Los Angeles is taking long-overdue steps to address one of its biggest self-inflicted wounds in the battle to retain film and TV productions: a burdensome and costly permitting system that has driven shoots out of state.

On Tuesday, the L.A. City Council unanimously passed a motion spearheaded by Councilmember Adrin Nazarian that aims to streamline and reform the city’s film permitting process—an effort to keep local production jobs from bleeding out to more incentive-friendly, production-efficient regions.

“We must do our part at the local level to keep production in Los Angeles,” Nazarian wrote in the motion.

The measure calls on city departments—including FilmLA, the Bureau of Street Services, and the Chief Legislative Analyst—to evaluate a broad set of reforms. These include updating the city’s film permit fee structure, exploring waivers for shoots on public property, curbing alleged price-gouging for basecamps and parking, and coordinating more effectively with law enforcement and public safety officers. The departments are expected to report back within 30 days.

At the City Council meeting, Councilmembers Hugo Soto-Martinez, Nithya Raman, Traci Park, Monica Rodriguez, and Imelda Padilla backed the motion, highlighting the local economic impact of production flight. Councilmember Park noted, “One in five people in my district works in entertainment,” adding that the issue is “incredibly urgent.” The sentiment was echoed by applause in City Hall, as industry workers filled the room in support.

During public comment, members of IATSE and the DGA shared firsthand accounts of shrinking job opportunities. “Any headwinds for production is causing production to leave Los Angeles and it’s causing our members to lose their jobs,” said Martin Weeks, president of IATSE Local 728. “We need to re-address what we’re doing,” added DGA member Greg Zekowski. “This is a great, major step forward.”

FilmLA president Paul Audley welcomed the initiative, noting that while the permitting system is already fast in many respects, there is still “considerable opportunity” to improve access to city personnel and better align departments behind the economic importance of production.

Councilmember Nazarian gave historical context for the city’s decline in marquee production volume. “In the mid-1980s, Los Angeles regularly hosted shoots for major tentpole productions. By 2013, no tentpole films were shooting in California. Now we’re losing commercials and miniseries. We can’t have this happen.”

Production flight has accelerated in recent years, driven by disruptions from COVID-19, the 2023 writers’ and actors’ strikes, and an overall contraction in the entertainment industry. While some progress has been made at the state level—including Governor Gavin Newsom’s push to expand California’s film and TV tax credit program from $330 million to $750 million—local permitting remains a friction point.

Last year, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass launched a film industry advisory group and signed an executive directive calling for quarterly meetings between city departments and production stakeholders. Nazarian’s motion signals the next phase of that effort, emphasizing that municipal action can’t lag behind Sacramento.

“Sacramento’s got to do what it’s got to do,” Nazarian told the Council, “but we can do what we can do here to make sure that we’re protecting the very industry that put Los Angeles on the map.”