March 29, 2024

The City Planning and Development Office (CPDO) is pushing for the amendment of the Zoning Ordinance that allows only one parking slot for every five apartments or condo units in a building.
CPDO Coordinator, Arch. Donna Tabangin, said that if possible, the requirement should be one slot for every apartment or condo unit or at least greater than the existing “one-is-to-five” zoning regulation.
She made the appeal during the management committee meeting at City Hall presided by Mayor Benjamin Magalong.
Tabangin said that her office regularly receives applications for permits to construct apartment and condominium buildings in the city’s outskirts with several of these having at least 20 or more units.
“Since these buildings are located far from the city center, it can be assumed that most of their renters or unit owners have their own private vehicles with only a few provided with parking spaces,” she said.
This being the case, she added the rest will usually park along barangay roads or other places not reserved for parking.
Tabangin said that this exacerbates the city’s already increasing problem of congestion due to its limited land area coupled with the increasing population.
City Administrator Bonifacio dela Peña said that while the city strictly enforces parking regulations and penalizes violators, he agreed that the Zoning Ordinance must be amended to require one parking slot per apartment or condo unit in a building.
For his part, the mayor informed the group that he has already set a meeting with concerned officials on the review and amendment of the Comprehensive Land Use Plan. – Gaby Keith