New Makati zoning plan proposed

The Makati City government will hold public hearings on a proposed comprehensive land use plan and zoning ordinance for the city beginning the first week of February, Mayor Elenita Binay said.

Binay said the proposed plan would replace the existing 1981 Makati Zoning Plan which she described as "outdated."

"The 1981 plan is no longer responsive to the needs of city residents. It is incompatible with the present status of Makati as one of Asia's premier cities," the mayor said.

Binay said the land use and zoning master plan details all the plans and actions that the Makati City government will undertake in the next several years with regards to urban and infrastructure development, housing programs, environmental protection and strategic land use. "It is important that we get the opinion and support of the people of Makati and our clientele," Binay said.

Among the key points of the proposed plan are the expansion of the Central Business District, construction of strategic road links and increase in transportation and pedestrian facilities, and setting density controls to limit the amount of development or building area allowed in specific locations.

The plan also emphasizes service-oriented establishments and Information Technology industries as a result of the decline in traditional manufacturing businesses, mixed and diverse land use, and the establishment of special development areas like the Government Center and the Riverside Development Zone.

The plan also proposes an increase in the total land area allotted to residential/mixed use by 37.63 percent, commercial/mixed use by 99.94 percent, public parks by 243.83 percent, and roads by 18.02 percent. However, it decreases the land allotted to institutional/industrial use by 165.33 percent.

Binay urged residents, sectoral representatives, business leaders and members of non-governmental organizations in the city to attend the series of public hearings which are tentatively set on Feb. 2-16.

"With the new land and zoning plan, a Makati City that is traffic, pollution and squatter-free is well attainable in the next few years of this new millennium," she said.