Building permit applicants told to comply with parking requirements

May 15, 2021 Metro BLISTT

Architect Donna Tabangin, City Planning and Development Coordinator, has appealed to all building permit applicants in the city to be more resolute in looking for available spaces that they may use as parking spaces.
This, after a resident of New Lucban Barangay aired his grievances to the city council regarding his locational clearance that was pending before the City Planning and Development Office (CPDO).
Securing a locational clearance from the CPDO is a prerequisite in obtaining a building permit issued by the City Buildings and Architecture Office (CBAO).
During the council session on May 10, Tabangin underscored that there are minimum off-street cum on-site parking requirements for buildings/structures in compliance with Presidential Decree 1096 otherwise known as the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the National Building Code of the Philippines.
The resident is applying for a building permit for the construction of his residential extension.
The pathway leading to his property has a width of only about 1.5 meter with fences and houses erected on both sides making it inaccessible to vehicles.
The permit applicant appealed to be exempted from the parking space requirements stipulated in the National Building Code and the city’s zoning ordinance as there is no other possible access road to his property, claiming further that he does not own a vehicle nor does he have plans to buy one.
He, as other permit applicants, was earlier advised by the CPDO to look for an available space within 200 meters that he may utilize as a parking space. Despite the applicant’s claim that he had exhausted all possible means but to no avail, Tabangin and several members of the city council advised him to explore the neighborhood further and negotiate with barangay officials for the provision of his parking space within the barangay or plead with other residents to allow him to use their existing parking spaces.
Tabangin said granting exemptions to a few applicants will set a precedent to the others, stressing that 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 stated.
Councilor Isabelo Cosalan Jr. argued that, while coming up with long-term solutions and policies is of the utmost importance, specific problems encountered by residents need to be resolved urgently.
Meanwhile, Councilor Michael Lawana propounded 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. The matter has been referred to the Sanggunian’s Committee on Laws, Human Rights, and Justice for further study.
Jordan G. Habbiling/ABN