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HomeMy WebLinkAbout019 - 02/04/1997 - SUBMITTING CHARTER AMENDMENT NO. 12 TO THE APRIL 8, 1997 ELECTION ORDINANCE NO. 19, 1997 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS SUBMITTING CERTAIN PROPOSED MISCELLANEOUS AMENDMENTS TO ARTICLES IV AND XI OF THE CITY CHARTER TO A VOTE OF THE REGISTERED ELECTORS OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS WHEREAS, Article IV, Section 8 of the Charter of the City of Fort Collins provides that the Charter may be amended as provided by the laws of the State of Colorado; and WHEREAS, Section 31-2-210, C.R.S., provides that Charter amendments may be initiated by the adoption of an ordinance by the Council submitting a proposed amendment to a vote of the registered electors of the City of Fort Collins; and WHEREAS, on November 21, 1995, the City Council adopted Resolution 95-161 creating a Charter Review Committee (the "Committee") and authorizing the Committee to undertake a comprehensive review of the City Charter and to recommend any amendments thereto that the Committee believed to be in the best interests of the City; and WHEREAS, after conducting such review, the Committee has recommended certain miscellaneous amendments to Articles IV and XI of the City Charter; and WHEREAS, the City Council believes that such proposed amendments, as modified by the City Council, should be submitted to the registered electors of the City so that they may determine whether the proposed amendments are in the best interests of the City. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS as follows: Section 1. That the following proposed changes to Articles IV and XI of the City Charter shall be submitted to the registered voters of the City as "Proposed Charter Amendment No. 12" at the next regular municipal election to be held on April 8, 1997: (a) That Article IV, Section 7, 11, of the City Charter be amended to read as follows: ARTICLE IV. GENERAL PROVISIONS Section 7. Publication. Whenever legal notice or other publication is required by this Charter, or by ordinance, rule, or regulation, such notice shall be published at least once in a local newspaper of general circulation in the city, which is devoted to dissemination of news of a general character, unless a different form of notice is specified in this Charter or in the ordinance, rule, or regulation requiring the notice. Section 11. Construction of words. Whenever such construction is applicable, words used in this Charter importing singular or plural number may be construed so that one (1) number includes both; words importing masculine gender may be construed to apply to the feminine gender as well; and the word"person"may extend to and include firm and corporation; provided that these rules of construction shall not apply to any part of this Charter containing express provisions excluding such construction or where the subject matter or context is repugnant thereto. (b) That Article XI, Section 1, 5, of the City Charter be amended to read as follows: ARTICLE XI. FRANCHISES AND PUBLIC UTILITIES Section 1. Franchise granted by ordinance. The Council may grant a franchise relating to any street, alley, or other public place within the city by ordinance, subject to the initiative and referendum powers reserved to the electors of the city. No exclusive franchise shall ever be granted. Every franchise ordinance shall require for its adoption the concurrence of a majority of all the members of the Council. A franchise may be awarded only after a public hearing on the application or proposal. The applicant for the franchise shall publish a notice of the hearing in a local newspaper of general circulation once a week for three (3) successive weeks immediately prior to the date of the hearing. Such notice shall specify the meeting of the Council at which it is intended to apply for the franchise, the name of the applicant, a general description of the rights and privileges to be applied for, and the time for and terms upon which the franchise is desired. The hearing on the franchise application shall not be held unless a publisher's affidavit of publication proving the applicant's compliance with the notice requirements has been presented to the Council. Publication of the franchise ordinance by the City Clerk shall be in the same manner as for other proposed ordinances. The procedure for initiative and referendum of an ordinance granting a franchise shall be as otherwise provided in this Charter, except that the signatures required for referendum shall be equal in number to five(5)percent of the registered electors, or ten (10) percent of the total ballots cast in the last regular city election, whichever is less. If the franchise ordinance is referred to the vote of the electors,the grantee of the franchise shall deposit with the city's Financial Officer an amount determined by said Officer to be sufficient to pay for the cost of the election. No franchise election shall be ordered until the grantee deposits such costs. 2 Section 5. Term, compensation. No franchise, lease, or right to use the streets or the public places or property of the city shall be granted for longer than twenty (20) years. Every grant of a franchise shall fix the amount and manner of payment of the compensation to be paid by the grantee for the use of the same, and no other compensation of any kind shall be exacted for such use during the life of the franchise. This provision shall not exempt the grantee from any lawful taxation upon his or her property, nor from any license, charges, or other impositions levied by the Council, not levied on account of the use granted by the franchise. Section 2. That the following ballot language is hereby adopted for submitting Proposed Charter Amendment No. 12 to the voters at said election: PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT NO. 12 AMENDMENTS TO ARTICLES IV AND XI OF THE CITY CHARTER MAKING CERTAIN GRAMMATICAL, NON-SUBSTANTIVE CHANGES AND CLARIFYING THAT WHEN LEGAL NOTICE IS REQUIRED BY THE CHARTER OR BY ANY ORDINANCE,RULE OR REGULATION OF THE CITY,SUCH NOTICE SHALL BE BY PUBLICATION UNLESS A DIFFERENT FORM OF NOTICE IS SPECIFIED IN THE CHARTER OR IN THE ORDINANCE,RULE OR REGULATION REQUIRING THE NOTICE. YES NO Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 21 st day of January, A.D. 1997, and to be presented for final passage on the yttf day of Februayy,A.D. 1997. ayor ATTEST: City Clerk 3 Passed and adopted on final reading this 4th day of FebA.D. 1997. i ---Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk ^� 4