New Orleans, LA Filming & Production: Street Closures (2026)

Section 30-1703(a) authorizes the Film Office, notwithstanding any other requirement in the Code, to approve four filming activities after consulting with and getting the approval of the department of public works: use of parking lanes, closure of a city street or other public right-of-way, intermittent traffic control, and simulated gunfire or explosions. The Film Office may also permit temporary signage about parking or right-of-way restrictions, overriding otherwise-applicable Code or comprehensive zoning ordinance requirements (b). Crucially, subsection (c) makes every filming permit, including a street closure, entirely discretionary: the Film Office must prioritize public health, welfare and safety but cannot consider the content of the film project, and it may require changes to the requested location or deny or modify alternate arrangements for parking, lane clearance, sidewalk or street closures, traffic control, or equipment placement to protect the affected community's quality of life.

In practice the closure request is documented in the film location permit application under § 30-1710(a)(5) (cross streets, municipal addresses, and traffic-control needs) and § 30-1710(b)(1) (a schematic showing the cleared lanes, closures, and equipment placement). The closure authority lives inside the same film location permit created by § 30-1705, which remains a revocable privilege under § 30-1705(f).