Talisay’s new land use plan ensures proper use of city’s lots

GULLAS (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)

WHEN the link between Talisay and Cebu cities was opened at the South Road Properties (SRP) more than 10 years ago, this brought investments in the form of subdivisions and other gated communities to the southern city.

However, some of these developments were poorly planned, specifically subdivisions, causing problems for the city including issues on garbage disposal, drainage, and traffic.

Engineer Audie Bacasmas, Talisay City planning and development officer-designate, said the city government is proposing to issue a moratorium on all new planned subdivision projects in the locality.

“The city may be attractive for residential projects, but there is also a downside to this. With more people living here, issues on traffic, drainage, waste disposal arise as well,” Bacasmas said.

According to the 2015 census, the city has a population of 227,645.

Talisay’s land area spans approximately 4,370 hectares, Bacasmas said, adding that there are still many pieces of land that are unutilized or underutilized, although he could not give specifics.

In earlier reports, Mayor Eduardo Gullas Sr. invited Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) to come to Talisay after the developer announced it was going to rescind its contract with Cebu City for a lot at the SRP.

Gullas said he would be more than willing to provide the developer an area in the city, which had several locations that the company could choose from.

Gullas further said that FLI already had high-end subdivisions in Barangays Mohon and Pooc.

Bacasmas agreed with Gullas statement, but also pointed out that if developments in the city would not be regulated, the available land might not be used properly.

The city government is currently revising its Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP), which should have been updated in 2011, to address this issue.

“Conditions three to four years ago were different from the situation we have now and the situation in the future. Some of it may no longer be applicable today,” he said.

In terms of business, Bacasmas said the CLUP would help guide investors determine which parts of the city to set up their enterprises in since different areas would be classified into various zones.

The city government, through the help of the Housing Land Use and Regulatory Board (HLURB), is set to come up with a six-module CLUP for 2017 to 2027 and a zoning ordinance hopefully within this year.