The Las Cruces City Council will meet via video conference at 1 p.m. Tuesday, July 6, 2021, for a regularly scheduled meeting.
City Council will consider a Resolution authorizing the City to enter into a franchise agreement with Comcast of New Mexico and Pennsylvania. If approved by the Council a franchise agreement would authorize Comcast to maintain and operate its cable communications system in Las Cruces. The proposed agreement would also enable Comcast to maintain its telecommunications system infrastructure within City-owned rights of way for the benefit of the City.
The City last entered into a franchise agreement with Comcast on March 15, 1999. However, the agreement expired in 2011.
Pursuant to the Las Cruces Cable Television Ordinance, Las Cruces Municipal Code Sections 16-361 through 16-408, and applicable federal and state laws and regulations, the City is authorized to grant and renew one or more non-exclusive revocable franchise to construct, maintain and operate a cable communications system within the City. Upon evaluation of the proposed franchise agreement, the City Attorney's Office has determined Comcast's legal, financial, and technical ability is reasonably sufficient to provide service, facilities and equipment necessary to meet the future cable-related needs of the community.
The term of the proposed franchise agreement is 10 years. Under the terms of the proposed agreement the City would authorize Comcast to use public rights-of-way to install and maintain their telecommunications infrastructure. However, Comcast must abide by all applicable city, state, and federal regulations, including City requirements regarding contracting, construction, aesthetics, safety, and conduit.
For consideration of the franchise agreement, it requires Comcast to pay the City a franchise fee in an amount equal to five percent of annual gross revenues recovered from the operation of the cable system in the City.
At Tuesday’s meeting, City Council will also consider adoption of an Ordinance approving a zone change from A-2, Rural Agriculture, to C-2, Commercial Medium Intensity, for a .93-acre property at 3300 W. Picacho Avenue. The purpose of the proposed zone change is to allow for an expansion of land-uses pertaining to institutional and retail services and to bring the property into compliance with the 2001 Las Cruces Municipal Code, as it has been amended.
The surrounding neighborhood has a mixture of commercial and Industrial land-uses in close proximity including single-family detached dwellings. Based on the existing neighborhood, the proposed zone change would be compatible with the surrounding area, specifically the commercial corridor, and would be in harmony with Section 38-2 of the 2001 Zoning Code.
The proposed zone change is consistent with elements of Elevate Las Cruces including the Future Development Map and certain goals, policies, and actions. On April 27, 2021, the City’s Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval of the proposed zone change by a vote of 6-0-1, with one commissioner absent.
The agenda for Tuesday’s City Council meeting is available online at: https://lascruces.civicweb.net/Portal/MeetingInformation.aspx?Org=Cal&Id=215.
Tuesday’s Council meeting will be televised live on CLC-TV, Comcast Cable channel 20. The meeting will also be available online at clctv.com and at YouTube.com/clctv20.