More than a decade ago, leaders in the City of Los Angeles enacted a new policy allowing some city-owned properties to be used for free by the film industry. This includes some municipal buildings (i.e., City Hall) and city managed off-street parking lots.
Today, Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) manages over a hundred and fifteen off-street parking lots that are located everywhere from far north in the San Fernando Valley and as far south as San Pedro. Each lot is clearly identified by a city sign that has the LADOT logo and a lot number. These parking lots are free (except for the ones managed by MPI) for production companies to use if they are on your film permit. FilmLA has noticed an increase in requests for off-street parking lots and would like to share some valuable information with you.
First, the availability of any specific lot should not be presumed, as each lot varies in size and there are specific limitations tied to each. It’s important to note that use of some lots requires Council District approval, others require that production have a signed contract with Modern Parking, and some may require a community survey and/or may have weight restrictions. The details of what is required needs to be discussed with your assigned FilmLA Production Coordinator immediately after filing your permit application in MyFilmLA, to ensure that we can meet our 48-hour deadline to provide LADOT all the necessary information to process your request(s). Therefore, parking requests must be submitted no less than 3 business days prior to your first date for use of the lot(s).
In addition, while the City of Los Angeles and FilmLA welcome use of off-street parking lots for production, please be reminded that many are also being used for special events and/or for merchant parking. Please note that LADOT Off-Street parking lots do offer the use of accessible spaces for the mobility impaired. Accessible spaces are excluded and must always remain available for the public to use.
Please follow the guidelines below to ensure prompt processing of your parking request:
- Confirm with your Production Coordinator the lot #, number of spaces needed (must not exceed LADOT allowance), dates and times.
- If you are requesting posting for the entire or partial use of the lot , you must meet LADOT posting deadlines.
- If the lot is within 300 feet of a residential area and you are requesting to use the lot outside of normal filming hours, a community survey will be required. Responses are due back to FilmLA no later than 12:00 p.m. the day before your permit is released.
- If the lot is operated by Modern Parking, a contract with them will be required. The spaces, dates, and times on your contact must match what is listed on your film permit (to avoid delays).
- Late requests will not be accommodated per LADOT Off-Street Parking Division.
Thank you for your time and attention to this important notice. If you have questions about off-street parking availability and use, please direct your questions to your FilmLA Production Coordinator. If you do not have a Production Coordinator, please contact our Solution Services department at (213) 977-8600.