Front Street is going to be off-limits for film companies for most of 2015.
Scott Harper, the city’s film coordinator, recently updated city council about filming activity in New Westminster in 2014. The City of New Westminster had revenues of $313,113 via 61 filming permits for 88 filming days last year.
“We are certainly very competitive,” said Harper, when asked how New Westminster compares to other cities. “We are highly respected in the industry.”
Harper said seasonal fluctuations and the U.S. dollar are among the factors that contribute to changing numbers in the city’s revenues for filming.
In the past five years, the city’s gross revenues from filming peaked in 2010 at $476,746, when there were 113 filming days in the city. In 2013, the city had gross revenues of $431,837 (with the 94 filming days including shooting of the feature film Godzilla), but that dropped by 27 per cent last year.
In addition to the absence of a feature film shooting in New Westminster, staff attribute the decline to limited filming on Front and Columbia streets because of the fire at the Copp’s Shoes site and the follow-up remediation and construction of Anvil Centre and the Fourth Street overpass.
The Queen’s Park neighbourhood and the downtown continue to be favourite locales for filming in New West.
“I try to encourage it in other parts of the city,” Harper said. “It’s harder to do. It’s location specific.”
Front Street, which has been a film site for films like Godzilla and I Robot, will continue to be off-limits for much of 2015. A staff report notes that deconstruction of a part of the Front Street parkade, Front Street beautification upgrades and future developments on the waterfront will impact the frequency and duration of filming in the neighbourhood, as well as the overall visual character of the area.
Jason Haight, the city’s manager of business operations, said the city has to be cautious about how it manages filming on Front Street with the work that’s slated to take place in that neighbourhood. He said the city follows a “good neighbourhood” policy to minimize impacts on the area.
Along with generating some revenues for city coffers, staff note that film companies also pay residents and merchants for the use of their properties and also buy goods and services in New Westminster. New Westminster residents employed in the filming industry also support New Westminster businesses, pay property taxes and buy city services.
Staff report that filming continues to provide an overall net benefit to the Royal City and its stakeholders through careful management and coordination of film permits.
Coun. Patrick Johnstone questioned where the city gets much feedback from the residents’ associations and the Downtown New Westminster Business Improvement Association about filming.
“It’s always a balancing act,” Harper said. “We proactively reach out to the BIA and the residents’ associations.”
