Implementation

Promoter
Researchers:
Christine Jay Z. Abordo
Decoy, Norton A.
Problems
Patting, Metz Vonn of Zoning
09275012083

December 9, 2015

Policies
Ay-en, Melody D.
in Baguio
Bautista, Guianne Joyce L.
City
Galang, Yvette A.
Malabanan, Mary Meyan V.
Os-osa, Gemma C.
Pena, Diane Althea V.
1 Implementation Problems of Zoning Policies in Baguio City

CHAPTER I
Introduction
Over the past several years, different countries have become increasingly aware of the
existence of massive growth in population and the trend toward urbanization. That being said, it
became clear that an individuals use of property could have a negative impact on the health,
safety, and welfare of the whole community. Different institutions working in different areas had
begun contemplating the role of zoning policies in mitigating the risk within this setting. Thus,
zoning has come to the forefront of planning stage.

Zoning refers to a system in regulating the use of land including its size and shape.
In the context of community planning and development, it can be described as the legislative
process of dividing a community into several districts for the purpose of regulating building bulk
and location, and the use of buildings and property.
Modern zoning evolved from nuisance laws, sanitary and housing codes, European law
and English common law. Even early Roman law addressed a need for protection against
encroachments in certain areas and the spatial relationships of certain buildings to other
structures. However, in the Philippine setting, the acceptability of land use controls was not
immediate or universal. Numerous reasons for its slow development could be noted, but perhaps
the most significant reason was the tendency of the people to go to great lengths to assure that
individual property rights were protected from arbitrary control of government. In the United
States of America, the authority of governments to enforce zoning regulations was upheld by the
Supreme Court in 1926 in the landmark case of Village of Euclid, Ohio v. Ambler Realty. Since
then, almost every major city has adopted a zoning code.
On the other hand, a number of local governments like New Zealand and Australia have
applied land use management programs for disaster reductions. However, in Asia Pacific
countries, land use management program is not a commonly used method to promote earthquake
disaster reduction. Nonetheless, land use management should seriously be taken into
consideration, especially in Asian cities with land use problems like high population density,
high-rise buildings, or vulnerable residential houses in earthquake hazard-prone areas. (Michiko
Banba, 2004)
However, the greatest challenge when it comes to zoning ordinance is its
implementation. With reference to the 21st century Philippine condition, there are many emerging
bureaucracies that overlapped in their duties and functions; therefore, this made an ordinance
fallible in terms of its application. For an ordinance to be effective, one must not only be ideal in
paper, but also feasible and as possible, aligned in practice as the law prescribed. In addition, the
prospective effect of the law greatly affects the operationalization of the zoning ordinance since
it will not apply legal jurisdiction on the houses built before its enactment.
In Baguio City which was declared a chartered city by virtue of Act No. 1963 for
instance, there was an adoption of the Comprehensive Zoning Regulations for the City of Baguio
on December 27, 2001. The main reason for the said adoption of the ordinance was the 7.5-
magnitude earthquake which devastated Baguio City on July 16, 1990 wherein many old and
new buildings were levelled to the ground and numerous people died. All the three major access
2 Implementation Problems of Zoning Policies in Baguio City

roads leading to the mountain resort were closed and many visitors and residents leaving or
coming back to the city were stranded.

The fact that the City of Baguio is rapidly urbanizing and is vulnerable to environmental
threats because of its topographical entity, the scarcity of land and the attendant problems arising
from conflicting and competing land. The number of households in 2010 rose to 78,313 or an
increase of 26,011 households over the 2000 figure which is 52,302. The average household size
decreased from 4.3 persons in 2007 to 4.0 persons in 2010. (CLUP-City of Baguio, 2013)

Thus, the enactment of comprehensive zoning ordinance is seen by the government as a

tool to govern the utilization of privately owned land. Since more than 75% of all urban land is
generally held under private ownership, the impact of zoning laws upon income and value of real
property is most significant (Osmena 2007).

This study will be a significant endeavor to evaluate the alignment of the existing urban
policies, if there is, to the implementation in the different residential areas in Baguio City. This
would be beneficial to the citizens and inhabitants preventing them from being engulfed with
uncertainties due to the problems in the execution of the said ordinance and the compliance or
non-compliance of the residents to the ordinances set forth by the government. This research will
serve as a tool for different administrative offices to identify the genuine barriers which constrain
the utilization and implementation of the rules and regulations that they entail and uphold. This
study would pioneer the awareness and realization of the flaws and shortcomings of the
stakeholders involved so as to insinuate change and improve the city. The principal benefactors
of the change are, of course, the citizens and inhabitants of Baguio City protecting their right to
life, free from threat and to have a healthful environment.
Research Problem
In order to address the problems, it is necessary to deal all functional areas, which
contributes to zoning policy. Certain elements of the governments current activities in public
service provisions and operations could be undertaken more efficiently and cost-effectively in
specialized offices, giving a higher level of service quality to constituents. The research study
focuses on the issues of the implementing offices in the City of Baguio regarding the zoning
ordinances, together with identifying the hazardous areas that became existing residential
dangerous zones in the city. Moreover, the study will also identify indicators on the overlapping
current institutional functions that influence the implementation problems on the zoning
ordinances.
Conceptual Framework
This research is grounded on the theory of Institutionalism, specifically Historical
Institutionalism as defined by Peter A. Hall and Rosemary C. R. Taylors research on Political
Science and the Three Institutionalisms. Historical Institutionalism accepted the contention that
conflict among rival groups for scarce resources lies at the heart of politics, but they sought
better explanations for the distinctiveness of national political outcomes and for the inequalities
3 Implementation Problems of Zoning Policies in Baguio City

that mark these outcomes. It found such explanations in the way the institutional organization of
the polity and economy structures conflict so as to privilege some interests while demobilizing
others. Here, it built on an older tradition in political science that assigned importance to formal
political institutions but they developed a more expansive conception both of which institutions
matter and of how they matter (Hall & Taylor, 1996).
This is in relation to the lack of collaboration between the respective offices responsible
for the implementation of the zoning ordinance. This is validated by a pre-interview conducted
by the researchers at the City Engineering Office. It was an administrative personnel who said
that there is definitely lapse in procedure. This is because, as what he said, of the
reorganization and re-appropriation of duties in the administrative offices. This, to him, created
strife among the offices which made collaboration between and among offices almost
impossible.
In line with this, Bureaucracy is also used to further validate the research. As per iterated
by the research of Kenneth J. Meier and George A. Krause entitled The Scientific Study of
Bureaucracy: An Overview. It states that bureaucracy includes interinstitutional relationships
with democratic institutions such as chief executives, legislatures, or the judiciary as well as
institutional activities concerned with explaining the organizational structure and behavior of
administrative agencies. Scientific inquiry pertains to the development of systematic,
generalizable explanations and subsequent empirical tests of the what, how, and why of
bureaucratic agencies (Meier & Krause).
This theory validates the contention of the researchers that indeed there is a problem with
the current implementation of the zoning ordinance and that change has to happen. It means not
to abolish or in any way diminish the bureaucratic process and institution that the city already
has, but rather it seeks to clarify the functions of each of the offices and in a way connect them so
that there is proper implementation of the ordinance for the protection and safety of the people of
the City of Baguio
Review of Related Literature
Zoning is the way the governments control the physical development of land and the
kinds of uses to which each individual property may be put. Zoning can also be understood in the
line of comprehensive planning. The comprehensive plan is the culmination of a planning
process that establishes the official land use policy of a community and presents goals and a
vision for the future that guides official decision-making. The comprehensive plan invariably
includes a thorough analysis of current data showing land development trends and issues,
community resources, and public needs for transportation, recreation, and housing. Zoning is
merely one method albeit an important one - for implementing the goals of the plan. Having a
comprehensive or well-considered plan ensures that forethought and planning precede zoning
and zoning amendments (A.S.Kauzeni)
According to the study of Maantay, the legal mechanism of zoning changes can
contribute toward environmental injustice, and offers recommendations for achieving justice
through planning. Noxious uses tend to concentrate in poor and minority industrial
neighborhoods due to re-zoning more affluent and less minority industrial areas to other uses,
and expanding industrial zones in poorer neighborhoods and communities of color. This set of
4 Implementation Problems of Zoning Policies in Baguio City

practices has been termed "expulsive" zoning, and is characterized by displacement of poor and
minority people (and industry) from gentrifying industrial zones; the intrusion of additional
noxious land uses into predominantly poor and minority industrial areas, and the concomitant
reduction of environmental quality there. Zoning policy, as argued, have adverse impacts on
public health and equity, by disproportionately burdening poorer and more minority populations
with noxious or environmentally risky land uses (Maantay).
However, most people are so focused on the negative implications of zoning that they
tend to forget its positive effects. New Yorks iconic skyline for instance has been shaped by the
citys zoning codes. The variety in architectural styles is as much related to trends in design and
technology as it has to do with changes in the zoning code over time. Moreover, certain key
buildings themselves inspired the zoning resolutions of 1916 and 1961. The 1916 Zoning
Ordinance was the first zoning regulation in the country. It imposed height and setback limits and
distinguished between residential and industrial districts. Its purpose was clearto prevent
buildings at the scale of the Equitable Building, an imposing skyscraper in downtown Manhattan
that blocked out natural sunlight due to its large footprint and height. New Yorkers feared that
this type of building, if unchecked, would encourage carte blanche by developers and potentially
plunge the city into darkness. Thus, in the 1916 zoning code, even though you could build out to
the entire lot size, after a certain height you had to set-back, which led to the wedding-cake
design style like the New York Telephone Building, built in 1926. The 1961 Zoning Code
corrected for certain limitations of the 1916 zoning, including minimum dimensions for inner
lots (to prevent the sliver dumbbell shaped shafts in tenement buildings) and windows were
required to face the street or inner lot. Most important was the shift to Floor Area Ratio (FAR)
which essentially limits the height of the building based on lot size. For example, if the
maximum FAR is 10 in your zoning area and you want to fill the entire lot, you can only build 10
stories. Tower on a base zoning was introduced in 1994 as a response to concerns about
excessive height in residential areas. On wide streets in certain districts, towers must be built on
a 5-8 story base that reaches the street line. This may be one of the most recognizable
commercial/residential forms in New York City in the last twenty years. 100 years is not a long
period in terms of shaping a city, especially compared to European cities. (Young, 2011).
The Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) issued
Administrative Order No. 28, series of 2000 (DENR AO 2000-28) on March 2000 as an
institutional planning tool to safeguard development projects from the hazards caused by
geological phenomena. DENR AO 2000-28, which requires all land development, projects to
undertake an Engineering Geological and Geo-hazard Assessment (EGGA) as an additional
requirement for Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) applications, was designed to
strengthen the geological component of the Philippine EIA system. The Philippine Mines and
Geosciences Bureau, as the implementing agency, issued Memorandum Circular (MC) 2000-33
to describe in detail the guidelines and checklist in the conduct of an EGGA and the preparation
of the corresponding report (EGGAR). Subsequent orders and memorandums were issued to
clarify and modify certain provisions of DENR 2000-28 in response to developments in
government policies and to address concerns raised by the general public. On 24 October 2000, a
DENR MC was issued to clarify the coverage of EGGA and the qualifications of an EGGAR
preparer. A year later, Presidential Executive Order (EO) No. 45 was issued on 24 October 2001,
mandating all DENR agencies involved in the issuance of housing-related certifications, permits
and clearances, to observe prescribed periods and provide appropriate mechanisms to fast track
5 Implementation Problems of Zoning Policies in Baguio City

the approval and implementation of housing projects. To implement EO 45, DENR issued an MC
dated 26 November 2001. The MGB for its part issued MGB MC 2002-43 on 18 February 2002
to establish guidelines relevant to EGGA concerns in the implementation of EO 45. (Aurelio,
2004)
Land use planning enjoyed some prominence in the 1970s and 1980s with the global rise
in popularity of the human settlements approach to development. Local land use plans were
prepared under the guidance of the national government and while technical quality was not
necessarily cutting edge, they had positive institutional impacts. This was especially evident for
Metro Manila when the metropolitan structure was put in placesan innovative and pioneering
initiative at that timeand subsequently with the preparation of the 1978 and 1981
Comprehensive Zoning Ordinances. These ordinances and their corresponding land use plans
signified the re-establishment of the land use planning discipline, particularly the need to
organize the built environment and to reduce conflicts that compromised efficiency and safety.
Compliance was inconsistent but by and large major land use zones (i.e. residential,
commercial, industrial) were respected. Except for some residential zones dominated by
privately developed subdivisions, these zones were based on existing mixed use communities.
Later, continued population growth, major rural-urban migration flows and economic austerity
aggravated land use conflicts, e.g. informal settlements proliferated in danger zones and
government properties, and led to a deterioration of the quality of the built environment. The first
is a general observation about Metro Manila and its 1981 Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance.
This ordinance states its objectives as: promote public health and safety; guide and control future
growth according to its land use plan; promote the character and stability of residential,
commercial, parks and other land uses; provide adequate light, air, privacy access and safety;
prevent overcrowding and undue concentration; and regulate development to enhance traffic
movements. (MMC 1981) Clearly, conditions in the metro area, especially as far as traffic
congestion, poor air quality, chronic flooding and their negative impacts on productivity are
concerned, make it difficult to believe that these objectives have been met. The second
observation is more direct and convincing. It is premised on the idea that central business
districts (CBDs) anchor a citys spatial and economic structure. They have the highest land
values, dominate the land market and influence the geography of a city such that the location of
other land uses and transportation linkages are oriented towards them. For this reason, a CBD (or
a network of CBDs) forms the core of a citys land use plans and many urban development
strategies and projects deal with managing the CBD, providing access to and from the CBD, and
making sure that other land uses (residential, industrial, institutional) relate to and complement
the CBD. These CBDs were designed as distinct communities, enclaves even, with land use and
building regulations that are separate from the governments and which are established and
enforced through private deed restrictions; they have their own governing organization, and
traffic enforcement, fire protection, building regulation, security and other services that would
otherwise be provided by the local government. The privately developed CBDs were not initiated
by government land use policies. Instead, government land use plans and policies were
influenced by and eventually accommodated these CBDs. As far as CBDs are concerned,
therefore, and keeping in mind the crucial role they play in defining the structure of the city and
in influencing land use, government land use policies were not instrumental in planning and
developing them. (Corpuz A. , 2013)
6 Implementation Problems of Zoning Policies in Baguio City

The study of Benjamin Cario and Arturo Corpuz in the Philippines stated that the cities
provide the highest levels of service and living standards in the country. Nonetheless, there are
number of fundamental issues and problems that characterize the institutional environment of
urban development and housing that hamper the implementation of critical programs and
projects. These issues may be classified into: (1) the incongruence of sectoral and area-based
orientation; (2) weak governance capacity of LGUs; (3) weak coordinative mechanism for urban
development and housing services; (4) weak participatory mechanisms and difficulty of doing
business; and (5) political interference. A major constraint is that the overwhelming majority of
the personnel of the City/Municipal Planning and Development Office lack formal planning
education and have a poor appreciation of the planning logic. Consequently, the quality of most
plan documents is poor, i.e., they are not internally consistent and lack sufficient consideration of
external demands and conditions and other critical factors that make an impact on local
development (Corpuz, 2009).
Moreover, statutes delegating land use planning and regulatory authority to municipal
governments encourage local officials to provide meaningful opportunities for citizens to shape
and influence the development of comprehensive plans and land use regulations. Public hearings
are required or encouraged to be held regarding all local board decisions on development
proposals. In state regulations governing local environmental review of such proposals, local
agencies are encouraged to involve all affected parties in the development of a scope of the
content and methodology of the environmental study that is to be conducted on the proposal.
These provisions express a clear policy favoring the early and continual input of involved parties
at each stage of the local land use process (Beginner's Guide to Land Use Law, 1993).
The Zoning Variance power as discussed by Ronald Shapiro is deemed to be constructive
in theory but destructive in practice. The purpose of this article is to discuss the striking disparity
between the theory of variance power and its practical application is the main theme of Shapiros
discussion. The board of appeals variance procedure is not the proper method for correcting
imperfect zoning. The appropriate remedy is legislative amendment of the zoning ordinance by
the City Council, as in Baltimore, or by a particular zoning commission, just like in Boston.
Political influence often determines whether Council approval is obtained, and narrow ward
interests are substituted for interests of the city. As is often true, one variation becomes the basis
for a well-grounded request for subsequent variation, and a snow ball movement begins, opening
the way for complete destruction of the effectiveness of the zoning ordinance (Shapiro, 1969).

In connection to this, a study entitled Toward a Strategic Urban Development and

Housing Policy for the Philippines stated those planning and investment prioritizations are
difficult to achieve because budgets are often driven by political motives. Political pressures
influence project lists and prioritization. The total cost of projects listed in the Medium Term
Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP) is often beyond the capacity of the national government
to finance. Consequently, the MTPDP serves less as a plan of action and more as a wish list of
projects, subject to further refinement. Indeed, political pressure often manifests itself in terms of
the incongruence between plans and budgets, and in terms of resources being spread too thinly
across many concerns to satisfy many patrons and interests (Corpuz, 2009). In support to this, To
some extent, these are problems associated with government generally,[1and especially local
government. If local government does tend toward corruption, it may appear sensible at first
glance to strip local government of the zoning power (and any other powers it can do without),
7 Implementation Problems of Zoning Policies in Baguio City

especially if an alternative regulatory scheme can accomplish the same ends with a lower risk of
corruption. When corruption and favoritism crop up periodically in other areas of local
government, the problem usually brings about a call for prosecution of the individual offenders,
institutional reforms, and more effective policing, not abolition of the police department, the
judiciary, the building code, or whatever institution may have committed the offense. Is zoning
somehow different? The critics might suggest that corruption is so prevalent in zoning that the
institution simply cannot be salvaged. Further, they contend that such large financial interests are
at stake in zoning decisions that corruption is particularly tempting ( (KARKKAINEN, 1994).

The current situation of zoning policies can also be referred to the case of informal
settlers. In a a study entitled Evaluating Local Land Use Zoning Policies: Case study of
Informal Settlements in General Trias Philippines, the emerging of informal settlers and the
development of urban areas in unplanned places are the common phenomena among countries of
developing economies and in order to constrain the urban development and the rural-land
conversation, governments have formulated public policies as a way of distributing rights to get
access to, use and benefit from land. Moreover, as a part of such policies, local land use zoning
policies establish where to allocate the different land use activities and where to allow or not to
allow land use conversions. However in practice new informal settlements are leading to a
difference between the paper policy and the ground development (Horta, 2002). A study
entitled as Incentive Zoning: An Alternative to Squatter Settlements in Abuja, Nigeria claims that
incentive zoning is one technique for controlling city design. The first major attempt to introduce
zoning incentives was in the comprehensive revision of New York Citys zoning regulations
made in 1961. At inception, the most significant design feature of the incentive zoning was a
provision that a developer could achieve an increase in floor area of up to 20%, in certain high-
density commercial and residential districts, by providing a plaza that met the qualification in the
ordinance. Other bonuses were considered after the first usage of zoning incentive, according to
provision, for arcades, and other amenities. Zoning incentive can be about letting developers
build a larger building if they provide certain desirable features or amenities, as it was at
inception. Based on consideration of the socio-economic characteristics of squatters, it is
recommended that in Abuja: 1. Incentive Zoning Program should require residential developers
to produce affordable houses in their developments alongside market-rate units. 2. Incentive
Zoning should require that the affordable houses to be provided by private developer should be a
fixed percentage of housing units. This will ensure that in new residential developments there is
a fixed allocation affordable to low- and moderate-income earners. 3. The Incentive Zoning
shouldnt leave provision for developers to opt-in, but make it a requirement for the approval of
any development. 4. There should be adequate checking in the approval process of new
developments, and monitoring of the development. 5. There should be the establishment of an
organization that rate and reward sustainability in housing, and publish the rating of new
developments in Abuja (Akinniyi, 2015).
8 Implementation Problems of Zoning Policies in Baguio City

CHAPTER II
Methodology

The study utilized a case study research design which is qualitative in nature; the research
focus on the alignment of zoning policy to its implementation process. The researchers will
employ in-depth interview method as a means of acquiring data about the implementation
process of the zoning ordinance, and will scrutinize on the identified conflicting institutional
patterns, if there is, from 2001 to present. The researchers initially started with the sample
interview to the offices concerned including data related to the study in November 17, 2015. The
researchers will continue to full blown interview and data gathering on the second week of
January 2016.
9 Implementation Problems of Zoning Policies in Baguio City

A. TOOL

Interview guide

1. What are the functions of the mentioned office? (i.e Office of the City Mayor)
2. What are the scopes of the mentioned office? (i.e Office of the City Mayor)
3. What are the roles of the mentioned offices? (i.e Office of the City Mayor)
4. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the mentioned office in connection to the
implementation of the zoning ordinance? (i.e Office of the City Mayor)
5. What are the efforts that the office has done in promulgating the implemented ordinance?
(i.e Office of the City Mayor)
6. What is the relevance of the mentioned office in relation to implementation of the zoning
ordinance? (i.e Office of the City Mayor)
7. What are the problems that the mentioned office has encountered in the process of
implementation of the ordinance?
8. What are the disciplinary and alternative actions of the government dealing with the
violator/s of the zoning ordinance?
9. What are the development plans on hand of the mentioned office?
10. Do you think there are problems in our legal system?
10 Implementation Problems of Zoning Policies in Baguio City

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Case Study .

Akinniyi, A. A. (2015). Incentive Zoning: An Alternative to Squatter Settlements in

Abuja, Nigeria. International Journal of Economics & ISSN: 2162-6359
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(1993). Beginner's Guide to Land Use Law. New York: Land Use Law University.

Congress, P. (1993). Executive Order No. 72. Manila: Malacanang.

Corpuz, A. (2013). Land Use Policy Impacts on. Land Use Policy Impacts on, 4-6.

Corpuz, B. C. (2009). Toward a Strategic Urban Development and Housing Policy for
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Hall, P. A., & Taylor, R. C. (1996). Political Science and the Three Institutionalisms. 5-
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KARKKAINEN, B. C. (1994). ZONING: A REPLY TO THE CRITICS. Journal of Land Use &
Environmental Law.

Maantay, J. (n.d.). Industrial Zoning Changes in New York City: A Case Study of
"Expulsive". 1-46.

Meier, K. J., & Krause, G. A. (n.d.). The Scientific Study of Bureaucracy: An Overview.
1.

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Destructive in Practice. Maryland Law Review, 17-18.

Young, M. (2011, July 07). untappedcities.com. Retrieved November 23, 2015, from
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