City Council

(14)\n25-1500\nECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND JOBS COMMITTEE REPORT\nrelative to requesting the City Controller to conduct an independent\naudit of the City’s complete film permitting ecosystem; and related\nmatters.\nRecommendations for Council action, pursuant to Motion (Nazarian -\nMcOsker):\n1. REQUEST the Controller to conduct an independent audit of the\nCity’s complete film permitting ecosystem, including but not\nlimited to:\na. Departmental Operations\ni. Evaluation of departmental staffing constraints—\nincluding Los Angeles Police Department Motion\nPicture Officer availability, Los Angeles Fire\nDepartment film inspection capacity, Department of\nTransportation posting resources, and Public Works\nand Department of Recreation and Parks (RAP) film\nstaffing—and the extent to which staffing shortages\nor overtime reliance contribute to delays,\ninconsistent permit conditions, or increased costs to\nproductions.\nii. Assessment of interdepartmental coordination\npractices, communication gaps, and bottlenecks\nwithin the review process.\nb. FilmLA Contract Performance and Operations\ni. Review of FilmLA’s operational performance under\nits contract with the Board of Public Works (BPW),\nincluding accuracy of permit processing timelines,\nturnaround consistency, workflow management, and\ncompliance with contract-required service standards.\nii. Examination of FilmLA’s technology systems and\npermitting platform, including:\n1. System reliability and the accuracy of time\nstamped workflow data.\n2. Identification of backend bottlenecks and\ndelays.\n3. Analysis of whether FilmLA’s system\narchitecture supports the City’s goals for\ntransparency, speed, and modernization.\n4. Recommendations for improvements or\nintegration with City systems.\n​\nc. Public Transparency\n​\ni. Assessment of the availability, clarity, and\naccessibility of public-facing information—including\nfilming fees, permit requirements, turnaround times,\nneighborhood concentration of filming activity, and\ndepartmental\nresponsiveness—and\nrecommendations to improve real-time transparency\nfor productions and residents.\n​\nd. Structural and Legislative Barriers\n​\ni. Identification of structural, contractual, or legislative\nbarriers within City departments, Municipal Code\nprovisions, or the FilmLA contract that prevent more\nefficient, integrated, or predictable permitting\nprocesses. Recommendations on where policy or\ncontractual changes would be necessary to achieve\nthe reforms outlined in the Keep Hollywood Home\ninitiative.\n​\n2. REQUEST the Controller report findings and recommendations\nto the City Council and the BPW upon completion of the audit.\n3. INSTRUCT the Chief Legislative Analyst (CLA), in partnership\nwith the BPW Film Liaison, the City Administrative Officer\n(CAO), and FilmLA, to prepare an Annual Keep Hollywood\nHome Implementation Report summarizing:\n​\na. ​Utilization and fiscal impacts of all fee waivers and pilots\n(Tier I, micro-shoot, $1 lots, etc.)\nb. Trends in permit volume and location.\nc. FilmLA KPI performance.\nd. Workforce and vendor participation.\ne. Recommended adjustments to motions and ordinances\nfor Council consideration.​\nFiscal Impact Statement: Neither the CAO nor the CLA has completed\na financial analysis of this report.