PHINMA UPang planned high-rise questioned
VIOLATES 5-STOREY LIMIT FOR DAGUPAN CITY
AN eight-storey building planned by PHINMA University of Pangasinan (UPang), which will be partially located in a thickly-populated residential area, is facing opposition from residents as well as the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP).
Members of the Pagasa Village Homeowners Association in Barangay Pantal sent a petition to the SP expressing their disapproval of the building, saying they will be adversely affected by it. Julius Baguis, president of the association, noted that construction of the project is about to start without any consultations with them.
Initial investigation conducted by the SP showed that the project sits partly in an institutional area and partly within Pagasa Village, which may violate the city’s zoning ordinance that was incorporated in the City Land Use Plan (CLUP) approved in 2016.
Councilor Luis Samson Jr. cited that only buildings of up to five-storey high are permitted in Dagupan’s downtown area as the city has been affected by liquefaction due to the magnitude 7.6 earthquake on July 16, 1990.
He noted that Mayor Belen Fernandez earlier said that the building permits of an 11-storey condominium along Arellano Street and a high-rise building of the Region 1 Medical Center were not issued by her, but by her predecessor, Brian Lim, and that Fernandez would not have approved these in consideration of the CLUP.
City Engineer Josephine Corpuz said that under the Zoning Ordinance, the location of the proposed PHINMA UPang building is under R-2 classification, which limits buildings to a maximum of five levels.
Donald Severino, a representative of PHINMA Upang, told the SP that construction of the eight-storey structure is set to start in November, but admitted they have yet to secure a building permit for it.
SP Secretary Ryan Ravanzo, himself a resident of Pagasa Village, said since the building sits partly on the thickly populated village, it would be violating the CLUP if allowed to rise.
Councilor Jose Netu Tamayo said PHINMA UPang must consider the concerns of Pagasa Village residents to avoid potential lawsuits. (Leonardo Micua)
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