Preparation of Land Use Plans and Zoning Implementation

August 9, 1978

LETTER OF INSTRUCTIONS NO. 729

TO : All Agencies Concerned

WHEREAS, it is the national policy to attain the fruits of social and economic development in our communities within the integrative framework of human settlements;

WHEREAS, the Ministry of Human Settlements was created to ensure that development activities promote and enhance a whole relationship between human beings and their civil and physical environment;

WHEREAS, the National Coordinating Council for Town Planning, Housing and Zoning (NCCTPHZ) was conceived as a facilitating mechanism for updating, harmonizing and synchronizing development activities in major urban and urbanizable areas;

WHEREAS, the NCCTPHZ has undertaken preparation of one hundred seventy-five town plans which are being translated by the Ministry of Human Settlements into zoning ordinances;

WHEREAS, there is need to consolidate and sustain the gains made under the Pamayanang Pilipino sa Bagong Lipunan by way of strengthened local planning capabilities and institutionalization of the local planning process;

It is hereby directed that:

1.  The Ministry of Human Settlements shall prepare or cause to be prepared land use plans and zoning implementation and enforcement guidelines for urban and urbanizable areas, which shall be submitted for the President-Prime Minister's approval.

2.  Local governments are required to submit their existing land use plans, zoning ordinances, enforcement systems and procedures to the Ministry for review and ratification.

All other communities without land use plans and zoning implementing guidelines shall prepare said guidelines, and may call upon the Ministry of Human Settlements for planning assistance.

3.  The Ministry of Human Settlements shall cause the translation of approved land use plans and zoning implementing guidelines into official Zoning Maps, drawn on a scale of 1:10,000 which shall be printed and posted in municipal halls and other conspicuous places, and shall bear the seal of the Human Settlements Regulatory Commission. The Ministry shall also publish the official Zoning Maps drawn on an appropriate scale in a newspaper of general circulation.

4.  The approved land use plans and implementing guidelines shall be officially implemented through the issuance by the Ministry of Development Permits. The Development Permits shall be issued relative to subdivision, zoning (including architectural design), building, fire and related regulations.

a.  Development Proposals which shall include land use conversion, shall be submitted to the Ministry for approval.

Upon receipt of a Development Proposal, the Ministry or its designate shall determine its conformance with approved zoning implementing guidelines, and may specify appropriate planning conditions. The Ministry may call for a public hearing on the development proposals, if it deems necessary.

b.  Development projects of public agencies shall be submitted to the Ministry of Human Settlements for the issuance of Locational Clearance Permit.

c.  The Ministry, through appropriate agency, shall issue a Development Permit/Locational Clearance Permit upon its approval of the draft development scheme and confirmation of planning conditions.

d.  For this purpose, the Ministry shall appoint and/or deputize Zoning Administrators who will issue Development Permits/Locational Clearance Permits in coordination with the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development.

5.  All specialized agencies implementing their own land use and zoning regulations shall submit their land use and zoning regulations, and enforcement systems and procedures to the Ministry of Human Settlements.

6.  All national and local government agencies affected by the establishment of a single regulatory system shall assist the Ministry of Human Settlements in the development of appropriate enforcement systems and procedures.

7.  For special or critical areas such as designated Urban Land Reform Zones and Bagong Lipunan sites, the Ministry of Human Settlements shall recommend for the President's approval appropriate land use and zoning implementing guidelines, land resource management mechanisms and techniques such as joint ventures, expropriation and land readjustment.

To ensure that the land use plans and zoning guidelines are reflective of community interests and development capabilities, all public agencies, as well as private interests, shall be required by the Ministry to submit Development Proposals for projects within the proclaimed zone. Said proposals shall be entered into an official Development Registry for the area.

This letter of instruction shall take effect immediately.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 9th day of August, in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Seventy-Eight.