The Fort Worth City Council and city staff are looking at ways to handle traffic issues that stem from filming within the city limits.
The details
During the Jan. 27 work session, a discussion was held regarding how residents learn about street closures due to the filming of television or videos.
In early 2025, SGS Studios, in cooperation with 101 Studios, opened a film studio in the Alliance area of Fort Worth. The company that produces shows such as “Lioness,” “Landman” and “The Dutton Ranch,” which are filming in locations in North Texas.
While council did not approve any changes, suggestions were discussed on lessening the impact on residents or those traveling near the filming locations.
What you need to know
City Manager Jesus “Jay” Chapa said the city staff had looked at filming permits and notification practices in Austin, Nashville, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston and Charlotte.
City documents stated that all of the aforementioned cities require a filming permit and coordination with city departments when filming on public property or in the public right-of-way on streets or sidewalks. Examples of how those cities notified residents using different methods of notification was provided. Austin relies on door-hanger notifications in the area, while Charlotte offers texting options to notify residents of road closures.
Current situation
When a city street or sidewalk is closed or restricted, a street use permit of $250 from Transportation and Public Works is required, according to city documents. A special event street use policy is also needed to provide Fort Worth officials with a synopsis of the filming project, event site plan, traffic control plan and notification letter to all affected businesses and residents with a one-block radius, which needs to be sent by the applicant.
At the moment, Fort Worth uses social media channels to post about street closures due to filming.
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What happened
Community Service Manager Michelle Gutt said coordinating communication and improvement notifications would be coming from the city in the future.
According to city documents, Fort Worth staff will now send out notifications to all registered neighborhood organizations within a one-mile radius of upcoming filming-related street closures.
The Community Engagement team will distribute this information and post updates on Nextdoor. This is similar to the current notifications issued for zoning cases, West Nile positive testing and prescribed fires.