ANAHEIM : City May Alter Way Film Permits Given

The city wants to put out the welcome mat for commercial filmmakers.

Getting permits for filming and videotaping would be much simpler under a measure, based on a model developed by the California Film Commission, that the City Council will consider tonight.

“We want to make it more streamlined and easier for the film industry to come to our city,” said Alfred Yalda, a transportation planner with the Public Works Department. Many permits would be issued on the same day the applications are made, Yalda said.

Encouraging film and TV productions would help to generate revenue for the city, Yalda said. He pointed out that Anaheim Stadium, The Pond of Anaheim and the area around Disneyland are all popular shooting locations.

Anaheim Stadium, in particular, has been courting film and video crews to help offset financial losses that resulted from last year’s major-league baseball strike and lackluster crowds for the departing Rams football team.

Among the TV productions that have been shot at the Big A are “Seinfeld,” “The O.J. Simpson Story” and “Columbo,” along with commercials for Nike, Dr Pepper, MasterCard and Miller Light.

In other action tonight, the council will consider an agreement with Orange County to expand the Women, Infant and Children Supplemental Food Program being offered at the Ponderosa Park Neighborhood Center and the Jeffrey-Lynne Neighborhood Center.

The nutrition program for low-income women who are pregnant or nursing has been operated at the two Anaheim centers since 1992. During the latest fiscal year, services were provided to more than 40,000 women in Anaheim.

The council will meet at 5 p.m. at City Hall, 200 S. Anaheim Blvd. Information: (714) 254-5100.