SANTA PAULA : Higher Fees Urged for Filmmakers

The Santa Paula City Council has unanimously endorsed a controversial proposal to increase the fee charged to filmmakers who use the city as a motion picture and television shooting site, and to require advance notice for nearby residents.

The plan produced a lively debate between business interests and residents who prefer a ban on local filming.

“I’m not in favor of TV filming, and that’s not a personal opinion, but the opinion of many people,” said retired Appellate Court Judge Edwin Beach, a longtime Santa Paula resident.

In contrast, a Chamber of Commerce official urged immediate passage to encourage more filming.

“I urge you to get on with adopting the ordinance so we can get on with filming,” said Robert Russell, president of the Santa Paula Chamber of Commerce. “We are losing money because no films have been approved.”

City official Steve Rogers said the California Film Commission, a state group, strongly objected to the ordinance, calling it overly restrictive.

“They don’t feel we’ll have much business, nor will they encourage business to come to us” if the ordinance is passed, Rogers said.

While filming is not considered to be a money-maker for the town, Santa Paula receives $250 per day of shooting, and film companies pay the cost of Police and Fire Department supervision.

A separate fee schedule raises application fees and increases daily charges to a minimum of $500. Flyers notifying residents would be required in advance of filming.

“We’re not trying to use the ordinance to say no,” Rogers said. “We just want to do it to our standards. If that means some people don’t come here to film, that’s life.”

A variety of TV and feature films have used Santa Paula as a location, most recently for the filming of “Yesterday’s Hero,” starring Stacy Keach and Genevieve Bujold.

Much of the debate centered on the adequacy of the insurance provisions of the proposal. Companies must demonstrate $1 million in liability insurance before they can receive permission--a figure that Beach said should be more than tripled.

Beach, one of the most vocal opponents of filming in the area, has said the filmmakers are often discourteous and charged that the companies abuse the right given them to film in town.

The council voted unanimously Monday, with one member absent, in favor of the proposal. Final action is scheduled later this month.