§ 118-75. Application for franchise area expansion.

(a)

Statement of policy. It is the general policy of the Board to allow for expansion of franchise areas in such a manner as to provide cable competition for all areas of unincorporated Sarasota County and to avoid socio-economic exclusivity while minimizing disruption of County infrastructure.

(b)

Application process. A franchise area expansion application shall be submitted to the cable coordinator in such form as approved by the Board, which shall require the following:

(1)

Updates of information provided by franchisee in its original franchise application or other subsequent expansion applications, if any;

(2)

Legal description or a detailed street map of the proposed franchise area expansion;

(3)

Estimated number of households in the proposed expanded area; and

(4)

Build-out schedule that provides for the installation of all equipment necessary for the cable system to become operational throughout the proposed expanded franchise area.

(c)

Approval process.

(1)

The cable coordinator shall submit franchisee's application for franchise area expansion to the Board within 30 days following receipt of a complete application for consideration at the Board's next regularly scheduled meeting. An application shall not be considered complete unless a five-year build-out schedule is provided for the specific area requested; provided, however, if less than five years remains on the term of the franchise, the franchise area expansion shall be limited to that area that can be built out in the remainder of the franchise term and the build-out schedule shall be modified accordingly.

(2)

An application for franchise area expansion shall be considered by the board in its legislative capacity. In reviewing the application, the Board shall consider the following, as applicable:

a.

Compliance with existing ordinance and franchise agreement;

b.

The capacity of public ways to accommodate the cable system;

c.

The present and future use of the public ways to be used by the cable system;

d.

The potential disruption to existing users of the public ways to be used by the cable system and the resultant inconvenience which may occur to the public.

(3)

All other terms and conditions of the franchise shall remain in full force and effect.

(Ord. No. 2006-026, § 7, 4-12-2006)