passed ordinance 2026-131

*Amend franchise granted to Comcast of Oregon II, Inc. to reflect the dissolution of the Mt. Hood Cable Regulatory Commission (amend Ordinance 192084)

infrastructure utilities
franchise vacate

Department: Planning and Sustainability (BPS)
Service area: Community and Economic Development
Introduced by: Mayor Keith Wilson
Status: Passed

Impact statement

Purpose & background

The City has a franchise agreement with Comcast for cable services and Council approved the current agreement via Ordinance No. 192084 in July of 2025. Since the approval of the current Comcast cable franchise agreement, the Mt. Hood Cable Regulatory Commission (MHCRC) and the member jurisdictions of the MHCRC have agreed to dissolve the commission by the end of this fiscal year (June 30, 2026). The Comcast franchise agreement contains references and direction for the MHCRC to perform certain administrative and operational functions outlined in the agreement. Because the MHCRC will no longer exist after June 30, 2026, the Comcast franchise agreement needs to be updated to remove references to the MHCRC and make other changes necessary to reflect the dissolution of the commission. The changes to the franchise agreement ensure that the City assumes all operational duties of the agreement by removing references to the MHCRC.

Financial impacts

Not applicable.

Economic impacts

Not applicable.

Community impacts

Comcast as the franchisee has reviewed and provided their approval of the changes proposed in this ordinance.

▸ Full text (the legislation as adopted)

The City of Portland ordains. Section 1. The Council finds: On July 16, 2025, Council approved Ordinance No. 192084 granting a franchise to Comcast of Oregon II, Inc. (Comcast) to construct, operate, and maintain its cable system in the City's right-of-way (ROW). The City is a member of the Mt. Hood Cable Regulatory Commission (MHCRC), which was formed under an inter-governmental agreement (IGA) with Multnomah County and the Cities of Gresham, Troutdale, Wood Village, and Fairview. The franchise held by Comcast with the City was negotiated as part of a MHCRC member-wide franchise negotiation and therefore references the MHCRC throughout the document. On October 18, 2025, the MHCRC voted to recommend dissolution of the MHCRC to the member jurisdictions, and all member jurisdictions signed a dissolution agreement to end the Commission as of June 30, 2026. As part of the MHCRC dissolution process, the franchise agreement with Comcast requires some changes in order to reflect the fact that the MHCRC will no longer represent the City, to clarify that Portland will fully administer the operationalizing of the franchise with Comcast, and to make other changes to reflect rights and obligations of the City and Comcast after the MHCRC dissolution is effective. Comcast and the City have come to agreement on the proposed changes presented in this Ordinance as shown in Exhibit A. NOW, THEREFORE, the Council directs: Adopt Comcast franchise agreement changes as shown in Exhibit A. Section 2. The Council declares an emergency exists because franchise ordinances do not take effect until 60 days after passage. The amendment needs to be in place before the dissolution of the MHCRC (June 30, 2026) so that on July 1, 2026, the transition is seamless and does not interrupt cable services or community media funding.

Tally

9 yea 0 nay 3 other