Chapter 5.80
PERMITS FOR MOTION PICTURE, TELEVISION AND COMMERCIAL FILM PRODUCTION
Sections:
5.80.020 Findings and purpose.
5.80.050 Film permit application.
5.80.070 Application evaluation.
5.80.150 Permit revocation and suspension.
5.80.170 Disruption of production activity.
5.80.010 Title of chapter.
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Folsom Film Permit Ordinance.” (Ord. 1128 § 2 (part), 2010)
5.80.020 Findings and purpose.
It is the purpose of this chapter to provide for rules governing the issuance of permits for motion picture, television, commercial film production and new media activities in the city. The intent of this chapter is to ensure that motion picture, television, commercial, new media and nontheatrical production companies will be encouraged to use production locations within the city so long as those activities are consistent with the public health and safety and the protection of property. (Ord. 1128 § 2 (part), 2010)
5.80.030 Definitions.
The following words and phrases are defined for purposes of this chapter as follows:
A. “City manager” shall mean the city manager of the city of Folsom or his/her designee.
B. “Production activity” shall mean filming, video taping, photographing, or other similar or related process conducted for the making of motion pictures, music videos, television programs, video commercial, new media and nontheatrical productions and other similar activity.
C. “Film permit” shall mean written authorization from the city manager to conduct the production activity described in the permit.
D. “New media” shall mean digital, computerized, or networked information and communication technologies in networkable, dense, compressible, streaming or interactive format through virtual digital environment such as, for example, the Internet, website, mobile computing, computer multimedia, computer games, CD-ROMs, and DVDs.
E. “News media” shall mean a production activity conducted for the purpose of reporting on spontaneous, unplanned persons or events which are in the news for television, newspaper, and other news services.
F. “Production studio” shall mean a building, portion of a building, or a group of buildings designed and constructed for use by the entertainment industry for the purpose of motion picture, television, commercial film or new media productions.
G. “Sound stage” shall mean a building or portion of a building usually insulated from outside noise and natural light for use by the entertainment industry for the purpose of motion picture, television, commercial film or new media production. (Ord. 1128 § 2 (part), 2010)
5.80.040 Permit required.
A. It is unlawful to conduct a production activity as defined in Section 5.80.030(B) on any public or private property, facility or residence without first obtaining a film permit from the city manager.
B. Permit required under this chapter is in addition to any other regulatory requirements including, but not limited to, motion picture operational permit required under the Folsom Fire Code (Section 8.36.080).
C. Exemptions. The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to or affect the following:
1. News Media. Reporters, photographers, cameramen in the employ of a newspaper, news service, or similar entity engaged in on-the-spot broadcasting of news events concerning those persons, scenes or occurrences which are in the news and of general public interest.
2. Personal Video/Still Photography. The filming or video taping of motion pictures or still photography solely for noncommercial use.
3. Commercial Still Photography. Weddings, school pictures, and organized sports or clubs pictures.
4. Production Studio or Sound Stage. Production activities conducted in a production studio or sound stage as defined in Section 5.80.030(F) and (G).
5. Investigation and Judicial Proceeding. Production activities conducted for use in a criminal investigation or court civil or criminal proceeding.
6. Education. Filming activities conducted by students enrolled in local Folsom college, high school, junior high school, elementary school or other educational or public agency institutions solely for noncommercial educational purposes that do not impact public streets and/or public places. (Ord. 1128 § 2 (part), 2010)
5.80.050 Film permit application.
A. Completed applications for a filming permit shall be filed with the city manager as far in advance of the time that the proposed production activity is to commence as practicable.
B. Application deadlines may be waived for good cause by the city manager. Good cause shall be found if the city manager determines that there is sufficient time to process the application and for the city to prepare for the requested production activity.
C. The city will strive to respond to the application within forty-eight hours from receipt of a complete application packet. (Ord. 1128 § 2 (part), 2010)
5.80.060 Application form.
Permit application shall be on a form furnished by the city. Incomplete applications shall not be accepted. The application shall at the minimum include the following information:
A. Name, business address and telephone number of the applicant.
B. Location(s) and approximate daily call times of the proposed production activity.
C. Plans to use any public facilities, streets, sidewalks, trails of any type, and/or parks, including dates and times of intended use.
D. Description of scenes to be filmed, including details of any stunts, action, chase scenes, pyrotechnics, open flame, explosion or special effects.
E. Name of person in charge on location and the telephone number at the site where the activity is to be conducted.
F. Written proof of permission to film on private and public property within the city.
G. Description of all vehicles which will be parked on city streets during production activities and a proposed parking plan.
H. Such other information concerning time, safety and impact on public welfare of the production activity as the city manager may require to evaluate the approval or denial of a film permit under this chapter.
I. Insurance certificate. (Ord. 1128 § 2 (part), 2010)
5.80.070 Application evaluation.
A. The application shall be reviewed by all city departments likely to be affected by the motion picture, television or commercial film production activities, including but not limited to police, fire, community development, public works, parks and recreation, and utilities. No permit shall be issued for any activity described in this chapter without first obtaining recommendation from the aforementioned city departments.
B. The application shall be approved or denied as soon as practical following receipt of the complete application. The following criteria shall be considered when approving or denying the application:
1. The extent to which production activity will disrupt the use of a street at a time when it is usually subject to traffic congestion, or interfere with the operation of emergency vehicles in the proposed permit area.
2. Whether the location of the production activity will interfere with street maintenance work, a previously authorized excavation or encroachment permit, or a previously scheduled event or activity.
3. Whether a particular production activity would interfere with parking, crowd control, litter, noise and impacts to city personnel.
4. The extent to which the proposed production location is on city-owned property and whether the production activity will interfere with municipal functions or other previously authorized events or activities on city property.
5. Whether the production activity creates a substantial risk of injury to persons or property.
6. Whether the applicant failed to complete the application after being requested to do so, or the information contained in the application is found to contain a material misrepresentation.
7. Whether the particular production activity would violate federal, state or local law including, but not limited to, license or permit requirements, or an order or judicial decree issued by a court of competent jurisdiction.
C. When the grounds for permit denial can be corrected by imposing reasonable permit conditions, the city manager shall impose such conditions rather than denying the permit.
D. Any emergency road work or construction by city crews and/or private contractors under permit or contract to the appropriate city department, as well as previously authorized events or activities on city property, shall have priority over production activities. (Ord. 1128 § 2 (part), 2010)
5.80.080 Permit conditions.
The city manager may condition the issuance of a film permit by imposing reasonable requirements concerning the time, place and manner of production activities including but not limited to the following:
A. Requirements for the presence of Folsom police department, fire department, utilities department, parks and recreation department, and/or public works department employees when required for the particular production activity at the applicant’s expense.
B. Requirements for security or private emergency medical transport services at applicant’s expense.
C. Requirements concerning posting of no parking signs and placement of other traffic and/or crowd control devices at the applicant’s expense.
D. Requirement for utilities.
E. Requirement for valid licenses and permits required by applicable local, state, and federal laws and regulations.
F. Restrictions on the use of intense lighting equipment, generators, gunfire, explosions or other noise-creating or hazardous devices.
G. Restrictions on parking on public streets or facilities.
H. Requirements for litter control and/or post-filming cleanup.
I. Restrictions on hours of production activity.
J. Restrictions on noise level from production activity.
K. The applicant shall reimburse the city for any costs incurred by city, including any personnel provided for the purpose of ensuring public health and safety, permit compliance and/or to provide traffic or crowd control in connection with the production activity.
L. Requirements concerning notice to affected residents and businesses within three hundred feet of the production activity, or a greater distance if warranted by the particular production activity. (Ord. 1128 § 2 (part), 2010)
5.80.090 Fees and deposit.
A. A schedule of fees for city services and use of city property shall be established by city council resolution. The applicant shall prepay such fees prior to issuance of the film permit.
B. To ensure cleanup and restoration of public streets and public places used for production activity, the applicant may be required to post a deposit in an amount determined by the city manager at the time of permit issuance. In the event permittee fails to clean up areas used for production activity after completion of the activity, the city may, but is not obligated to, use said deposit to clean up trash and debris and to restore public areas to the same condition as they existed prior to filming. Any unused deposit shall be refunded to the permittee within thirty calendar days of verification by city staff that all required cleanup and restoration activities have been completed. Use of deposit by the city shall not relieve the applicant from any obligation imposed upon the applicant under this chapter. (Ord. 1128 § 2 (part), 2010)
5.80.100 Filming date change.
Upon reasonable notice by the permittee in advance of the production activity, the city manager shall be authorized to change or extend the date(s) for which the film permit has been issued without requiring a new application. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a revised application shall be required if substantial changes are made to the proposed production activity described in the original application. (Ord. 1128 § 2 (part), 2010)
5.80.110 Insurance.
A. The applicant for a film permit shall possess or obtain liability insurance to protect against loss from liability imposed by law for damages on account of bodily injury, wrongful death, and property damage arising from the production activity whenever city property, streets, personnel or facilities are used for any production-related purposes, including but not limited to parking and crowd control. Such insurance shall name on the policy or by endorsement as additional insured the city of Folsom, its officers, employees and agents and the policy shall stipulate that this insurance will operate as primary insurance for activities of the permittee and that no other insurance effected by the city or other named insureds will be called on to cover a loss covered thereunder. Insurance coverage must be maintained for the duration of the production activity.
B. Coverage shall be provided by a comprehensive commercial, general liability and automobile insurance policy in the amount of one million dollars per occurrence. The insurance coverage afforded by the policy shall provide at a minimum the equivalent of insurance coverage provided by insurance service office (ISO) comprehensive general liability insurance coverage.
C. Satisfactory insurance or evidence of permission to self-insure in full compliance with Workers’ Compensation Law of California.
D. Proof of insurance coverage as specified in subsections A, B and C of this section must be verified by the city manager prior to issuance of a film permit. (Ord. 1128 § 2 (part), 2010)
5.80.120 Indemnification.
A. Prior to the issuance of the film permit, the permit applicant shall sign an agreement, in a form acceptable to the city attorney, to reimburse the city for any costs incurred to repair or replace city property which is damaged as the result of the production activity.
B. The agreement shall also provide that the permittee shall be required to protect, defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the city, its officers, agents, and employees from all claims and liability of any kind whatsoever resulting from or arising out of the production activity. (Ord. 1128 § 2 (part), 2010)
5.80.130 Duty of permittee.
A. Permittee shall comply with all terms and conditions of the permit and this chapter. Failure to comply with all permit terms and conditions is grounds for permit revocation by the city manager.
B. Permittee shall conduct operations in an orderly fashion with continuous attention to the storage of equipment not in use and the cleanup of trash and debris.
C. Within seventy-two hours of completion of shooting at the scene unless otherwise extended by the city manager, the permittee shall clean up areas used for or affected by production activity, free of trash and debris, and shall restore said areas to the same condition as they existed prior to the production activity.
D. Permittee shall clean and restore all city-owned property utilized or affected during the production activity to the same condition as existed prior to the filming.
E. Permittee shall retain a copy of the film permit on location. (Ord. 1128 § 2 (part), 2010)
5.80.140 Appeal.
The permit applicant may appeal a permit denial, permit condition, permit revocation or refusal to waive a deadline under this chapter by filing an appeal to the city manager if the decision was made by the city manager’s designee, or to the city council if the decision was made by the city manager, under the procedure set forth in Section 2.08.060. (Ord. 1128 § 2 (part), 2010)
5.80.150 Permit revocation and suspension.
A. The city manager may revoke the film permit if the permittee, or any officers, agents, employees, volunteers, or contractors of the permittee fail to comply with the conditions and requirements of the permit or this chapter, or if the city manager determines after issuance that any information provided in the permit application is materially false. Revocation of a permit issued under this chapter shall be made in writing.
B. Any permit issued under this chapter shall be subject to immediate suspension by the city if necessary for the protection of the public health, safety, or general welfare. A Folsom police officer or fire marshal may suspend the film permit when the production activity poses an immediate hazard to persons and/or property, and the permittee will not or cannot prevent or eliminate the hazard after being instructed to do so by the officer. (Ord. 1128 § 2 (part), 2010)
5.80.160 Enforcement.
A. Violations of this chapter shall constitute misdemeanors. Violation not abated at the end of the day shall constitute a new violation on the following day. In addition to all other remedies at law or in equity, violations may be punishable by a fine not exceeding fifty dollars for the first violation; a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars for a second violation of the same provision within one year; and a fine not exceeding two hundred and fifty dollars for each additional violation of the same provision within one year.
B. Violations of this chapter may also be enforced pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 1.09. Notwithstanding other provisions of Chapter 1.09, no notice to correct and stop order as provided therein shall be required prior to issuance of a notice of violation and imposition of administrative penalties.
C. The remedies set forth in this chapter are cumulative to any other remedy available to the city. Pursuit of one remedy shall not preclude any other remedy, and nothing contained in this chapter shall limit or be deemed to prevent the city from pursuing any other remedy available to the city under the Folsom Municipal Code or other applicable law. (Ord. 1128 § 2 (part), 2010)
5.80.170 Disruption of production activity.
A. No person, after first being warned by a peace officer to cease the conduct, shall engage in conduct which disrupts production activity undertaken pursuant to a permit issued under the authority of this chapter.
B. For purposes of this section, “conduct which disrupts production activity” includes, but is not limited to, any of the following:
1. Creating or causing audible interference to the recording of sound;
2. Interfering with the ability of a production to achieve consistent light levels by shining or reflecting light onto a set or at a camera or by utilizing other artificial means to adversely affect lighting;
3. Interfering with the production activity by introducing or causing to inject smoke or foreign materials into the location where production activity is taking place;
4. Interfering with the entrance or egress of production equipment or personnel;
5. Placing obstacles at any location where production activity is taking place.
C. Violation of this section is a misdemeanor. (Ord. 1128 § 2 (part), 2010)