CPDO: Residences required to have parking spaces

The City Planning and Development Office stressed that a parking space is required when building a house.
Elias Aoanan, CPDO representative, said the National Building Code prescribes parking standards and requirements not only for commercial buildings but also for residential structures.
Aoanan said the CPDO checks if the permit applicant is able to comply with the parking requirements before issuing a locational clearance which is a requisite in obtaining a building permit issued by the City Buildings and Architecture Office.
He said this is strictly enforced to prevent car owners from using roads and sidewalks to park their vehicles which oftentimes cause obstruction.
Asked if parking requirements are still required even for applicants with no vehicles under the Code, Aoanan and City Building Official Johnny Degay answered in the affirmative. 
Mayor Benjamin Magalong emphasized the city government needs to be more proactive and futuristic in addressing urban problems as the old systems were unproductive.
Earlier, City Planning and Development Coordinator Donna Tabangin appealed to all building permit applicants in the city to be more resolute in looking for available spaces in their respective barangays that they may use as parking spaces. 
For permit applicants who cannot comply with the parking requirements for their houses, they are advised to look for available spaces within 200 meters that they may use as parking spaces. 
Tabangin said granting exemptions to a few applicants will set a precedent to the others, stressing this may result in more serious problems in terms of urban planning. 
“I hope the executive department and the city council would convene one day to think of possible solutions that may resolve all these problems without putting us a step backwards from our successes in fixing these urban woes,” Tabangin said.
Councilor Michael Lawana suggested that in the absence of an on-site parking space, a resident applying for a building permit may request their barangay to grant them a parking slot provided that the barangay is allowed by the city government to use available spaces for pay parking.
Tabangin said their office allows this arrangement so long as there is a certification issued by the barangay. – Jordan G. Habbiling