Wednesday, February 21, 2007 Zoning discussion freezes council session By Grace L. Plata
THE City Council session Tuesday ended with just one of 59 items in the agenda acted on, leaving a roomful of fuming councilors after a hot debate on the application of one private entity for exemption from the Amended Zoning Ordinance of Davao City.
The agenda in question was the application of Pizarro Resort for exemption from the Amended Zoning Ordinance of Davao City that was coursed through the City Council committee on housing, rural and urban development chaired by Councilor Arnulfo Cabling.
A two-hour debate followed that eventually led to the approval of the request with 16 councilors voting yes, one saying no, and two abstaining.
But the session was abruptly adjourned after it was evident that none of the councilor was inclined to continue after heated debate.
What sparked the long debate was the fact that the property is in an area classified as a light industrial zone while a resort should be built in a Park and Recreation Zone (PR).
Councilor Victorio Advincula contended that re-classification of a zone needs the vote of three-fourth of the members of the council anchored on the legal opinion of City Legal Officer J. Melchor Quitain.
Cabling, however, insisted that only a majority vote is needed as the resort was built long before the amended zoning ordinance was approved.
Advincula said the City Council approved the ordinance in 1996 while the resort was built in 1999 and that they built the facility before asking for approval from the council.
Cabling negated Advincula's statement saying that the last provision of the Amended Zoning Ordinance states that it will be effective based on the recommendation and approval of the Housing Land Use and Regulatory Board National Office.
HLURB official Miguel Palma Gil, who was present during the session, affirmed that HLURB approved the ordinance in 2000, thus Cabling said the property was not covered by the ordinance.
Cabling added that the resort owner was not applying for re-classification, but only for exemption.
Re-classification, according to him, implies changing the class of a whole zone but in this case, only a small portion of a light industrial zone is being applied for this it can be considered as an exemption requiring only majority votes and not three-fourth of the body for approval.
Cabling added it is but fair to approve the application as the owner can no longer use the 3,000 square meter property in industrial pursuits, befitting its classification as it is already surrounded by social housing projects of the local government.
With residents nearby, the owner opted to build a resort that would not only serve as relaxation spot for the community but would help generate jobs for some of them.
