ITEM 9-B
Council Meeting: May 12, 1992
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: City Staff
SUBJECT: Recommendation to Revise Existing Film Permit Fees
and Add New Film Permit Fees
INTRODUCTION
This report recommends that Council adopt the attached resolution
to increase existing City filming fees and add new filming fees and
related charges.
BACKGROUND
Due to its attractive location adjacent to the Santa Monica Bay;
having appealing attractions such as the Pier, Airport, Palisades
Park and unique business districts; and its close proximity to the
film industry, the City of Santa Monica has become the second most
popular location for filming in California after the City of Los
Angeles. As a result, the City has issued a substantial number of
permits for filming, which has significantly increased over the last
few years. During FY 1990-91, the City issued permits for a total
of 1121 days of filming and still photography. This translated into
a 218 percent increase over the 515 permits issued in FY 1988-89,
only two years earlier.
Over the years, the City has established procedures to administer
and coordinate filming activities throughout the City. This
activity has included centralizing the film permitting and
coordination function within the Administrative Division of the
General Services Department to expedite permitting efforts. The
services provided include, but are not limited to, disseminating
information about City procedures, services and fees; reviewing
proposals, locations and issuing permits and permit amendments;
coordinating between departments for sign-offs and information;
providing follow-up and enforcement; and coordinating and processing
complaints from residents, business persons and the film industry to
resolution.
As filming activities have substantially increased in a relatively
short period of time, so have the problems associated with these
activities. These problems include addressing and mitigating
undesirable parking and traffic impacts and other concerns over how
to better control the potential community disruption caused by
constant filming activity. Generally, these problems have required
the City to upgrade its staff and processes to effectively
administer the substantial workload caused by the increase in
filming activity.
Filming should be considered a special activity and, as such, City
services and administration must be compensated fully and should not
be subsidized by taxpayer funds. Furthermore, fees should also
reflect charges similar to other cities and for actual use of public
property consistent with existing City policy.
Given this background, it is staff's position that the fees charged
for filming should be reviewed and adopted in a comprehensive
fashion to provide reasonable revenue to the City to cover
associated administrative costs, to compensate for use of public
property and for the disruption caused to the community.
CURRENT FILM FEES
Currently, the City charges filmmakers a permit fee for motion
picture filming and still photography, and charges a separate "use"
fee for filming at certain specific locations. These charges are
levied on a per day basis.
PERMIT FEES
The existing film permit fees are based in part on administrative
and processing costs to the City, which include the costs of staff
salaries, supplies and overhead. In addition, the permit fees are
compensation to the City for the use of public property, which
taxpayers have improved and maintained with tax funds and other
revenue sources. These improved areas include streets, alleys,
sidewalks, parks, and government buildings that are used in filming
activity. It is important to note that charging for the use of
public property is similar to fees charged to construction companies
for the use of City property for staging vehicles and equipment as
well as rental of parking areas and parking meters.
The film permit fee for motion picture or television filming in
Santa Monica, which has been in effect since 1976, (although
slightly modified in 1984), is $400 per day. The daily permit fee
for still photography is $100 per day. These fees are deposited in
a General Fund revenue account. This fee is charged whether the
filming takes place on City streets, the beach, parks or other
public places.
A reduced film permit fee is charged for filming at certain specific
and unique locations including the Airport, Pier and 415 Pacific
Coast Highway. Filming at these locations are required to pay a
$100 permit fee per day for motion filming and $50 per day for still
photography. The reduced permit fees for these locations are
charged to compensate the City for costs associated with
administration and issuance of the permit, and are reduced since
filmmakers using these areas are required to pay an additional user
fee to the appropriate administrative agencies, as discussed below.
USE FEE
A use fee is charged for the use of unique filming locations that
are desirable to the industry for location shooting, including the
Airport, Bayside Business District (Third Street Promenade), Pier
and 415 Pacific Coast Highway. This fee was established to
compensate for use of these areas, which have required a large
investment of funds to improve and require special maintenance
costs. In addition, the charges are levied to cover administrative
costs for the agencies that regulate filming and other activities in
those specific locations.
The following information summarizes the current daily rates for
filming in Santa Monica:
MOTION STILL
AIRPORT - Permit Fees - $100 $ 50
Use Fees - 600 100
TOTAL $700 $150
BAYSIDE - Permit Fees - $400 $100
BUSINESS Use Fees - 250-1,500* 250-500*
DISTRICT
TOTAL - $650-1,900* $350-600*
*Fees depend on anticipated impact on businesses and residents in
the District.
PIER - Permit Fees - $100 $ 50
Use Fees - 1000 250
TOTAL $1100 $300
415 - Permit Fees - $100 $ 50
PACIFIC Use Fees - 2,000-3,500* 350-2,500*
COAST
HIGHWAY TOTAL - $2,100-3,600* $400-2,550*
*Fees depend on the location, number of rooms used, time and other
factors.
ALL - Permit Fees - $400 $100
OTHER
LOCATIONS
All of these daily rates are based on calendar days, which is
defined as a 24 hour period beginning at 12 midnight and ending at
11:59 p.m. Any filming taking place within that time period would
be charged a daily fee. For example, if filming in a commercial
area began at 8 p.m. on one day and lasted until 2 a.m. the next
day, fees for two days would be charged.
STUDENT, NON-PROFIT, AND EDUCATIONAL FILMING FEES
At this time there is no permit charge for student filming as long
as verification is provided from the educational institution and
there is liability insurance on file. Non-profit organizations are
also exempt from permit fees. Educational film productions are
charged only $100 per day to film.
REVENUES
In FY 1990-91, the City received a total of $312,198 in film permit
revenues. Of this amount, $244,912 went to the General Fund,
$54,886 was generated for the Pier Fund and $12,400 for the Airport
Fund. This revenue accounts for money derived from permit and use
fees only, and does not take into consideration personnel (such as
Police and Fire Department staff), parking or other revenues
generated in conjunction with filming activities. The attached
Table I provides a summary of the number of permits issued for
various locations in the City and the related revenue generated for
FY 90-91.
FEE COMPARISONS
In order to gauge the City's fee levels, a survey of other
jurisdictions' fees for filming was conducted. The survey included
surrounding cities, neighboring beach cities and other cities of
comparable size. The fees charged vary widely, but it appears that
cities that are desirable locations to filmmakers due to their
having unique features do charge higher fees. Cities in this
category include Beverly Hills and the beach cities along the coast.
In most cases, the other jurisdictions charge a one-time application
fee per shoot and a daily permit fee, whereas Santa Monica does not
charge an application fee, but requires the payment of a daily
permit fee. Other jurisdictions charge special use fees for filming
at specific desirable locations, which is similar to Santa Monica's
fee structure.
Santa Monica's present permit fee of $400 per day for motion filming
is less than the cities of Manhattan Beach ($1,500), Beverly Hills
($855), Hermosa Beach ($733),and Pasadena ($612). It is the same as
the City of Glendale and Los Angeles County. It is more than the
Cities of Los Angeles ($300) and Redondo Beach ($342) although
Redondo Beach charges a one time registration fee of $1,000 per
filmmaker.
Regarding use fees, different cities charge additional or larger
fees to allow filming at special locations that are attractive to
filmmakers as does the City of Santa Monica. For example, the City
of Beverly Hills charges $2,150 per day for filming the exterior of
their City Hall and filming in city parks. The City of Glendale
charges $10 per hour in addition to the $400 film permit fee and
$150 application fee to film in city parks, while the City of
Pasadena charges $100 per hour to film the exterior of their City
Hall plus the daily permit fee of $612. By comparison, the City of
Santa Monica has charged $1,500 per day to film in City Hall and
charges the $400 permit fee per day to film in city parks.
Although the fees vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, the City's
proposed fee increases will be comparable to fees charged for
similar types of filming elsewhere. The attached Table II contains
this information as well as current and proposed fees for Santa
Monica.
PROPOSED FEE REVISIONS
Based on the information provided in this report, it is recommended
that the City Film Permit fees, Use fees and ancillary fees be
upgraded or established as follows and as detailed in the attached
Table III. No changes are proposed for staff requirements for
location supervision including sworn (public safety) and non-sworn
personnel.
PERMIT FEES
1. PERMIT FEE - CITY PROPERTY - Increase the City film permit fee
for motion picture or television filming from $400 to $500 per day
and increase the still photography permit fee from $100 to $200 per
day. This would apply to areas that are not considered special use
locations as discussed in the following section.
2. PERMIT FEES - SPECIAL USE LOCATIONS - Standardize the permit fee
charged in conjunction with filming at the Airport, Bayside Business
District, Beaches, and 415 Pacific Coast Highway. This fee would be
established at $250 per day for motion filming and $100 per day for
still photography. These fees are equivalent to one-half of the
City permit fee as described in 1.
3. PERMIT FEES - PARKS - Establish a daily film permit fee of $750
per day for motion filming in any City park, which would be an
increase from the present permit fee of $400. Still photography
would be charged at the basic permit fee of $200 per day.
4. PERMIT FEES - CITY HALL - Establish new fees for filming of the
exterior or interior of City Hall. Exterior filming of City Hall
would be charged at $1,500 per day, and interior filming be charged
at $2,500 per day. Commercial still photography permits for City
Hall are proposed to be $500 for exterior shots and $1,000 for
interior shots. A $25,000 refundable security deposit would also be
required prior to issuance of a permit for motion filming and a
$1,000 refundable security deposit for still photography. The
permit fees are derived from evaluation of probable value to film
companies using a unique and historical building while mitigating
possible impact and damage while the activity is taking place.
It is of concern that filming inside of City Hall does not interrupt
normal course of business. Therefore, it is recommended that
allowable filming times be limited to non-workdays or after 6 p.m.,
upon approval by the City Manager.
All of the film permit fees noted in this section would be deposited
in the City's General Fund.
USE FEES
The proposed Use fees are outlined below:
1. AIRPORT USE FEES - It is recommended that the Airport use fee be
increased from $600 to $850 for motion filming. Still photography
on Airport property would continue do be assessed a use fee of $100
for basic still photography while a new use fee of $500 would be
charged for still photography which requires special coordination
and monitoring, as determined by the Airport Director. These fees
would be deposited in the Airport Fund.
In the past, the City and Airport Department have not consistently
charged filmmakers for permits on leaseholds that are part of the
Airport property. It has been the experience of Airport personnel
that any filming at the Airport may impact operations, parking,
traffic circulation, safety and other airport users, tenants and
businesses, whether directly or indirectly. Airport staff needs to
review each proposed shoot with the film company to reduce impacts
and mitigate potential problems, assist location managers with
Airport property insurance and safety requirements and coordinate
approvals with the City's permit office. It is therefore
recommended that all filming on the airport property, including
leaseholds, be charged the applicable Airport film fee.
2. BAYSIDE BUSINESS DISTRICT USE FEES - The Bayside District
Corporation would maintain the same use fee structure as at present,
which includes a range of fees depending on the time and location of
the filming (see attached Exhibit I for details). Fees collected by
the Bayside District are deposited in the District's account.
3. BEACH USE FEES - New use fees for filming at the Santa Monica
Beach would be established at $500 per day. Still photography would
be assessed a use fee of $100 per day. These fees would be
deposited in the Beach Fund. Presently, all filming fees derived
from beach filming are deposited strictly in the General Fund.
In FY 90-91, the City issued 330 permits for filming on the beach
and in beach parking lots, which is approximately 30 percent of all
the filming that took place in that year. Approximately 100 of
these were for motion picture and television filming, 200 for still
photography, and 25 for student films.
The use of Santa Monica beach for filming merits the increased fees
to help offset beach maintenance and improvement costs and for use
of this attractive location. It is of concern that increasing beach
filming fees might result in a decrease in the number of film
permits issued. Film companies might choose nearby alternative
beach locations in order to avoid the City's beach filming fees,
although these fees in other jurisdictions will not be substantially
lower than the proposed fee. For example, L.A. County charges $630
for the first day and $400 each additional day to film on the beach.
It is believed, nevertheless, that the number of permits will not
decrease due to the desirability of filming at Santa Monica beach
with its surrounding attributes, i.e., Pier, bluffs, and large
parking lots to service the activity. The number of permits issued
through the end of February, 1992 for FY 91-92 indicates that
filming on the beach will increase approximately 10 percent over FY
90-91. 274 permits have been issued through February with an
anticipated total of approximately 365 permits issued by the end of
the fiscal year (June 30, 1992).
4. PIER USE FEES - The Pier film use fees would be maintained at
their current levels of $1,000 for motion filming and $250 for still
photography. It is recommended that a new fee of $500 per day for
educational filming/public service announcements and for storage of
equipment only on the Pier be implemented. The Use fees derived
from filming at the Pier are deposited in the Pier Fund.
5. 415 PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY USE FEES - The Use fees would be
established at their current levels. This includes charging from
$2,000 to $3,500 for motion filming and $350 to $2,500 for still
photography. The fees charged depend on the location within the
site being used, the number of rooms being used, the amount of time
for filming and other factors.
ADDITIONAL FEES
1. STUDENT/NON-PROFIT FILMING - In the past, the City has not
charged student and non-profit filmmakers for their permits.
However, processing and monitoring of these film permits often
proves more time-consuming for City staff than motion picture
permits due to the filmmakers' inexperience and lack of knowledge
about the City's filming requirements. Staff therefore recommends
that nonprofit and student film makers be charged a nominal permit
fee of $100 per day.
2. REVISION CHARGES - Scheduling changes are endemic to the film
industry and impact City staff by requiring frequent last minute
revision of permits due to location or calendar changes, scheduling
of police and fire personnel, and other related activities. Staff
recommends that a $50 charge be levied for each separate permit
schedule change regardless of the type of project. Schedule changes
which are requested or caused by the City or revised due to bad
weather would be exempt from this charge.
REVISIONS OF ASSOCIATED FILMING CHARGES
Other proposed fee charges for activities related to filming are
discussed hereafter.
CALL BACK OF CITY PERSONNEL
City personnel other than Police and Fire personnel are sometimes
called back outside of regular work hours to assist in site
management of film locations or enforcement of film permit
requirements. Presently, the existing fee resolution provides that
personnel be charged at $15 per hour in these circumstances.
Obviously, salaries and costs have increased since this fee was
enacted in 1976. It is therefore recommended that film
permit-holders be charged twice the overtime salary for a minimum of
four hours for off-hours assistance by non-sworn personnel. The
City employee who is called back, at the discretion of the City
Manager, appropriate Department Director or Division Manager, to
help manage the film site would be paid their appropriate overtime
rate for a minimum of four hours. The balance of the payment would
be deposited in the City's General Fund to cover overhead and
administrative costs.
NO-PARKING SIGNS
Under the State Vehicle Code, "No Parking" signs must be posted at
film locations which wish to rent on-street or off-street public
parking spaces. These "No Parking" signs must be posted 24 hours in
advance of the filming activity. The filling-in and posting of "No
Parking" signs, which are presently sold at $1.00 per sign, are the
responsibility of the permit holder to obtain, post and remove. Use
of a metered parking space is charged an additional fee.
To cover the actual cost of printing as well as follow up to the
posting and removal of the signs, staff recommends the City charge
a $3 per sign fee to film permit-holders who rent on-street parking
spaces. This fee would help recover the costs to purchase of signs,
assist in filling in the information on the sign, and removal of the
signs once the authorized period has expired, if not accomplished by
the film company. Revenues received from this posting fee would be
deposited in the General Fund to offset the City's costs for staff
time, supplies and equipment.
VIOLATION OF ALLOWABLE FILMING HOURS
Regular filming hours in residential zones are 8:00 a.m. to 10:00
p.m. and no filming outside these hours are allowed. Violations of
these restrictions do sometimes occur due to support vehicles
arriving prior to 8 a.m. or crews breaking down sets and packing up
vehicles after 10 p.m. Presently, the governing statute requires
that a violator of the provision of no filming activity after 10
p.m. be required to pay for an additional day of filming, which is
presently $400, and a violation fee of $400, for a total of $800.
Violation of this statute by personnel filming an educational film
is charged an additional day of filming, or $100 and a violation fee
of $400, for a total of $500.
It is recommended that the penalty fee for commercial filming be an
additional day of filming as recommended in this report, plus a
violation charge equal to $500. Educational filming would be
charged an extra filming day of $100 and violation fee of $500 for
a total of $600. These fees are justified in that filming after
hours is a disruption to the community and many times requires
enforcement and follow up to complaints by the police and other city
staff.
CALIFORNIA FILM COMMISSION COMMENTS
As part of an agreement with the State, a copy of the draft staff
report was provided to the California Film Commission for their
review and comment. They returned various comments with regard to
the proposed fee revisions and policies, which are summarized as
follows:
1. In general, they were concerned with most, if not all of the
fee increases, including charging for student filming, as well as
asking that the fees be consistent. In response, staff has made
every attempt to include reasonable fees and be consistent with the
proposed filming fees.
2. Additional concerns related to City instituted limitations on
time for allowable filming, as well as concern with the definition
of a filming day being a calendar day rather than a 24 hour period.
Staff's proposals contained in this report were made based on
experience with filming activity. In establishing these policies,
staff attempted to balance the needs of film permit applicants with
the need to protect the community from unacceptable inconvenience.
3. Several concerns were discussed regarding Bayside District
filming policies and how fees are determined. Again, these policies
have been developed over time based on filming experience in this
area and the impact on staff, services and the community.
4. The Film Commission sought clarification regarding existing and
proposed policies and fees. Staff is in the process of providing
the Commission with answers to various policy questions and will
meet with the Commission to further clarify their concerns.
FISCAL/BUDGET IMPACT
The proposed fee modifications will result in increased revenues for
the General, Beach, Pier and Airport Funds. The projected full-year
revenue impacts listed on the following page are derived assuming a
July 1, 1992 effective date, and based on the same number of
permitted filming days in FY 90-91:
Revenue Analysis By Fund
(1) (2) (2)-(1)
FY 90-91 With Estimated
Actual Proposed Revenue
Fund Fee Changes Increase (Decrease)
-----------------------------------------------------
General Fund:
Airport $ 2,200 $ 5,600 $ 3,400
Beaches 60,600 48,150 (12,450)*
Parks 21,500 44,000 22,500
Pier 6,250 16,250 10,000
Other 154,362 189,600 35,238
------------------------------------------------------
Total GF 244,912 303,600 58,688
Airport Fund 12,400 19,400 7,000
Beach Fund N/A 70,700 70,700
Pier Fund 54,886 60,000 5,114
--------- --------- ---------
City Total $312,198 $453,700 $141,502
*Offset by significant increase to Beach Fund
Increases will be reflected in the proposed FY 1992-93 revenue totals for
the General, Beach, Pier and Airport Funds.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that City Council adopt the film permit fees as described
in the attached resolution.
Prepared by: Stanley Scholl, Director of General Services
Craig Perkins, Admin/Environmental Services Manager
Joan Akins, Sr. Administrative Analyst
Richard Gonzalez, Sr. Administrative Analyst
Attachments
Table I No. of Permits and Revenues - FY 90-91
Table II Film Fees Comparison
Table III Current and Proposed Film Fees
Exhibit I Bayside District Corporation Filming Fees
Resolution
TABLE I
NO. OF PERMITS AND REVENUES
FY 90 - 91
LOCATION/ NO. TOTAL GENERAL OTHER
FILMING OF FEES FUND FUND
TYPE PERMITS
----------------------------------------------------------
CITY PROPERTY
TV/Movie 259 $400 $103,600
Stills 131 100 13,100
Non-profit 2 0 0
Student 40 0 0
TOTAL 432 $116,700
AIRPORT
TV/Movie 20 100 2,000
20 600 12,000
Stills 4 50 200
4 100 400
Non-profit 1 0 0
1
Student 1 0 0
TOTAL 26 $2,200 $12,400
BEACHES
TV/Movie 101 400 40,400
Stills 202 100 20,200
Non-profit 2 0 0
Student 25 0 0
TOTAL 330 $60,600
PARKS
TV/Movie 34 400 13,600
Stills 79 100 7,900
Non-profit 3 0 0
Student 24 0 0
TOTAL 140 $21,500
PIER
TV/Movie 37 100 3,700
37 1,000 37,000
Stills 51 50 2,550
51 250 12,750
Non-profit 4 0 0 0
Student 15 0 0 0
TOTAL 107 $6,250 $49,750
3RD STREET PROMENADE
TV/Movie 69 400 27,600
Stills 10 100 1,000
Non-profit 3 0 0
Student 4 0 0
TOTAL 86 $28,600
FEE TOTAL $235,850 $62,150
MISC. CHARGES/PENALTY FEES 9,062 5,136
TOTAL 1,121 $244,912 $67,286
TOTAL REVENUE $312,198
TABLE II
FILM FEES COMPARISON
FOR
MOTION FILMING
Application Permit Total Fees For Special Locations*
Fee Fee
(per shoot) (daily) Beach City Park Airport
Hall
HERMOSA $314 $733 $1047 $1047 $1047 n/a
BEACH
MANHATTAN 50 1500 800 1550 1550 n/a
BEACH
REDONDO 1000** 342 1342 1342 1342 n/a
BEACH
BEVERLY none 855 n/a 2150 2150 n/a
HILLS
BURBANK 100 0 n/a 100 100 300-1200
(min)
CULVER 45 330 n/a 375 375 n/a
CITY
GLENDALE 150 400 n/a 550 550 + n/a
10/hr
LOS ANGELES 160 300 460 460 460 $50 +
(City) 30/hr
LOS ANGELES 230 400 630 630 630 n/a
(County)
PASADENA none 612 n/a 612 + 612 n/a
100/hr
SANTA MONICA none 400 400 400 400 600
(Existing)
SANTA MONICA none 500 750 1500 ext 750 850
(Proposed) 2500 int
*For first filming day. Costs may decrease with additional days of
filming
** This is a one-time registration fee per filmmaker
TABLE III
CITY OF SANTA MONICA
CURRENT AND PROPOSED DAILY FILM FEES
Current Fees Proposed Fees
*Permit Use Total *Permit Use Total
Fee Fee Fees Fee Fee Fees
AIRPORT Motion $100 $600 $700 $250 $850 $1100
Still 50 100 150 100 100 200
Still** _ _ _ 100 500 600
BAYSIDE Motion 400 Var Var 250 No No
DISTRICT Still 100 Var Var 100 Change Change
BEACHES Motion 400 - 400 250 500 750
Still 100 - 100 100 100 200
CITY Exterior
HALL Motion - - - 1500 - 1500
Still - - - 500 - 500
Interior
Motion - - - 2500 - 2500
Still - - - 1000 - 1000
PARKS Motion 400 - 400 750 - 750
Still 100 - 100 200 - 200
PIER Motion 100 1000 1100 250 1000 1250
Still 50 250 300 100 250 350
415 PCH Motion 100 Var Var 250 Var Var
Still 50 Var Var 100 Var Var
STUDENT/ Mot./Still 0 0 0 100 - 100
NON/PROFIT
EDUCATIONAL
ALL Motion 400 - 400 500 - 500
OTHER Still 100 - 100 200 - 200
LOCATIONS
*Permit Fees are deposited in General Fund
**Requires special coordination