Procedure for Council review and approval of initial franchise.

If the Office and the applicant agree on the terms of a proposed franchise agreement under § 34-1254.05, the Office shall submit to the Mayor and the Council a Recommendation for the Approval of a Franchise Application consisting of the franchise application, the proposed franchise agreement, and a summary of factors supporting the recommendation. If at the end of the initial or extended negotiation period under § 34-1254.04, the Office and the applicant are unable to agree on the terms of a proposed franchise agreement, the Office shall submit to the Mayor and the Council a Recommendation for the Denial of a Franchise Application consisting of the franchise application and a summary of the factors supporting the recommendation. The summary shall describe specific deficiencies of the application and a general description of why the application should not be granted. The Council may, by act, grant a franchise and approve the franchise agreement, with or without conditions or modifications which may override any provisions of the proposed franchise agreement, deny a franchise or reject the proposed franchise agreement and remand the proposed franchise agreement to the Office with recommendations to renegotiate any of the provisions of the agreement and submit a revised agreement to the Council, or deny a franchise or reject the proposed franchise agreement. Each applicant to whom the District grants a franchise shall pay to the District, within 30 days after the franchise is granted, a franchise award fee to be set in the act granting the franchise. The payment shall be nonrefundable. An applicant’s failure to pay the franchise award fee within the 30-day period shall make the franchise and franchise agreement void.