BAGUIO CITY– The city council wants the city planning and development office to prepare master development plan on how the city government will utilize the 139-hectare city property located within the jurisdiction of barangays Camp 7, Bakakeng Norte/Sur, Sto. Tomas Proper and Sto. Tomas School Area in order to prevent the misuse of the property in the future.
Aside from hosting the proposed integrated solid waste disposal system, the local legislative body wants the completion of the comprehensive master development plan for the city-owned property in order to make sure that it will be used for its desired purpose in order to help in addressing the city’s major problems.
Initially, portions of the property was proposed to be used as relocation site for residents who will be displaced among others.
For his part, Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan is pushing for the use of a portion of the area to accommodate the expansion of the city’s already decongested public cemetery.
Earlier, some councillors proposed that portions of the city property will be converted into a theme park to add up to new tourist destinations that will continue attracting the influx of more foreign and domestic visitors to visit the city’s undisputed Summer Capital.
The council also directed the city assessor’s office to submit to the local legislative body their detailed report in relation to the status of the properties in the area for their future reference.
The city general services office already identified the 50-hectare area within the property to be used to host the city’s integrated solid waste disposal facility but the council asserted the comprehensive master development plan must still be in place to avoid the misuse of the property in case there will be a change in administration.
Domogan cited the century-old City Charter provides that lands that have been identified for city needs will take precedence over other needs of the properties that will be declared by possible other owners.
The council wants that portions of the city property will be declared as housing sites to serve as possible relocation areas for people who will be displaced during the implementation of the integrated solid waste management disposal facility among other important projects that tend to address most of the city’s problems.
Portions of the property having a land area of some 95 hectares were donated by the family of former Acting Mayor Virginia de Guia to the city government after the de Guia family bought the property from the Cariño clan which has an existing claim in the area and that the same was confirmed by the local court.
The city government was already initially able to fence the property in order to prevent unscrupulous land speculators from intruding into the area and that fencing of the same will commence upon the release of the additional funds earmarked for the purpose of protecting the property from the proliferation of informal settlers.
The city solid waste management board is also in the process of completing all available procedures and requirements before submitting to the council for approval the final city solid waste management plan that will contain the significant data on what technology will be used and adopted by the local government to solve the city’s solid waste disposal problem in the coming months.