Downtown LA

Downtown LA Group Gives City Ultimatum Over TV, Film Production

In its push to bring back runaway film and television production, Los Angeles City Hall is now getting pushback and an ultimatum from the neighborhood council representing downtown.

"Filming is very disruptive to community members," states a "community impact statement" sent to the Los Angeles City Council by the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council (DLANC).  It opposes a move to accommodate more filming by expanding permissable hours, typically 10am-7pm, to earlier in the morning and later at night.

The classic, early 20th century commercials buildings -- which can double for New York City -- have long made LA's downtown core a sought after destination for production, even with some jobs lured by tax incentives and subsidies offered in other states and Canada.

What has changed over the past generation is the growth of downtown as a burgeoning urban residential center, as well as an increasingly diverse entertainment destination, not merely a business and government hub for office workers who fled to suburbs after quitting time. Now production crews setting up downtown are far more likely to encounter residents concerned about noise and traffic and temporary parking restrictions and bright lighting shining through their windows.

"The daily annoyance is bearable," said Eric Garcia, an attorney who lives downtown and serves on the DLANC board.

The bigger concern, as Garcia sees it, are the "bad apple" productions that do not follow the rules, and sometimes threaten and intimidate residents.

DLANC's letter to City Hall cited as an example a woman who parked on a Wednesday in a space on a downtown street that had been posted "no parking Friday" for film production. Nevertheless, she was told she had to leave.

"These are all real issues we have to grapple with," said Paul Krekorian, chairman of the ad hoc City Council committee created to find ways to make Los Angeles more appealing to production companies and increase bookings.

"Just like in every other neighborhood, we have to make sure that while we're managing these impacts, we're also not shutting the door to the industry that forms the foundation of our economy and so many people's individual livelihoods," said Krekorian.

Garcia stressed that he is not opposed to filming. What's more, he said he would be open to considering longer filming hours, but only if it came with an assurance the city would do more to make sure the "bad apples," as he calls them, follow the rules.

Several downtown residents said they don't see a problem with expanded filming hours.

"More work for the people is the way I see it," said John Williams, who recently moved downtown.

On Tuesday, the crew of the TV series "Castle" was preparing for a shoot in the basement of the building at Fifth and Spring Streets, which also houses The Last Bookstore.  For this shoot, the shop did not benefit directly from a filming fee, and in fact its customers faced some obstacles negotiating the sidewalk out front, but general manager Katie Orphan still sees benefits from exposure and publicity.

"It's a bit of a trade-off," Orphan said. In downtown, "I don't think it's unexpected that film production will have some impact on your life."

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