Los Angeles is taking another step in its effort to reclaim its status as the global center of film and television production.

The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to adopt seven motions aimed at streamlining the city’s permitting process, reducing fees and eliminating outdated regulations that many industry workers say have made shooting in Hollywood increasingly difficult. The measures represent Phase 1 of Councilmember Adrin Nazarian’s “Keep Hollywood Home” initiative, a broader campaign designed to stabilize and eventually grow film and television production in the city.

The vote comes as Los Angeles continues to grapple with declining production levels amid fierce competition from other states and countries offering aggressive incentives and more efficient permitting systems.

“History alone will not protect us,” Nazarian told the council chambers ahead of the vote. “Production is mobile, capital is mobile, talent is mobile, and jurisdictions across this country and around the world are competing aggressively for what we once assumed would always stay here.”

The seven measures approved by the council instruct city departments to collaborate on simplifying rules across jurisdictions, expand access to public facilities for filming, review and reassess permitting fees, and commission an independent audit of the city’s film office, FilmLA, which helps productions navigate the local permitting system. The package also establishes a free micro-shoot permit intended to make it easier for smaller productions and independent filmmakers to shoot within city limits.

FilmLA has become a lightning rod in recent years among production workers and producers who argue that the permitting system has grown overly complex and expensive, driving productions to friendlier jurisdictions.

Nazarian acknowledged those concerns during the meeting, emphasizing that the agency ultimately answers to city leadership.

“FilmLA exists to serve us, not the other way around,” he said. “FilmLA responds to us and our oversight. That cannot be lost here.”

The council chambers were packed with film and television workers, union leaders and industry advocates who spoke during public comment about the sharp drop in local production in recent years. After the final vote, many gathered in the City Hall courtyard to celebrate what they described as an important first step toward rebuilding the city’s production ecosystem.

“This victory belongs to the workforce,” Nazarian said afterward. “These are the people who don’t walk red carpets, but they make the magic happen. Today’s votes say: We see you, we value you, and we are willing to fight for your jobs.”

Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson framed the effort as part of a larger strategy to reinvigorate Los Angeles’ economic and cultural identity.

“We aren’t just reclaiming our signature industry—we are reinvesting in the soul of our city and the hardworking Angelenos who make it the creative heartbeat of the world,” Harris-Dawson said. Looking ahead to the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, he added, “We are sending a clear signal to the world—L.A. will never stop innovating.”

The reforms represent only the opening phase of the Keep Hollywood Home initiative. According to Nazarian, Phase 1 was designed primarily to address bureaucratic barriers that have made filming in Los Angeles cumbersome. Phase 2, now moving through council committees, is expected to focus on more structural changes aimed at actively attracting production back to the city, including new incentives and potential fee waivers.

Nazarian has spent the past year meeting with industry stakeholders — from unions and studio executives to independent filmmakers and vendors — in an effort to craft policy responses to what many view as a critical moment for Hollywood.

While Wednesday’s vote signals a shift in the city’s approach, implementation will take time. Local agencies have been given between 45 and 180 days to carry out the new directives, including the review of fees and the permitting audit.

For an industry long synonymous with Los Angeles, the stakes are high. But the message from City Hall this week was clear: the city intends to compete.

“Los Angeles is not standing still,” Nazarian said. “We are not clinging to outdated systems. And we are not surrendering our signature industry without a fight.”