As anyone who’s ever worked in entertainment knows, filming on-location brings with it a special set of challenges. One of those challenges is how to mitigate production’s impact on neighborhoods, which is something we at FilmL.A. make an everyday priority.
Our staff members are available 24/7 to respond to filming-related concerns, and we categorize all incoming calls, emails and letters we receive to better understand which filming issues affect neighborhoods the most.
As it turns out, neighborhoods’ greatest concern is parking — or the lack thereof. Quarter after quarter, year after year, one out of every four filming issues brought to our attention involves reduced access to street parking during film production.
For many years, we’ve strongly encouraged large productions to set up base camps away from their primary filming locations. Crew parking in neighborhoods is expressly prohibited, so we offer assistance to filmmakers looking for nearby facilities — such as local schools — that can accommodate their off-site parking needs.
When location-adjacent parking is a must, our coordinators consult reasonable guidelines to determine how much space can be set aside for production vehicles.
And later, should we learn that a company has changed its plans and decided not to park vehicles at that location, FilmL.A. will work with DOT to adjust “no parking” signs so company-reserved spaces are reopened for community use.
Finally, we’ve been very supportive of efforts to reduce the need for location-adjacent parking. Our president and director of community relations are vocal members of the City of Los Angeles’ Film Parking Task Force. We’ve also supplied research and recommendations to the Los Angeles City Council, supporting its efforts to open City-owned parking lots to production vehicles.
So the next time you complete a Filming Survey or receive a Notice of Filming, take a look at how parking is scheduled to be handled. If you have concerns, we’d love for you to share them with us, so we can use your input to help make filming work.
Parking to the People: Reducing Filming’s Impact
