Summit Welcomes Movie Industry, While Residents Worry About More Traffic

SUMMIT, NJ — Summit is opening its doors to more movie and television productions, but some residents are asking how the city will manage the potential traffic and logistical challenges that can come with filming.

The Summit Common Council unanimously approved a new policy Tuesday that will make the city a “Film Ready” municipality through a partnership with the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA). The designation is designed to make it easier for production companies to film in Summit by creating a more streamlined process for permits, fees and coordination.

City officials said the program could provide economic benefits while ensuring that costs associated with productions are covered by the companies filming in town, not local taxpayers.

Councilmember Dan Crisafulli, who helped lead the effort, said the program addresses a challenge production companies have faced when trying to film throughout New Jersey.

“One problem has been that New Jersey's 564 municipalities each had its own rules for filming, requiring long and costly negotiations with each town for production,” Crisafulli said. “The proposed ordinance is a model recommended by New Jersey EDA to make the rules and process more uniform.”

The new policy allows Summit to establish a clearer process for reviewing filming requests and gives the city the ability to manage how and when productions take place.

Officials said production companies would be responsible for expenses related to filming, including any additional public safety resources that may be needed.

Councilmember Jamel Boyer said the program gives Summit an opportunity to benefit from the growing entertainment industry without shifting costs to residents.

“This ordinance was common sense,” Boyer said. “We open our doors with a little movie magic, and the studios pay their own way and cover their own risk.”

Boyer added that if a production requires traffic control or additional security, those costs would be covered by the production company.

“The police actually can control what's going on, and it doesn't come out of the city's budget,” Boyer said. “The applicant has to pay for it.”

New Jersey’s film industry has expanded in recent years, with productions drawn to the state by locations, infrastructure and financial incentives. City officials said becoming “Film Ready” gives Summit a better opportunity to compete for projects looking for locations.

Councilmember Jaclyn Lasaracina said the program could help support the city’s economic vitality while showcasing Summit to a wider audience.

“This is an important building block in helping to protect the economic vitality of our community,” Lasaracina said. “It allows us to show everyone what we know to be true, that Summit is a really special place.”

But during public comment Tuesday, resident Dorie Gagnon raised concerns about how filming could affect traffic, especially with other construction projects already taking place in the city.

“I know you guys wanted to close Maple Street, and those four corners of Maple Street are under construction,” Gagnon said. “How is this going to be handled if we shut down the middle of downtown, because that's probably where filming is going to occur?”

Gagnon also questioned how potential filming could affect residents traveling throughout town, including students going to school and commuters heading to the train station.

Boyer said traffic planning would be handled on a case-by-case basis and that the Summit Police Department would remain involved in coordinating safety measures when necessary.

Mayor Elizabeth Fagan said city officials initially had questions about how much additional work the program would create for municipal staff before moving forward.

“I know Rosie was hesitant, I know Tammy was hesitant, I was a little hesitant,” Fagan said, referring to city staff members who had concerns about managing filming requests.

Fagan said city officials researched how other municipalities handled the program and found that the process could be managed effectively.

Council President Claire Toth also pointed to previous filming activity in Summit, noting that productions have already taken place in the city without major disruption.

“In the past year, we've had filming at Fiorino and at the train station. It seems not to have shut down the city,” Toth said.

With the new policy in place, Summit will now begin using the updated process as it looks to attract film and television productions while addressing resident concerns about traffic, construction and day-to-day disruptions.