BOISE, Idaho —
This story originally appeared in the Idaho Press.
Everyone knows Napoleon Dynamite was filmed in Idaho, but other than that, the list of big movies filmed in the Gem State is short and filled with films from the 20th century. The most famous recent movie filmed in Boise just might be 2013’s The To Do List, a raunchy coming-of-age story starring Aubrey Plaza.
However, the city of Boise has been working on an ordinance that would require film permits, due to what a city memo called “growing interest and use of public spaces” in Boise to film projects, and concern over the impacts of a lack of regulation.
The stated goal of the ordinance is to govern increasing film activity, according to a staff presentation at Tuesday’s Boise City Council meeting. Staff also said the proposed permit and application fees were designed to incentivize the film industry to film in Boise.
“We’ve heard that people want to do film production in Boise but they won’t do it here because there’s no laid-out structure to do that,” Council President Pro Tem Holli Woodings said. “We want to see something that gives people certainty.”
City staff invited stakeholders including local media, public television, independent Idaho filmmakers and local production companies to participate in the process. Staff also sent out a survey, according to the meeting.
Boise determined film permits are needed in certain situations, according to a presentation at the meeting. If filming was done on city property and required entry after business hours, required a reservation or would be disruptive to normal functions of city business, a permit would be needed.
A permit would also be required for filming on private property when one or more elements of impact would have to exist. The elements of impact include late hours with a certain-size crew, dangerous stunts or animals, pyrotechnics or explosives, sexual encounters or real or fake weapons.
Low-impact films are defined as projects filmed on city property and have one of the three elements (reservation, after-hour use or disrupts operation). In this case, there is an annual low-impact permit people who want to film can apply for. There would be no fees.
Creating medium-impact films, which include disrupting pedestrian traffic, brandishing weapons or nudity and sexual encounters, would require a permit. There would be no permit or application fee but a $25 per-day fee.
High-impact films, which include vehicle chases, excessive noises, and potential disruption of normal traffic and street closures, would require permits and require additional agencies, according to the presentation. These will take more time. There would be a $250 permit/application fee and a $25 per-day fee.
Exemptions include personal films, still photography, projects filmed at studio locations, charitable projects, student and contest films, investigations, and news media.
The proposed application process includes a review for permits in three to five business days.
The violation penalty is a misdemeanor, which staff said was to ensure compliance because an infraction would only come with a $100 fine.
A couple of news media representatives testified against the ordinance because of its definition of news media.
The definition of media said “filming conducted for reporting on current or breaking stories by newspaper, television or other outlets that are dedicated solely to information about current events.”
“I do find it to be pretty limiting as it’s currently talked about with only current events being those that are considered news because certainly I think the news media oftentimes does features that include backstory,” Council President Elaine Clegg said. “We might need to look at that a little more.”
Don Day, the owner of the news website BoiseDev, said the city might not intend to limit media to only current or breaking news but future councils could use the language in the definition. He added that journalists shouldn’t have to tell the government what they plan to do in advance.
“It violates the First Amendment of the Constitution and extensive case law,” Day said. “Further, by changing this to a misdemeanor penalty, a journalist could be jailed or fined if the city decides their work isn’t current or breaking.”
Others complained about the misdemeanor penalty and one woman said the commercial automobile insurance requirement in the ordinance is higher than what her clients require. One independent filmmaker said more time would be beneficial to fully work out the details.
Idaho is more known as the vacation spot for Hollywood actors than as the place where filmmakers conduct their business.
Chelsea Smith, the director of Treefort’s film festival Filmfort, said the lack of infrastructure is a barrier, including the lack of a film office, a permitting process, and a lack of directories of film professionals or financial incentives.
“I’m really a proponent of this permitting process because it is creating a dialogue with the city,” Smith said. “But I do think a little bit more time to help educate the stakeholders in the community and create some more buy-in could help with the onboarding of the film community.”
The council took no action, since it was just a hearing, but Woodings said she would ideally like to see “another round of stakeholder outreach.”
“I really think that this needs and deserves a little bit more than that,” Woodings said. “(I’m) very excited for what the future of this can be.”
Disclosure: Idaho Press reporter Betsy Russell testified against the ordinance in her capacity as Idaho Press Club president. She also spoke for Idaho Public Television.
Carolyn Komatsoulis covers Boise, Meridian and Ada County. Contact her at 208-465-8107 and follow her on Twitter @CKomatsoulis.
This story originally appeared in the Idaho Press. Read more at IdahoPress.com
Watch more Local News:
See the latest news from around the Treasure Valley and the Gem State in our YouTube playlist:
