Sudbury's booming film industry is having some unintended consequences in residential areas, says Ward 10 Coun. Fern Cormier.
Cormier moved a motion Tuesday that would have staff research best practices in other municipalities governing the rules for filming on private property. The city already has a bylaw for the movie industry, but it only covers the rules for municipal property.
"Our current bylaw is silent on productions filmed on private property," Cormier said Tuesday. "And the pace of filming in the City of Greater Sudbury, as everyone acknowledges, has grown exponentially."
In one case, he said a film company bought a house in a residential area and began working from there.
"Under our current bylaw, there is nothing that forbids that," he said.
Cormier said he has met with some members of the film industry to ensure they understand that they are welcome in the city.
"This by no means is being viewed by them -- nor should it be -- as an attempt to create more red tape or burdensome regulations,” he said. “That is not it at all, and they appreciate that. They have communicated with me that they would welcome some clarity on the rules filming in residential areas of the city."
"This motion asks staff to go and look at best practices from other municipalities. We want to find the best way to strike the most appropriate balance between nurturing this most excellent industry everyone acknowledges we want in our community ... but at the same time protect those residents in densely populated residential zones who could be negatively affected by prolonged activity in their neighbourhood."
The report is due for council's consideration at their July meeting.
