City may adopt regulations for filming on Bainbridge Island

Published 10:53 pm Thursday, November 13, 2014

Lights! Action! Permit?

Future filmmakers on Bainbridge Island may have to get a permit from the city manager before shooting any motion pictures, television shows or Internet offerings if the city council approves a comprehensive set of new regulations.

The Bainbridge city council will consider new rules at its meeting Tuesday that would require city permission for filming on the island.

The city will also collect permit fees and “any extraordinary costs incurred by the city in connection with the permit,” according to the proposed ordinance.

Those costs may include covering the staff time of police and public works employees, litter disposal and other items.

Filming on the island had a brush with controversy last summer, after some islanders complained about the farmers market being used — along with other places on the island — to film a commercial for a new Oral-B toothbrush. The proposed ordinance has been in the works for months, according to the city.

At the Tuesday, Nov. 18 council meeting, council members will get an overview of the new regulations.

According to the agenda bill for the ordinance, making filmmakers get permits will give the city manager the authority “to place conditions on filming and production to insure that such filming and production activities do not interfere with the public health and safety.”

The rules will not apply to filming that’s done for personal or private use, or to studios that have gotten a business license from the city.

Still, it’s unclear from the proposed ordinance how far the ordinance will restrict filmmakers who produce content for the Internet, as the ordinance does not define “personal or private use.”

News organizations such as newspapers and television stations will be allowed to film without a permit, and the exemption also applies to nonprofits with 501(c) status from the Internal Revenue Service.

The amount of the filming permit fee will be set by a resolution adopted later by the city council.

According to the new rules, filmmakers seeking a permit will need to provide information including proposed locations where filming will occur, dates and times, descriptions (including the number and type) of all motor vehicles the filmmakers will use, a list of all public facilities that may be used, details on who will be in charge at each filming location, and “such other information as the city manager deems necessary to evaluate the application and appropriately condition the permit.”

The city council meets at 7 p.m. Nov. 18 at city hall.