DAVAO City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio ordered selected department heads to initiate a study whether or not the city has the legal right to limit the height of buildings to be built in the city.
City Administrator Zulieka Lopez said, after the meeting of the department heads Monday, February 27, that the mayor gave instruction to the City Planning and Development Office, City Engineer’s Office, and the City Legal Office to explore the crafting of the ordinance that will require uniform height requirements for the building.
“The mayor wants the department heads to come up with an ordinance that will only allow or encourage certain height requirements of all the buildings of the city na hindi magiging skyscrapers, na fifty storeys up (that would not be skyscrapers or fifty storeys up),” she said.
She said that technical aspects are considered like maximum capacity of the buildings built in one area, and the type of soil where the buildings are built.
“This is also not to block the view of the Mt. Apo because it is also an icon,” she said.
Lopez said that, as of the moment, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines is currently the only government agency that sets limit to the height of buildings as it ensures the buildings are not too high to interfere with the flight of the airplanes.
She clarified that the study for an ordinance is for the city’s urban planning purposes.
“Wala itong connection alang sa linog (It doesn’t have a connection with earthquakes), but as you build buildings, you consider everything including earthquakes,” she said.
Lopez added that a soil testing will be conducted in areas and also took note that the majority of areas of Davao are swampy areas covered with soil.
It has been the common observation among those in the construction sector that building high in the city costs more because of the massive piling foundation needed.