[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Mountain Lakes 10-14-2024 by Ord. No. 13-24; amended in its entirety 10-27-2025 by Ord. No. 16-25. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
FILMING —
The taking of still or motion pictures either on film or videotape or similar recording medium, for commercial or educational purposes intended for viewing on television, in theaters or for institutional uses. The provisions of this chapter shall not be deemed to include the “filming” of news stories within the Borough of Mountain Lakes.
MAJOR MOTION PICTURE —
Any film which is financed and/or distributed by a major motion picture studio, including but not limited to the following:
A. 
NBC Universal, Including Peacock;
B. 
Warner Bros. Discovery, including New Line Cinema, HBO, DC Studios and Castle Rock Entertainment.
C. 
Paramount, including Miramax, MTV Films, Showtime, Skydance, Dreamworks and Nickelodeon Movies.
D. 
Walt Disney Studios, including 20th Century Studios, Searchlight Pictures, Hulu and Marvel Studios.
E. 
Sony Pictures, including Columbia Pictures, Screen Gems and Tristar Pictures.
F. 
Amazon MGM Studios.
G. 
Netflix Studios.
H. 
Any film for which the budget is at least $20,000,000.
I. 
Recurrent weekly television series programming.
PUBLIC LANDS —
Any and every public street, highway, sidewalk, square, public park or playground or any other public place within the Borough which is within the jurisdiction and control of the Borough of Mountain Lakes.
A. 
No person or organization shall film or permit filming on public or private land within the Borough of Mountain Lakes without first having obtained a permit from the office of the Municipal Clerk, which permit shall set forth the approved location of such filming. Said permit must be readily available for inspection by Borough officials at all times at the site of the filming.
B. 
All permits shall be applied for and obtained from the office of the Municipal Clerk during normal business hours. Applications for such permits shall be in a form approved by the Municipal Clerk and be accompanied by a permit fee in the amount established by this chapter in § 119-12 herein.
C. 
If a permit is issued and, due to inclement weather or other good cause, filming does not in fact take place on the dates specified, the Municipal Clerk may, at the request of the applicant, issue a new permit for filming on other dates subject to full compliance with all other provisions of this chapter. No additional fee shall be paid for this permit.
A. 
No permits will be issued by the Municipal Clerk unless applied for prior to four days before the requested shooting date; provided, however, that the Borough Manager may waive the four-day period if, in his judgment, the applicant has obtained all related approvals and adjacent property owners or tenants do not need to be notified. A permit issued under such waiver shall be treated as an expedited filming permit.
B. 
No permit shall be issued for filming upon public lands unless the applicant shall provide the Borough with satisfactory proof of the following:
(1) 
Proof of insurance coverage as follows:
(a) 
For bodily injury to any one person in the amount of $500,000 and any occurrence in the aggregate amount of $1,000,000.
(b) 
For property damage for each occurrence in the aggregate amount of $300,000.
(2) 
An agreement, in writing, whereby the applicant agrees to indemnify and save harmless the Borough of Mountain Lakes from any and all liability, expense, claim or damages resulting from the use of public lands.
(3) 
The posting of cash of $500 or a maintenance bond of $500 running in favor of the Borough and protecting and insuring that the location utilized will be left after filming, in a satisfactory condition, free of debris, rubbish and equipment, and that due observance of all Borough ordinances, laws and regulations will be followed. Within 10 days of the completion of the filming, the Borough will return the bond if there has been no damage to public property or public expense caused by the filming.
(4) 
The hiring of an off-duty Mountain Lakes police officer for the times indicated on the permit.
C. 
The holder of the permit shall take all reasonable steps to minimize interference with the free passage of pedestrians and traffic over public lands and shall comply with all lawful directives issued by the Mountain Lakes Police Department with respect thereto.
A. 
The holder of a permit shall conduct filming in such a manner as to minimize the inconvenience or discomfort to adjoining property owners attributable to such filming and shall, to the extent practicable, abate noise and park vehicles associated with such filming off the public streets.
B. 
The holder shall avoid any interference with previously scheduled activities upon public lands and limit, to the extent possible, any interference with normal public activity on such public lands. Where the applicant’s production activity, by reason of location or otherwise, will directly involve and/or affect any businesses, merchants or residents, these parties shall be given written notice of the filming at least three business days prior to the requested shooting date and be informed that objections may be filed with the Municipal Clerk, said objections to form a part of applicant’s application and be considered in the review of the same. Proof of service of notification to adjacent owners shall be submitted to the Municipal Clerk within two days of the requested shooting date.
Filming in residential zones shall be permitted Monday through Sunday between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. (camera wrap) or 10:00 p.m. (crew wrap), provided that all requests for night scenes (exterior only) shall be approved in the permit to be granted in accordance with § 119-8 hereof.
A. 
The Borough Manager may refuse to issue a permit whenever he determines, on the basis of objective facts and after a review of the application and a report thereon by the Police Department and by other Borough agencies involved with the proposed filming site, that filming at the location and/or the time set forth in the application would violate any law or ordinance or would unreasonably interfere with the use and enjoyment of adjoining properties, unreasonably impede the free flow of vehicular or pedestrian traffic or otherwise endanger the public’s health, safety or welfare.
B. 
Further, the Borough reserves the right to require one or more on-site patrolmen in situations where the proposed production may impede the proper flow of traffic, the cost of said patrolman to be borne by the applicant as a cost of production. Where existing electrical power lines are to be utilized by the production, an on-site licensed electrician may be similarly required if the production company does not have a licensed electrician on staff.
A. 
Any person aggrieved by a decision of the Borough Manager denying or revoking a permit or a person requesting relief pursuant to § 119-8 may appeal to the Borough Council. A written notice of appeal setting forth the reasons for the appeal shall be filed with the Manager.
B. 
An appeal from the decision of the Manager shall be filed within 10 days of the Manager’s decision. The Borough Council shall set the matter down for a hearing within 30 days of the day on which the notice of appeal was filed. The decision of the Borough Council shall be in the form of a resolution supporting the decision of the Borough Manager at the first regularly scheduled public meeting of the Borough Council after the hearing on the appeal, unless the appellant agrees in writing to a later date for the decision. If such a resolution is not adopted within the time required, the decision of the Manager shall be deemed to be reversed, and a permit shall be issued in conformity with the application or the relief pursuant to § 119-8 shall be deemed denied.
The Borough Manager may authorize filming other than during the hours herein described. In determining whether to allow an extension of hours under this section, the Manager shall consider the following factors:
A. 
Traffic congestion at the location caused by vehicles to be parked on the public street.
B. 
Applicant’s ability to remove film-related vehicles off the public streets.
C. 
When the applicant is requesting restrictions on the use of public streets or public parking during the course of the filming.
D. 
Nature of the film shoot itself; e.g., indoors or outdoors; day or night; on public or private lands.
E. 
Prior experience of the film company/applicant with the Borough, if any.
F. 
Consultation with the Council as appropriate.
Copies of the approved permit will be sent to the Police and Fire Departments before filming takes place and to the New Jersey Film Commission. The applicant shall permit the Fire Prevention Bureau or other Borough inspectors to inspect the site and the equipment to be used. The applicant shall comply with all safety instruction issued by the Fire Prevention Bureau or other Borough inspectors. Copies shall be sent to NJMPTVC.
In addition to any other fees or costs mentioned in this chapter, the applicant shall reimburse the Borough for any lost revenue, such as parking meter revenue, repairs to public property or other revenues that the Borough was prevented from earning because of filming.
The schedule of fees for the issuance of permits authorized by this chapter are as follows:
A. 
Basic filming permit: $100. Where an applicant requests a waiver of the provision of § 119-3A requiring expedited processing of a permit application, the basic filming permit fee for processing the application on an expedited basis shall be $250.
B. 
Daily filming fee payable in addition to the basic filming permit: $150 per day.
C. 
Daily filming fee payable for major motion picture: $250 per day.
D. 
Filming permit for nonprofit applicants filming for educational purposes (no daily rate required): $25.
Any person who violates any provision of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine not exceeding $2,000, imprisonment in the county/municipal jail for a term not exceeding 90 days, or a period of community service not exceeding 90 days, or any combination thereof as determined by the Municipal Court Judge. Each day on which a violation of an ordinance exists shall be considered a separate and distinct violation and shall be subject to imposition of a separate penalty for each day of the violation as the Municipal Court Judge may determine.