BAGUIO CITY April 04 – The City Buildings and Architecture Office (CBAO) was able to issue the initial notices of violation to 10 companies operating buildings around the central business district mandating them to restore the parking spaces in their buildings that were reportedly converted to commercial spaces.
Arch. Arsenio Glen Martin Rillera, CBAO architect 2, informed members of the City Council that the building owners were given time to put back the parking spaces in their structures that were converted into commercial spaces and failure of the building owners to comply with the notices of violation will compel the said office to recommend for the total closure of the buildings.
Among the establishments that were issued notices of violation include Abanao Square, John Co building, Ang building along Session Road, Sky World condominium, AYK building, Oterk commercial center, Tiong San, Balisong Calde building, Palangdao building and Jollibee Harrison.
Earlier, Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan gave the building owners several months to put back the parking spaces in their structures that were converted into commercial spaces to help address the worsening traffic congestions aggravated by the absence of parking spaces in the central business district.
Under the National Building Code, building owners must provide a parking slot for every 100 square meters of the structure to serve as parking areas for their patrons and customers.
Rillera assured the members of the local legislative body that the CBAO will take the necessary actions against the building owners who refuse to bring back their supposed parking spaces which were converted to commercial spaces considering that such actions are already in violation of the pertinent provisions of the National Building Code.
According to him, some of the building owners who were issued notices of violation requested the CBAO for more time for them to comply with the directives while some building owners started working on putting back their old parking spaces.
After the inspection of structures in the central busi ness district, Rillera claimed CBAO personnel will be going around the city to inspect structures that were issued building permits with provisions for parking relative to their compliance to the existence of the parking spaces within their structures and for them to bring back the parking spaces once the said areas were converted to commercial spaces.
Local legislators urged the CBAO personnel to continue their efforts in trying to curb the alleged illegal practices of building owners in converting their supposed parking allocations to commercial spaces to maximize the income to be derived from their operations, saying that the absence of parking slots in structures contribute to the worsening traffic congestion around the city because their customers tend to use the roads and sidewalks for parking.
Aside from the revocation of their building and occupancy permits, building owners who converted parking spaces to commercial spaces also face the closure of their establishments until they comply with the CBAO directive.**By Dexter A. See
