The "Baywatch" crew received permission to park overnight on Venice Beach on Thursday after initially encountering obstacles this spring.
The California Coastal Commission approved an amended filming permit that allows the crew to park overnight in 27 spaces in a parking lot adjacent to the lifeguard headquarters in Venice. Under the original permit, the vehicles were required to be removed by 8:00 PM daily.
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Filming for the 12-episode reboot of the series on Fox began in March, but ran into a number of issues with Los Angeles County officials responsible for enforcing beach access regulations. These issues culminated in an April 10 meeting at the Fox studio lot with Los Angeles City Councilwoman Tracy Park, Supervisor Lindsay Horvath, and Steve Kang, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass's liaison for filming.
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At the meeting, it was decided that the film crew would seek a change to the filming permit, which was first approved by the Coastal Commission in February.
In April, the film crew submitted a request to extend the permit until January, which would have allowed them to film an additional 12 episodes. However, according to the commission's rules, this would require a separate filming permit, which cannot be accomplished through amendments.
Instead, the permit was extended from July 16 to August 7 to accommodate construction delays. The Coastal Zone Commission's executive director was granted the authority to extend the permit beyond August 7 "for good cause.".
The production team was also given an additional three months, until October 31, to dismantle the temporary set at the rescue headquarters, with the understanding that the set could remain in place if a subsequent season was approved.
The April amendment also included a requirement to allow night filming, but it was omitted from the version approved on Thursday. Filming hours remain limited to 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM, with a 15-minute grace period.
However, according to Joshua Smith, a commission spokesman, the executive director will have the authority to allow some nighttime filming, subject to advance notice.
«"Everyone agrees with the terms of the permit and is happy with the outcome," Smith said.
The commission also allowed the film crew to use an alternate route to transport equipment between the set and the parking lot, which proved more convenient than the one originally requested.
«"Under the terms and conditions, the Commission believes this construction will not have any long-term or significant adverse impacts on public access and recreational opportunities," the Commission's staff reported. "The Commission will continue to evaluate the public access issues identified in the required reports when reviewing any future filming activities and will consider expanding mitigation measures if deemed necessary and permitted by the terms of this permit.".
The amendment was approved without objection or any comments from the public.