The Haines Borough needs to create a permit process to protect itself from lawsuits resulting from shooting mishaps on the reality TV and nature shows produced in the area, borough manager Bill Seward told the Commerce Committee Wednesday night.
Under current borough procedures, the borough currently has no way to indemnify itself against claims should disaster happen during shooting by outfits like RAW TV, the production crew behind the Discovery Channel’s “Gold Rush” series.
Seward said he was recently presented with a RAW TV contract for filming rights “that put the liability on the borough, whether we let them shoot in the harbor or the cemetery.”
He said Haines was the only area community he knew of that did not have a permit process. Seward cobbled together a permit from these in communities like Juneau to give the committee an idea of the legal language that would be required.
Seward presented the draft of the proposed new ordinance as well as a sample permit application for review. “It’s important to have an established code that gives these film outfits the expectations of the community coming in,” he said.
As a test run, Seward said he used the indemnity language with a recent RAW TV shoot in the harbor and did not run into any objections from filmmakers.
“I think it’s good practice to avert future problems,” he told the committee. “It’s pretty much standard practice across our region.”
Committee members said they did not want to chase away nonprofessional visitors such as students or heliskiers who produce online content that promotes Haines.
“Deciding who needs a permit and who doesn’t is one of the challenges in this,” said chair Margaret Friedenauer. “I want to protect the adventurers who come here. Though they’re small scale, they benefit the town. They promote the town.”
Seward said groups shooting in a closed building outside public view, using four people or fewer, would not require a permit. “But if it bleeds into public view with things like trucks and lighting, then we’d need to coordinate that.”
Member Mike Case said the ordinance needed to be streamlined. “The problem with this, as with many of our codes: Why are we doing this? To protect the borough. To protect citizens.”
Seward said the permit would be free. “We want to make sure we’re insured, but we still want to attract people here.”