Santa Barbara County, CA Filming & Production: Street Closures (2026)

Santa Barbara County Code Sec. 14C-16 lets the board of supervisors restrict filming activities by resolution on public roads, road rights-of-way, or private road easements countywide. Within that framework, a film permit applicant can ask in the application for an intermittent interruption of traffic flow at the filming site; the law requires that any such closure never interfere with emergency vehicles and never present a detriment to the area's peace, enjoyment and safety, and it must be supervised by a law enforcement or traffic enforcement officer on scene.

This sits inside the broader film permit chapter (14C): applications carry a nonrefundable fee equal to fifty percent of the base permit fee (Sec. 14C-11), require a minimum $1,000,000 general liability, auto liability and property damage policy naming the county as additional insured (Sec. 14C-13), and require a signed indemnification agreement before issuance (Sec. 14C-14). Where a road closure or encroachment is involved, the film permit officer must also give advance written notice to occupants and owners within at least three hundred feet of the filming site, plus anyone with no other means of access except the affected road (Sec.

14C-18). The film permit officer, any deputy sheriff, the fire marshal, CHP or a park ranger can suspend or revoke the permit if conditions are violated or public safety is imperiled (Sec. 14C-17), and that decision can be appealed to the director of planning and development within five business days, with a further appeal to the board of supervisors (Sec. 14C-19).