such private street.
C. To grant a franchise, the board shall adopt an ordinance identifying the grantee and approving the form of franchise agreement to be executed by such grantee and the village.
D. The board shall have the authority to grant more than one franchise under this section 3-1-10. An additional franchise may but is not required to be granted under the same terms or substantially equivalent terms and conditions as those of the existing franchise; provided, however, that before the village shall grant an additional franchise, including granting an additional franchise under different terms and conditions of any existing franchise, the village shall comply with the procedures set forth in subsection (e) of section 11-42-11 of the Illinois municipal code 1
, as amended.
E. Franchises shall allow the grantee to install, construct, operate, maintain, and remove its cable system within public ways and provide the grantee with open, comparable, nondiscriminatory, and competitively neutral access to the public ways on the same terms generally applicable to utilities occupying public ways in the village in accordance with the ROW ordinance. (Ord. 09-4-5, 4-7-2009)
Notes
| 1 | 1. 65 ILCS 5/11-42-11(e). |