Some 130 commercial building owners in the city were issued notices of violation by the City Buildings and Architecture Office (CBAO) for illegally converting their parking spaces into commercial spaces contrary to the building and occupancy permits that were issued to them by the local government.
Engr. Stephen Capuyan of the CBAO said that 8 building owners complied with the return of their parking spaces that they converted to commercial spaces, 13 structure owners were issued show cause orders for the revocation or cancellation of their building and occupancy permits while the remaining building owners have pending cases awaiting appropriate action.
He disclosed that the building owners are given 60 days by the CBAO to make the appropriate corrective measures in returning their parking spaces before the city government will be institute the appropriate remedial measures to compel these owners to make parking spaces available for their tenants.
Further, the CBAO furnished copies of the notices of violation issued against the building owners to the City Permits and Licensing Division of the City Mayor’s Office for appropriate action.
One of the present administration’s 15-point collective agenda is on aggressive traffic management that focuses on programs and projects to compel commercial building owners that converted their parking spaces to commercial spaces to bring back the parking slots within their structures to be used by their tenants.
Earlier, the City Council passed Resolution No. 303, series of 2016, that reiterated the previous request to the City Mayor and the CBAO to conduct inspection and inventory of commercial buildings that have converted their parking spaces to leased commercial spaces and to recommend the closure of the same and the prosecution of the building owners for violation of the pertinent provisions of the National Building Code.
Under the National Building Code, a basic requirement is for buildings to have parking spaces incorporated in the plans and specifications submitted to the city building official; the purposes of application for the required building permit, such plans and specifications are complied with by the building owner who initiates various improvements in the same.
The CBAO noted that after the construction of their buildings and the subsequent issuance of their occupancy permits, building owners, obviously wanting more profit, allegedly convert their designated parking spaces into commercial areas; the circumvention of the requirements of the building code and other allied laws show apathetic disregard by building owners of rules and regulations on land use. By DEXTER A. SEE