Chapter II
Population and Land Use

        2.2.4  The Urban Farm

2.2.4.1  History of Urban Growth

What is now known as Zamboanga used to be called “Samboangan”, the center of barter trade among the natives, the Chinese and the Malays in the 13^th and 14^th centuries. Even earlier than that period, Samboangan, as a coastal settlement was a flourishing fishing village with barter trade activities as evidenced by substantial archeological finds that date back to the Yuan and Ming dynasties.

In 1593, the Spaniards established a Catholic Mission in what is now known as Recodo. Gradually, the Spanish presence in the area grew, and the cornerstone of a military post was laid on 23 June 1635. This was to be known as Fort Pilar and the town was renamed “Zamboanga”.

With the security and stability that Fort Pilar provided, Zamboanga expanded, attracting the immigration of more Spaniards and various ethnic groups from Luzon, the Visayas and other parts of Mindanao. As further expansion was experienced, growth went into the direction of northwest. A gridiron pattern was adopted during this era and the settlement then was compact with the various government and social institutions, together with residences of prominent families, located close to each other.

Further growth and expansion after the Americans took over control of Zamboanga was experienced. Land uses changed as institutions and major residence s moved away from the urban core, to be replaced by commercial and business establishments. The core that eventually developed into the central business district (CBD) became busier in character, but the roads remained narrow as a consequence of lack of planning. However, this lack of planning has its positive consequence in that within the CBD’s peripheral areas, mixed uses have emerge. Thus, the CBD does not turn into a virtual ghost town after working hours.

With unplanned expansion, new highways or avenues were constructed to open up new areas for development as well as to link growth nodes that have emerged. This eventually saw the departure from the gridiron pattern and the arbitrary emergence of interior roads within the areas bounded by the new highways. This interior roads were oftentimes unconnected and skewed in relation to one another. This same lack of planning has likewise resulted into mixed uses outside the CBD. While mixed use developments are desirable for compatible uses, Zamboanga suffers from incompatible combination of uses especially where residence end up being close to nightspots manufacturing establishments that emit polluted air and untreated wastes. And this is the picture of urban development in Zamboanga City today.

2.2.4.2  Landmarks

Basilan Strait with J-form coastal line and the mountain ranges in the inland core north of the city proper are the major natural features of Zamboanga City. The rivers and the creeks together with the swamps, the marine ponds, the wet lands and the flat lands serve as the minor natural landmarks.

The major man-made land marks are: Fort Pilar, the Central Business District’s core, where the Plaza, the City Hall and tall walk-up structures are located; the Immaculate Concepcion Cathedral; the Climaco Freedom Park; the Zamboanga (Sea) Port; the Zamboanga International Airport; and the defunct Regional Autonomous Government Center.

The Minor man-made landmarks in the city proper include; Lantaka Hotel, the Government center, the JE Sports Complex; the Baliwasan Barter Trade Center; Orchid Garden Hotel; Sta. Cruz Public Market and the Chinese and Catholic cemeteries; the Canelar Barter Trade Center; Ateneo de Zamboanga; the Zamboanga Medical Center, RT Lim (formerly Cawa-Cawa) Boulevard; the Sunken Garden; Plaza Pershing; Plaza Rizal; the Pasonanca Boy Scout Jamboree Site and Treehouse; and via Dolorosa at Ecumenical Hill (Pulong Bato).

In the urbanizing and rural barangays of the City Proper, the public markets usually serve as the major landmarks together with the places of worship, if any:

2.2.4.3   Nodes

The major nodes of the city include Central Business District, the Zamboanga (Sea) Port, the Zamboanga International Airport, Sta. Cruz Public Market, and two Barter Trade Centers in Baliwasan and Canelar. These are all within the City Proper. However, the Eco-zone, Recodo and Sangali also serve as major nodes for the city as a whole.

The minor nodes include the Fort Pilar,area; the intersections of Alvarez and Veterans Avenues; Gov. Camins Ave. and M.D. Jaldon Road; Mayor Climaco and Mayor ledesma Roads; Buenavista and Jaldon Roads; and Camins-Chico and San Jose Road.

Outside of the city proper, the intersections of major roads usually define the major nodes of the barangats. Image-wise, these are minor nodes as far as the whole city is concerned.

2.2.4.4 Paths of Movement

The major paths of movement include; the national highway connecting Zamboanga City with Labuan and Pagadian, the Mayor Gregorio Ledesma Road, M.D. Jaldon Road, Veterans Avenue, R>T>Lim Boulevard; Sta. Catalilna Talon-Talon Road, Don. Alfaro Road, Gov. Camins Road and the Sta. Maria-Gov. Ramos Roads.

The minor paths of movement would include the gridiron roads of the CBD and those interconnecting the major paths.

Outside of the city proper, the national highway serves as the major path from where minor paths branch out to provide access to the rest of the rural areas.

2.2.4.5   Edges

Basilan Strait serves as the edge of the city proper in the southwest, the Marine Pond in the southeast, the rolling terrans in Tubungan in the east, the hills and the mountains in the northeast, north and northwest as well as the Zamboanga International Airport in the west. The national highway to Labuan, however, provides a corridor of ribbon-type development to the west beyond the airport.

2.2.4.6   Districts

Within the City Proper, the major districts are the: the CBD (including the Zamboanga Port Area); the area around the Zamboanga International Airport and Baliwasan Barter Trade Center, and the Sta. Cruz Public Market. Image-wise the minor ones include: the Canelar Barter Trade Center; the area around Ateneo de Zamboanga; the Sports Complex; WMSU area; the Pasonanca Park, the Regional Autonomous Government Center, and the clusters of residential areas (Urban Barangays) all over the City Proper.

Outside the City Proper, the rural barangays in the east are perceived as one district and those in the west as another. The clusters of islands are also perceived as a separate entity.

2.2.4.7   Urban Issues and Concerns

As the Center of City, Provincial and Regional Functions

There is a need to plan for the city hall, the provincial educational, health, sports, cultural and government agencies, and the regional business, commercial, industrial and tourism facilities.

Land Use Plan and Zoning Ordinance

The lack of an alternative land use plan and zoning ordinance call for a thorough study of the needs of the citizens and their leaders. The expanding urban sprawl is not only encroaching on land that can be put to better use, but is also causing difficulties in the movement o people, goods and services. There is, therefore, a need to rationalize land uses strengthening the mixing of compatible land uses for a better quality of life and a more efficient management of the city.

Road Networks

The existing road network is inefficient for the requirements of the city. The roads in the CBD are narrow, and the main thoroughfares linking the different districts of the City P{roper have limited interconnection thereby causing congestion in major intersections which are very few in relation to the requirements for efficient movement patterns. Furthermore, minor roads are fragmented since they do not connect to one another, terminating in dead ends. The need is for a more efficient road system that would: ease traffic congestion in the city proper, link the unconnected minor and interior roads as well as connect the urbanized part of the city to the rest of the urbanizing areas.

The lack of parking spaces and good sidewalks aggravates traffic congestion, thereby rendering pedestrian experience in the city very dehumanizing. The city can consider completely pedestrianizing certain roads in the CBD, and improving pedestrian paths including the adding of landscaped sidewalks along waterways.

Poverty and Squatting

The ugliness in Zamboanga City is rooted on a lot of improvisations resorted to due to lack of funds for better construction. Lack of funds for housing has resulted into the emergence of squatter colonies and blighted areas. Ugly facades, fences, firewalls and sidewalks together with squatting contribute to the unsightly developments in the urban area. However, ugliness can be minimized through creative efforts in the design and construction of structures as well as the enforcement of guidelines that would require low-cost cleaning and greening of the environment.

Pollution

Air, water, land and noise pollution are fast becoming major problems for the inhabitants of the city. The need to address these problems is being voiced out more and more adamantly by city residents.

Drainage and Sewerage

The need for more efficient drainage and sewerage systems has bee voiced out by the citizens of Zamboanga City.

Zamboanga International Airport and the Zamboanga (Sea) Port

There is a need to relocate the International Airport, which, due to its closeness to the CBD, is limiting the height of new buildings being constructed in prime areas of the City Proper. It is also hindering expansion, and is fast becoming the geographical center of the city proper, which is expanding in the direction of the airport. The existing seaport needs to be rehabilitated soon; there is also a clamor to construct bigger and more technically up-to-date ports in the west closer to the proposed Eco-zone and in the east adjacent to the Sangali Fishing Port.

Park System and Waterfront Development

Zamboanga as creating a system of parks can enhance an eco-cultural tourism destination linked by pedestrian-friendly landscape roads and waterways. Since water abounds in Zamboanga City waterfront developments could make the city not only a better place for its residents but also attractive to local and foreign tourist as well.

     2.2.5    Hierarchy  of Barangay Settlements

The analysis of scalogram field data was based on the results of the Barangay Land use Survey conducted by the survey teams coming from the barangays of the City from October to November 1997. the City Planning and Development Office conducted this survey. The Scalogram (see Figure II-3, following page) is presented in such a way that the services and facilities are ranked from the most present or widely spread to at least, and from the most served barangays to the least.

2.2.5.1   Inventory of Service and Facilities

Of the one hundred eight (108) listed services and facilities existing in each barangay, Tetuan has the most number of these at sixty five (65), followed by Baliwasan at sixty (60), while Panubigan and the island barangay of Limaong has none of these at all. Of the 98 barangays, only five (5) barangays have fifty and more of these services and facilities to include Zone IV (53) and San Jose Cawa-Cawa and Sta. Maria at fifty-(50) each. If we categorize the availability of these services and facilities from the most served to the least and into the following level: 50 and >, 40-49, 30-39, 20-29, 10-19 and <10, after the first level, the next one has only ten (10) barangays, followed by seventeen (17) barangays for 30-39 level, 25 barangays each for the next two levels and sixteen (16) barangays for the last. Or, of the 108 listed services and facilities, only 32. 65% or 32 barangays enjoy the presence of at least thirty and more while 67.35% or 66 barangays have less than thirty (300 present in their community.

Furthermore, majority of these services and facilities are concentrated within the urban and north-western barangays which only few rural barangays are priviledged to have the presence of more than thirty (30) services and facilities. Theses, however, may be accounted to their being identified as growth point areas like Manicahan, Boalan, Recodo, Cawit, Culianan and Bolong or due to their proximity to the urban areas like Manicahan, Boalan, Recodo, Cawit, Culianan and Bolong.

On the other hand, most of the rural and all island barangays are the least serve with sixteen (16) barangays having less than ten (10) services and facilities available and eight (8) of which are island barangays. A few of the urban barangays, like Mariki, mampang, Cabatangan, Arena Blanco, Sta. Barbara, Rio Hondo, Campo Islam and Sta. Catalina have lesser number of these facilities than other urban barangays. However, because of their proximity and easy access to these services and facilities, their absence will not be very critical. The hitch actually for these barangays is that they fall within the category of depressed barangays.

As regard to the kinds of services and facilities available in each barangay, the sari-sari store, which is very typical in every Filipino community, is found in almost every barangay and is ranked first among them. The barangay hall, which is also, a symbol of barangay governance ranks second and is present in at least eighty-six (86) barangays. Of the twelve (12) barangays, which do not have this facility, four (4) are island barangays, three (3) are found in rural areas and five (5) are actually urban barangays.

Figure II-3 Scalogram

Figure II-3 (cont’d) Scalogram

The reason why some of these urban barangays could not put up their own barangay hall is that, there is no more vacant space or that the space available is already too expensive for the barangay. The social sector services and facilities like the health centers, pre-schools and day care centers also rank within the top ten services totaling a number of 83, 80 and 72 respectively.

These listed services and facilities may also be segregated into at least four different sectors. Most of these, however, fall within the Economic Sector totaling sixty one (61), the Social Sector follows with at least twenty two (22) while the Institutional and Physical infrastructure Sectors have fourteen (14) and eleven (11) respectively.

For the Physical Infrastructure   Sector, deep well are most widely spread among barangays totaling fifty-six (56) followed by the telephone services.

2.2.5.2    Most Available Services

Of the one hundred eight (108) listed services and facilities, however, only seven (7) or 6.48% of these kinds are available in more than seventy barangays. These are sari-sari stores, barangay halls, health centers, pre-schools, church/chapels, basketball court and day care centers. On the other hand, around thirty five percent (35)%) of thirty-eight (38) kind of these services and facilities are spread in even less than ten (10) barangays. Most of these 38 facilities, however, are basically needed for the urban functions like banks, hotels and motels, and shopping malls and others.

With regard to the various activities or needs that are most common among barangays, like their marketing, education and hospital care needs. A lot of the barangays do this either within the barangay (WB), their neighboring barangays (NB) and the city proper (CP). For their weekly and monthly marketing, many barangay residents still do this in the city proper. For the education of their children, because of the existence of at least 26-barangay high schools, high school education is already widely dispersed. However, vocational and college education are still concentrated in the city proper. The same is also true in the case of hospital care. See Table II-27.

Table II-27.    Destination for Selected Functions
 

Access to the City Proper, on the other hand, is not really very difficult. Fifty-eight (58) out of eighty- (80) barangays, which answered the portion of this questionnaire, have many daily PUV trips to the city proper while the twenty-two (22) barangays have at least one (1) to five (5) trips daily. (Table II-28)

Table II-28.   Approximate No. Of Daily PUV Trips to the City Proper
 

Travel time to city hall, likewise, is moderately short for majority of the barangays. At least twenty-three (23) barangays reach the city proper in less than 30 minutes to 1 hour to reach the town. Twenty-two (22) barangays also travel from more than an hour to two hours to reach town while only nine (9) barangays have travel time exceeding two hours. See tables II-29 and 30.

Table II-29.   Approximate Travel Time to the City Proper/City Hall
 

Table II-30.   Barangays Grouped According to Travel Time

2.2.5.3   Conclusion

1.                   The more remote the barangays, the more isolated they become and the less servicesand facilities are available to them.

2.                   The island barangays are the most isolated and deprived of the various services and facilities.

3.                   The most centrally located the barangays to the city proper, the most served they become.

4.                   Barangays located in the northwest of the city are also better served than those in the northeast and island barangays.

5.                   The services and facilities available in many barangays are mostly economic in    nature and therefore fall within the Economic Sector.

6.                  The Social Service and Welfare Sector although few are of its kind, are apparently present in most barangays especially the health centers and the pre-schools.

            Summary

50         +          >          -           5          -           5.10

                                    40         -           49         -           10         -           10.20} 32/32.65%

                                    30         -           39         -           17         -           17.35

                                    20         -           29         -           25         -           25.51

                                    10         -           19         -           25         -           25.51} 66/67.35%

                                     <         -           10         -           16         -           16.33

                                                                                                100.00

                        50         +          >          -           5W

                        40         -           49         -           6W                   4E

                        30         -           39         -           8W                   9E

                        20         -           29         -           7W                   18E

                        10         -           19         -           5W                   18E      2 Is

                         <         -           10         -           3W                   5E        8 Is.

                        50         +          >          -           5U

                        40         -           49         -           6U                    4R

                        30         -           39         -           10U                  7R

                        20         -           29         -           5U                    20R

                        10         -           19         -           3U                    22R     

                         <         -           10         -           1U                    15R     

                        30         +          >          -           11R                  21U

                                                            -           19W                 13E

                         <                     10         -           8 Is.                  41E      10 Is.

                         <                     10         -           8 Is.                  5E        3W

                                                                        1U                    15R/Is.

2.2.6      Existing Situation of Zoning Implementation

This preliminary paper is based on an interview conducted with Ms. Felicitas E. Ramos the City Zoning Officer II and the Deputized Zoning Administrator of Zamboanga City; it is also based on a review of the Zamboanga City Zoning Ordinance (ZCZO) and its amendments. Those with actual knowledge and experience in the preparation of the Zamboanga City Plan and the enforcement of the ordinance will be interviewed, for inputs needed in the finalization of the report on Land Use and Zoning Policies and ion the formulation of the ZCZO.

The summary of the major findings and observations, from the above activities appears below. The implications of these findings are also discussed. A separate section focusing on a more extensive assessment of the ZCZO is included considering that it is the main instrument expected to implement the land use plan. A last section provides for the follow-up activities required to verify/confirm/expand on these findings and the implications and consequences arising from them.

2.2.6.1    Summary of Preliminary Findings

a)                  Aside from the 1978 Zoning Ordinance and its amendatory ordinance, (1982), no

other local legislation embodying land use and related policies, which impact on the present planning, projects have been enacted by the Zamboanga City Government.

b)                  The Zamboanga City Zoning Ordinance (ZCZO) and its amendments being enforced in the City are still the traditional zoning regulations. These were patterned after the model formulated by the predecessor of the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board several decades ago. Thus, many of these provisions are already outdated.

c)                  The Office of the Deputized Zoning Administrator (DZA) requires major improvements based on the weaknesses and deficiencies identified. These weaknesses include those pinpointed by the interviewee and identified by the interviewer herself.

2.2.6.2    Implications on Land Use Planning and Zoning

a)                  The absence of Local land use and related policies affecting planning

This absence does not imply that there is no land use and zoning policies, which could guide the planning and development of Zamboanga City but means that all the written/unwritten national legal issuances and policies, which apply to local governments in general, also apply to Zamboanga City.

These policies include the laws establishing the housing and planning organizations at the national level, which are empowered to promulgate rules and regulations governing land use planning and zoning. The other applicable national laws are the Local Government Code (RA 7160); the urban Development and Housing Act (UDHA) (RA 7279) and Executive orders 71 and 72. All the pertinent regional planning policies could also be considered as implicitly applicable to Zamboanga City

b)         The existence of traditional ZO, which, to a large extent has been overtaken and outdated by national and local developments, specifically in Zamboanga City.

The model ZO of the former Human Settlements and Regulatory Commission (HSRC), now (HLURB), after which the Zamboanga Zoning Ordinance has been patterned has, ion the past two decades, has undergone drastic changes.

These changes have been introduced to achieve the following objectives: to make them more responsive to the dynamic physical and socio-economic developments in most LGUs and to address specific problems and issues, which have been identified in the enforcement of the zoning regulations by most LGUs. To a certain extent, these changes have also been in response to relevant international developments such as people empowerment, sustainable development and gender issues.

The implications of these findings are two-fold. Efforts should be made to update the Zamboanga ZO to incorporate the provisions found in the revised model ZO of HLURB and the regulations should be revised to effectively carry out the proposed development plan for the City.

C)        The Office of the Deputized Zoning Administrator (DZA) suffers from some weaknesses and deficiencies which affect the city’s planning and zoning activities.

The DZA undertakes by herself the multifarious functions of a Zoning Administrator, who is deputized by the HLURB to, perform its functions in the city.

Thus, she evaluates application, conducts site surveys and decides favorably or unfavorably on the zoning clearance application.

In case the applied use conforms to the zoning ordinance, she issues the locational clearance. In the contrary case, she forwards it to be the mayor through the City Planning Officer who then endorses it to the mayor. The mayor, in turn, endorses the application to the Sangguniang Bayan, which acts on it, before returning the application to the office of the DZA.

While the present DZA has gained valuable knowledge from her technical expertise, more specifically in the application of the pertinent environmental management and sustainable development principles. This expertise would be particularly useful when she has doubts on whether the applied use conforms strictly to the requirements of the land use and zoning plan.

Though Zamboanga does not accept applications for subdivision, memorial parks, farm lot subdivisions, industrial and simple subdivisions, the DZA believes that she and those who will be assigned to assist her later on need technical training in these areas.

Most DZA offices have, at the barest minimum, these staff members: the DZA, who is usually an engineer or an architect with planning background, and an administrative staff member or secretary. This is not to say that Zamboanga is alone in this situation. In fact, HLURB data shows that there are a great number of LGUs similarly situated. The present Planning Project should provide the opportunity to remove Zamboanga from the list of LGUs with weak zoning offices and make it more efficient and effective.

2.2.6.3    More Detailed Assessment of the ZCZO

Preliminary Statements

This preliminary assessment of the Zamboanga City Zoning Ordinance (ZCZO) provides a broad overview of the existing document now enforced in the City. This review is preparatory to formulating an updated and more responsive zoning ordinance to effectively implement the Comprehensive Development Plan for Zamboanga City now under preparation.

Consisting of three parts, this paper may be used as the basis for the Report on the Implementing Tools of the Comprehensive Development Plan. First of these is a refresher of the general role of a zoning ordinance in plan implementation. Second is a brief report on the general features of the ZCZO leading to the third part, which is a projection of the magnitude and direction of the follow-up work, needed to formulate and enact a revised ZCZO.

The Role of the Zoning Ordinance in Comprehensive Planning

Historically, in the Philippines and in many other third world countries, the zoning ordinance has mistakenly been equated with the land use plan itself. In fact, in many cases, the ordinance has actually been used as a substitute for the plan itself. Many local government officials in compliance with their local planning functions considered its enactment and enforcement.

The reality is that this ordinance together with other regulatory issuances, (i.e. the subdivision, building and pollution control ordinances) and fiscal measures (i.e. the budget, taxation) are only implementing instruments of the development plan of the land use plan. Ideally, they also need to be complemented by incentives to encourage compliance with the Plan.

In brief, the restrictive characteristics of most regulations have to be tempered by the positive effect of investment incentives and other similar measures.

The only implementing ordinance that will be formulated for the Zamboanga City Planning Project is the zoning ordinance. This does not mean any intention to disregard or downgrade the value of the above-mentioned fiscal and other regulatory tools. It is only a recognition of the primary of this tool, without which it will be difficult, if not impossible, to ensure compliance by the general public with the Comprehensive Plan.

Unlike the comprehensive development plan, zoning ordinance takes the character of a law whose violation will subject the violator to penal sanction (even if the authorized officials had adopted it officially). Requiring compliance with the various components of the development plan (like the land use plan or the traffic plan), without statutory sanctions, will be tantamount to making payment of taxes by the general constituency a voluntary act.

Furthermore, the zoning ordinance is the companion document to the Local Development Plan, which is not to be approved by the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board.

Limiting the implementing tools to the zoning ordinance also proceeds from the promise that the formulation of the other measures mentioned above is time consuming and will require detailed and meticulous study, which will go beyond the Project timetable. These are better done in-house with the assistance of resource persons, providing the opportunities for “hands-on” learning experience by the staff of the Local Planning Office, the completion of the Zamboanga Master

Development Plan will expedite the preparation of these additional regulations and fiscal measure.

While land use planning is primarily regarded as an executive function, zoning ordinance preparation showcases the “partnership” between the executive and legislative bodies. In this regard, there are prerequisites to the exercise of this critical function. For instance, there are standard zoning provisions, without which the constitutionality of this document becomes questionable. These include the incorporation of provisions concerning variances, amendments and non-conforming uses, and the creation of specific organizational structure such as the Zoning Board of Appeals to allow the elevation of decisions of the Zoning Administrator to a higher body for its review. These are standard provisions incorporated in the 1997 Model HLURB Zoning Ordinance.

The zoning ordinance is useful not only because it promotes physical or aesthetic objectives but also the desired socio-economic and environmental situation as well. Thus the land use plan is operationalized through the uses and activities, which are allowed or disallowed, with or without conditions, in each land use district, thus ensuring that the use allocation will be respected. This land use designation proceeds from the appropriate land use allocation activity based on the results of the study of such factors as the geophysical, environmental and socio-economic all of which influence them.

The observance of the land uses permitted in each zone will ensure that the land values of the properties are not only preserved but also further enhanced. The economic benefits generated by the nature and intensity of permitted land development accrues not only to the individual owner but also to the community at large. A compatible and orderly land use mix, complemented by the required transport and infrastructure network improves accessibility to the places of destination at the least cost and shortest time possible.

Assessment of the Zamboanga City Zoning Ordinance

The ZCZO is found in Ordinance No. 29 enacted by the Zamboanga Legislative body in 1978 and amended by Ordinance No. 53 in 1882. It is a martial law document, which is 15 years old and patterned after the Model Zoning Ordinance of the Human Settlement Regulatory Commission or HSRC, (now known as the Housing Land Use Regulatory Board or HLURB).

Like ordinances of this vintage, its geographical coverage is not the entire city but only the poblacion. This has proved the designated Zoning Administrator almost limitless discretion action on zoning permit application with only standards and parameters in HLURB to guideline authority.

The ZCZO has since then been overtaken by recent events, the latest of which is the approval of the Revised HLURB Zoning Ordinance in 1997 by an inter-agency committee. Described by many who are familiar with it as “antiquated”, the present ZCZO, for instance, still makes references to abolish organizations such as the Human Settlements Regulatory Commission of HRSC which has been replaced y the HLURB and the National Pollution Control Commission. This makes it confusing and misleading, especially for those who are not familiar with the reorganization changes, introduced after the martial law regime.

The ordinance contains outdate concepts (or fails to implement such principles such as the incremental approach, in the expected manner). Vague provisions using very subjective parameters, (e.g. “reasonable distance”, acceptable form”) vest substantial authority on the Zoning Administrator. He/She is therefore expected to be equipped with the technical competence and the extensive experience needed to the exercise of personal judgment in most cases.

The ZCZO also lacks the provisions regulating the temporary structures of the nineties such as town houses, condotels and theme parks. For instance, instead of requiring sprinkles inside buildings to do use water on fire and to prevent its spread (the national Building Code also carries provisions on this), the ordinance still refers to the fire hydrants located inside buildings. There are also no references to more recently adopted concepts including the comprehensive principles on environmental management and protection and sustainable development, people participation; gender sensitiveness; restoration and cultural heritage and realistic performance standards.

A more in depth examination of the ZCZO will follow from this broad overview. It will identify, among others, a) those provisions which no longer conform to or have been superceded by other articles and sections of the model Zoning Ordinance of HLURB and other relevant Executive Orders such as E.O. 71 and 71 (series of 1993); and b) those provisions which should be added to the ordinance in light of new planning and zoning developments, both within the community and the larger province and region. This work could already be initiated while awaiting the completion of the Comprehensive Development Plan, the Land Use Plan and the Zoning Plan. After the completion of these plans, the ZCZO will be ready for final revisions to reflect the revised land use allocation contained in these updated documents, including the regulations appropriate to each of the land use zones created.

In terms of enforcements, the ZCZO burdens the Zoning Administrator with a heavy list of functions and responsibilities, which prevent her from performing the more critical ones. Without an adequate staff, these made her highly dependent on the staff and resources of the HLURB.

The critical functions which she needs to concentrate on because they affect plan implementation are the rendering of bi-annual reports on the status of land uses and their effects on the plan; the recommendation of the ordinance as well as of the terms and conditions attached to the zoning clearances which the office issues.

The above list of functions will needs to be examined to determined how some of them may be delegated or redistributed, and to whom or which office. The examination will also indicate the changes as well as the logistical improvements that the Zoning Administrator Office requires to render it more efficient and effective.

It is not sufficient to simply examine the ZCZO document. Its actual enforcement via the day to day issuance of the zoning clearance will help reveal the weakness and defects of the process and the corresponding improvements that it requires both in substantive and procedural terms.

Zone Districting

City Ordinance No. 29: “An Ordinance Adopting Comprehensive Zoning Regulations for the City of Zamboanga and Providing for the Administration and Enforcement Thereof and for the Repeal of All Orderliness in Conflict therewith”

The Zamboanga City Land Use Plan and Zoning Ordinance was one of the many Land Use Plans and Zoning Ordinances of the country that was prepared and approved under the National Coordinating Council. It should be understood that through the NCC provided technical assistance in the formulation of city and town plans and zoning ordinances, these plans cannot be regarded as comprehensive and often lacks the in-depth analysis of the area’s situation. Likewise, it could be noted that the plans do not contain the development vision and strategies which the town or city should move on.

The apparent insufficiency of the comprehensive of the NCC town plans and zoning ordinances could be justified by the inadequacy and limited awareness over guidelines, standards, and other planning tools. The Zoning Ordinances of the Zamboanga City is a typical example of the above situation.

In this regard, a review of the city’s Zoning Ordinance was performed and yielded the following results.

1.   The different definition of what is an easement

2.   Why limit the number of stores in a shopping center.

3.   Art. II Sec. 1 (B) (2): what is a regional scale commercial development

4.       Art. IV Sec. 1 (14) Qualify what is a small power plant.

5.       Art. IV Sec. 2 Height Regulations In R-1. The provision does not provide for the step or procedure by which the height should be measured. Say, “from finished ground to the apex”

6.       Art. IV Sec. 4 (13) Poultry and livestock raising is allowed inside residential areas. The provision failed to qualify what is the scale or number of heads to be allowed. Further, define what is for family consumption.

7.       Art. IV Sec. 5 Height Regulations in R-2. Same as No.5

8.       Industries are not classified by the then Human Settlements Regulatory Commission. Reference should be made to the General Industry Classification instead.

9.       Industry such as the manufacture of liquefied petroleum gas is classified as extremely hazardous but is allowed in light industrial zone.

10.   A sawmill is classified as I-3 or heavy industry but is allowed in medium intensity industrial I-2.

11.   Art. V Sec. 2 Traffic Generators. Reference with the National Building Code should likewise industrial I-2.

12.   Art. V Sec. 13 What is a Special Use permit. Not defined in the ordinance.

13.   Art. V Sec. 13 (1) Define what are “dumping sites”

14.   Define: “reasonable distance”

15.   Open Storage “…shall be located within reasonable distance, preferably 200 feet…” This Can be interpreted that the distance is “negotiable”

16.   Art. VII Sec. 1 Fire District Delineated. A Fire District or Zone is not a land use.

17.   Art. VIII Sec. 4 Define what is a “Certificate of Zoning Compliance” and when is it issued.

18.   Art. VIII Sec. 7 Membership to the Zoning Board of Appeals is very limited. It is recommended that the Zoning Administrator should not be included as member, primarily because; it is her/his decision that is being appealed. He/She must provide or make all the records of the case available.

Numerous provisions of the Zoning) Ordinance should be revised and updated, based on current or existing laws, rules, regulations, guidelines and standards.

            2.2.6.4    Follow-Up Work

Review of Relevant National Land Use Zoning Policies

There is a need to review all pertinent national and regional land use policies to understand the context within which the proposed land use planning and zoning of Zamboanga will take place, and the governing legal system thereof. Additionally, the City should start formulating and enacting their own comprehensive set of land use policies, which while consistent with the national policies should also be appropriate and directly applicable to the unique conditions prevailing in the City.

Review of the HLURB Model Zoning Ordinance (ZO)

The existing zoning situation in Zamboanga calls for a review of the newly approved (1997) model-zoning ordinance of the HLURB. This updated version, among others, adopts the sustainable development principles and environmental management provisions and provides for more functional planning organization and planning process at the national level linked up with the regional and national planning organizations.

This zoning review can be done even before the land use plan and the zoning plan for the City has been formulated. The idea is to determine the nature and the degree of updating that the Zamboanga ZO requires, identifiable through the standard provisions required by the HLURB. After they have been identified, they should, even tentatively, already find their way into the present ZO of the City, which will be modified later as called for by the approved zoning plan.

Aside from updating, the existing zoning ordinance will need to undergo major revisions by incorporating provisions needed to ensure the effective implementation of the land use development plan and zoning plan.

The ZCZO should then be a) updated to remove antiquated concepts and principles and adopt the applicable contemporary approaches to zoning; b) revised to make it a truly effective implementing instrument of the comprehensive development, the land use and the zoning plans being prepared; and c) improved to include realistic performance and design standards to strengthen the desired image and “unique sense of place” of the city.

The approach to the rezoning of Zamboanga City should be inter-city (synchronizing the zoning of the city with the adjacent LGUs); and multidisciplinary such that the same disciplines, which are represented in the comprehensive development planning, should also be involved in the drafting of the zoning ordinance. The first feature will ensure that the ZCZO will not be jeopardized by the non-zoning or the ordinance will make it more than just a legal issuance crafted by a lawyer, but a document that is as comprehensive and multidisciplinary as the plan which it seeks to implement.

Furthermore, the provisions of the ordinance should be as clear and complete as possible to provide I with a reasonable degree of certainty. It should also be flexible enough to allow for the judicious exercise of discretion of a competent Zoning Administrator. To improve the enforcement process, the organization and procedural aspects of carrying out the zoning ordinance should also be given adequate attention. In this regard, strengthening the intra and inter office functional relationships to reduce the burden of the present DZA by distributing or delegating her present functions will be helpful.

In relation to this, the inter-agency linkages with other line offices under the City Mayor and with the pertinent regional committees and councils (such as the RDCs) and national agencies such as the HLURB, the Department of Interior and Local Governments, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of Tourism will also need to be established and sustained. This will go a long way in responding immediately and collectively to such issues as land use conversion and the location of industrial areas and tourism centers.

Because of the tedious character of zoning formulation, it is advisable to start the legal drafting as early as possible. Ideally, this should be done in very close coordination with the physical planners as they prepare the development plan, and with the architectural and design consultant as he shapes the desired image of the city. This will make possible an output, which shall approximates a set of comprehensive development control regulation, which goes beyond the traditional provisions of an orthodox zoning ordinance.

The parts and sections of the ordinance, which can already be written, have been indicated above. This proposed work program would ensure that the completion and the public consultations on the land use plan would have benefit and support of the proposed provisions of a draft-zoning ordinance.

Formulation of Reorganization Proposals for the Office of the Zoning Administrator

Pending proposals made by the City Planning Office to improve the Office of the DZA should be evaluated (within the overall context of the City Planning Office) to adopt the most appropriate administrative structure, considering the present and future requirements of the city. This activity can be done in collaboration with the Institutional Sector.

A related observation is that while the DZA has the necessary technical knowledge needed in the performance of her job (refer to Annex B for the list of seminars and additional trainings attended by the DZA), she needs more assistance in the form of additional manpower. It will also be valuable if the future training that she and her staff will undergo will be along the line she indicated in the interview. 9