Wednesday, April 23, 2008 Court upholds city denial of gas station set-up By Rimaliza Opiña
A GASOLINE station could not be constructed in a low density commercial zone.
Baguio City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 5 Presiding Judge Antonio Esteves said in a ruling in denying the petition of Total Gas for the issuance of a writ of preliminary mandatory injunction against the Local Zoning Board of Adjustment and Appeals (LZBAA) for denying the construction of a gasoline station at Leonard Wood Road.
"It appears that the issue raised in this case has been resolved by the LZBAA. The decision of the aforesaid body has become final and executory (and) cannot be the subject of any injunctive relief," the order stated.
Through its managing director Edgardo Francisco, Total Gas filed the petition, following the refusal of the City Engineers Office (CEO) to issue a building permit and the LZBAA to issue a locational clearance.
In Total's petition, the oil company argued there is no reason for the LZBAA and the CEO to withhold issuance of permits because prior to the proposed construction of a gasoline station, a building permit for a one-storey souvenir shop was issued by the city.
Court records showed that owners of the parcel of land with T-87561 applied for permits for the construction of a souvenir shop. Permits were subsequently granted to them.
In 2005, this parcel of land was subsequently leased to one Ariel de Dios, also a manager of a gasoline station along Kisad Road.
De Dios sublet this to the Baguio Total SS Management Corporation, a retailer of Total petroleum products.
When Total applied for a locational clearance on July last year, the LZBAA denied the request citing the Zoning Ordinance prohibits the construction of a gasoline-refilling station in low density areas; the project will affect traffic, sewage, air and water; the consent of adjacent property owners was not obtained and there were oppositions to the project.
