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Monday, October 13, 2003
City's historic area neglected, VM admits
CEBU -- Heritage conservation advocates believe that an enabling city ordinance is needed to preserve the old facades of historic buildings in downtown Cebu City.
But while its members have been saying that they are also for historical preservation, the Cebu City Council has long been sitting on the request to identify a "Historic Urban Core."
In a recent forum, architect Ma. Lourdes "Joy" Onozawa revealed that as early as February this year, she submitted to the offices of Councilors Jocelyn Pesquera, Manuel Legaspi and Arsenio Pacaņa a draft ordinance to promote the revitalization program in the downtown area.
Onozawa, president of the Cebu Heritage Conservation Council Inc. (CHCCI), said they also made a presentation on the heritage and conservation of Cebu City's waterfront area before the City Council and other City Hall officials.
In an interview Sunday, Vice Mayor Michael Rama said Pacaņa, who is chairman of the committee on tourism, is supposed to introduce the ordinance so this could be deliberated upon at the City Council.
While he supports heritage conservation, Rama said the plans need to be subjected to a public hearing considering that privately owned buildings would have to be regulated.
In an earlier talk, Pacaņa said they had deferred action on the CHCCI's request because of questions of the Cebu Historical Affairs Commission (Chac).
Rival's idea
"We're still waiting for a cue from the vice mayor," Pacaņa said. He admitted that the matter was not prioritized because the incumbent mayor's political rival started it.
"If it was your enemy who started it, you'll see the bad things about it. But the mayor can easily change his mind because Cebu is a city of history and culture," Pacaņa said.
It was former mayor Alvin Garcia who pushed for the Cebu City Waterfront Development Project, which seeks to change the appearance of the city's port area to a layout similar to the Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, California.
Even if Mayor Tomas Osmeņa abolished the Cebu City Waterfront Commission that used to supervise the project, the conservation concept remains.
Onozawa believes that other City Hall offices like the one in charge of city planning and development can handle the project.
The 1999 Cebu City Zoning Ordinance has provisions for a control policy to achieve compatible land use in the Civic Center, which was delineated from Jakosalem St. in the west, Urdaneta in the north, M.J. Cuenco Ave. in the east and Quezon Blvd. in the south.
No rules
Among others, Article 3 Section 6 c of the zoning ordinance tackles the promotion of the architectural design of buildings, with respect to the Spanish-Cebu heritage, culture and historical background.
But engineer Josefa Ylanan of City Hall's Office of the Building Official (OBO) said they could not implement these provisions in the zoning ordinance because no implementing rules and guidelines were approved.
In the absence of an enabling ordinance, Ylanan said OBO only requests building owners to retain the existing facades of their buildings, although they can go as "high-tech" as they want in the design of the interior.
Under CHCCI's concept, there should be no modern building within the delineated "Historic Urban Core." There must also be a gradual slope of buildings to keep the waterfront view. JGS/Sun.Star Cebu
(October 13, 2003 issue)
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