§ 126-119. Franchise boundary change.

(a)

Expansion of Franchise area. Expansions of franchise territories must be in the public interest, shall be only to contiguous parcels of land, and configured in such manner as not to create "pockets" of unserved areas.

(1)

Joint Franchisee/County application for expansion. If the County and the Franchisee jointly desire that the Franchisee provide utility service within the proposed expanded service area, the Franchisee shall file with County Staff an original application for expansion and ten copies, which shall include:

a.

The name of the new service provider;

b.

The basis for the joint application;

c.

General area map indicating area to be added and a simplified description of the area by referring to streets and other geographical landmarks;

d.

Legal description, on a separate sheet, of the proposed additional Franchise area, using metes and bounds with township, range and section references, including a statement of the number of acres contained therein, certified and sealed by a Florida Registered Professional Land Surveyor; and

e.

Estimated number of EDUs and service connections to be added and a letter of availability.

(2)

Franchisee application for expansion of the Franchise area.

a.

The Franchisee shall file with County Staff an original and ten copies of the application for expansion along with the nonrefundable application fee of $500.00. The application shall include:

(i)

General area map indicating area to be served and a simplified description of the area by referring to streets and other geographical landmarks. Water and/or wastewater plant sites shall be indicated;

(ii)

Legal description on a separate sheet of the proposed Franchise expansion area, using metes and bounds with township, range and section references, including a statement of the number of acres contained therein, certified and sealed by a Florida Registered Professional Land Surveyor;

(iii)

The name and address of all entities requesting an expansion of the Franchise area and a copy of the request(s) for service. Any entity requesting an expansion must have a property interest within the proposed expansion area;

(iv)

Estimated number of EDUs and service connections;

(v)

Letter submitted by a Florida Registered Professional Engineer for the Franchisee, certifying the effect the addition to the Franchise area will have on the total committed capacity, existing permitted capacity and the Franchisee's ability to meet applicable State and County regulatory requirements to the extent possible with assumptions listed for undeveloped property not currently requesting service, but at a minimum, the effect must be certified for the entity or entities that are requesting service;

(vi)

A conceptual plan showing the layout of the proposed system, including, where applicable, the source of water, the method of treatment of water and/or wastewater, the method of disposing of treated effluent, which sources and methods shall be demonstrated to be adequate to protect public health, safety and welfare;

(vii)

A schedule showing the entire projected cost of the planned systems, including plant expansions and line extensions for the proposed Franchise expansion area by NARUC account numbers and the rated capacity of each system in EDUs;

(viii)

A description of the types of customers anticipated in the proposed Franchise expansion area (e.g., single-family homes, mobile homes, duplexes, development amenities, commercial, industrial, etc.);

(ix)

The anticipated impact of the proposed change upon the Franchisee's current revenues, costs of operations, debt service, Rate Base and existing rates, fees, and charges;

(x)

Description of the plan for financing the proposed capital improvements and copy of all developer agreements pertaining to the proposed Franchise expansion area, if applicable; and

(xi)

Such additional information related to items (i) through (x) above as may be required by County Staff or the Board.

(3)

Board determination. Following a determination by County Staff that the application is complete, at a public hearing, the Board may grant, deny, or modify the request for franchise area expansion upon such conditions as it deems proper, and after requiring such further information as it deems necessary. Before any expansion is granted, the Board shall consider whether:

a.

The application is made in good faith;

b.

The applicant has sufficient resources to serve the area for which an expansion is requested;

c.

The system has sufficient capacity to serve the area for which the Franchise area expansion is sought;

d.

The conceptual plan showing the layout of the proposed system filed by the applicant demonstrates that the source of water, method of treatment of water and/or wastewater and method of disposing of treated effluent are adequate to protect the public health, safety, and welfare;

e.

The application does not conflict with the Franchise Acquisition, Consolidation, Implementation Plan and Wastewater Collection and Treatment Master Plan adopted by the Board on July 27, 1993, amended to include the Reuse Master Plan dated November 8, 1994, as amended, and any subsequent capital improvements programs, utility master plans adopted by the Board or with the Sarasota County Comprehensive Plan;

f.

Utility service will be needed in the proposed expansion area and will be provided by the applicant within two years from the date of the application;

g.

Utility service provided by the applicant will have less economic impact on the customers than service provided by any other utility; and

(b)

Deletion of Franchise area. The Board shall permit a Franchisee to delete a portion of its Franchise area provided that service is available to that portion being deleted by another Franchisee, the County or another governmental body.

(1)

The Franchisee shall file with County Staff an original application requesting deletion of a portion of the Franchise area and ten copies, which shall provide:

a.

General area map indicating area to be deleted and a simplified description of the area by reference to streets and other geographical landmarks;

b.

Legal description, on a separate sheet, of the area proposed to be deleted from the Franchise area, using metes and bounds with township, range and section references, including a statement of the number of acres contained therein, certified and sealed by a Florida Registered Professional Land Surveyor;

c.

The name of the new service provider;

d.

Estimated number of EDUs and service connections to be deleted;

e.

Letter from the new service provider agreeing to provide service within the area proposed to be deleted from Franchisee's service area;

f.

The anticipated impact of the proposed change upon the Franchisee's current revenues, costs of operations, debt service, Rate Base and existing rates, fees and charges; and

g.

Such additional information related to items (a) through (f) above as may be required by County Staff or the Board.

(2)

Board determination. Following a determination by County Staff that the application is complete, at a public hearing, the Board may grant, deny, or amend an application upon such conditions as it deems proper, and after requiring such further information as it deems necessary. Before any deletion is granted, the Board shall consider whether:

a.

The application is made in good faith;

b.

Utility service is available by another Franchisee, the County or another governmental entity; and

c.

The economic impact upon the customers of the Franchisee including those customers in the proposed Franchise area to be deleted.

(Ord. No. 2016-041, § 2, 9-21-2016)