Brief

Councilmember Adrin Nazarian moved this motion to establish a Certified LA Stage certification system and Stage Corridor Fast-Track Zones aimed at retaining and expanding soundstage capacity and film production infrastructure citywide. The motion directs city departments to develop streamlined approval processes and identify priority corridors for soundstage development. The Council adopted the measure 13-0-2 on March 4, 2026, and the Board of Public Works subsequently submitted implementation documents in August 2026, which are now pending before the Ad Hoc Committee on Film, Entertainment, and Creative Industry.

Full summary

This motion, introduced by Councilmember Adrin Nazarian and seconded by Imelda Padilla, creates a dual-track initiative to support Los Angeles's film and television production industry through infrastructure and certification measures. The "Certified LA Stage" program would establish a municipal certification standard for soundstage facilities, and the "Stage Corridor Fast-Track Zone" component directs the city to identify geographic corridors where soundstage development can proceed through accelerated permitting. The underlying goal, reflected in the motion's subtitle "Keep Hollywood Home," is to counteract the relocation of production to other states and countries by making Los Angeles more competitive for building and operating soundstage facilities. After the Council adopted the motion 13-0-2 on March 4, 2026, the Board of Public Works coordinated a multi-department review to assess existing programs that could form the foundation of the new initiative. The resulting August 2026 report finds that several building blocks are already in place. The Department of City Planning notes that the Hollywood and Downtown Community Plans have been updated with new zoning to facilitate production studio development, and that its expedited processing track can guarantee a public hearing within three months for smaller projects not requiring a full environmental review. The Major Projects Section is currently managing several large entertainment studio proposals totaling over 5.6 million square feet of proposed development. City planners also flag that state-level CEQA exemptions for existing studio campuses modernizing within a defined square footage threshold could significantly speed up entitlements. The Department of Building and Safety already runs an express-service program open to all studio and soundstage projects regardless of permit value, assigning a dedicated Case Manager, committing to plan-checker assignment within 12 days, and scheduling inspections the day after a request is submitted. LADWP notes that it typically engages on power infrastructure only after construction begins, but says it is open to earlier coordination with applicants and partner departments to speed utility readiness. The Fire Department's review of fire safety systems is triggered by the Certificate of Occupancy process and would need to be sequenced after LADBS completes its work in any unified interdepartmental workflow. FilmLA, though not formally named in the motion, supports the effort and recommends consulting independent soundstage owners and producers to ensure certification standards are workable across different facility types and sizes, and urges coordination with the State Fire Marshal on temporary stage-use facilities. The Board of Public Works recommends that the Council receive the report for informational purposes and use the existing programs it describes as the basis for designing the new certification and fast-track program. That report was referred to the Ad Hoc Committee on Film, Entertainment, and Creative Industry on August 7, 2026, where the file now sits. This file is part of a coordinated package of roughly a dozen related council files on film industry support. It remains open and active, with the committee expected to use the departmental findings to shape the final program design.

Activity (11)

• 2026-08-07 Board of Public Works document(s) referred to Ad Hoc Committee on Film, Entertainment, and Creative Industry.
• 2026-08-06 Document submitted by Board of Public Works, dated August 6, 2026.
• 2026-03-04 Council action final.
• 2026-03-04 Council adopted item forthwith.
• 2026-02-27 City Clerk scheduled item for Council on March 4, 2026.
• 2026-02-20 Community Impact Statement submitted by Los Feliz Neighborhood Council.
• 2026-02-17 Economic Development and Jobs Committee approved item(s) .
• 2026-02-17 Community Impact Statement submitted by NoHo Neighborhood Council.
• 2026-02-13 Economic Development and Jobs Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on February 17, 2026.
• 2026-02-12 Community Impact Statement submitted by Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council.
• 2025-12-12 Motion referred to Economic Development and Jobs Committee.

Documents (11)

• 2026-08-06 Report from Board of Public Works · report
• 2026-03-04 Council Action · council_action
• 2026-03-04 Speaker Card(s) · speaker_card
• 2026-02-20 Community Impact Statement submitted by Los Feliz Neighborhood Council · cis
• 2026-02-17 Report from Economic Development and Jobs Committee · report
• 2026-02-17 Community Impact Statement submitted by NoHo Neighborhood Council · cis
• 2026-02-17 Communication(s) from Public · communication
• 2026-02-17 Speaker Card(s) · speaker_card
• 2026-02-13 Communication(s) from Public · communication
• 2026-02-12 Community Impact Statement submitted by Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council · cis
• 2025-12-12 Motion · motion

Council votes (1)

• 2026-03-04 Vote — 13-0-2 · Regular