Land Use Plan

What is Land Use Plan?

It is an essential component of the comprehensive development plan; it designates the future use or reuse of the land and the structure built upon the land within a given jurisdiction’s planning area and the policies and reasoning used in arriving at the decisions in the plan. 

It projects public and private land uses in accordance with the planned spatial organization of economic and social activities and the traffic of goods and people.

Why Plan?

Land is a finite resource, but population continues to grow year after year requiring more land for housing and other urban uses, agricultural areas for food production, and more forest for timber production and watershed protection. Therefore, the need to allocate land judiciously and discriminately.

Constitutional Principles

“The use of property bears a social function, and all economic agents shall contribute to the common good. Individuals and private groups, including corporations, cooperatives, and similar collective organizations, shall have the right to own, establish, and operate economic enterprises, subject to the duty of the State to promote distributive justice and to intervene when the common good so demands.”

- Art. XII, Sec. 6 of 1987 Constitution

Urgency of Planning

• Continuing unmet needs of existing population as well as projected increasing population for land for various uses;

• Demand for more cheap and accessible land for urban development;

• Continuing issues / problems on conversion of agricultural land to urban uses.

• Accelerating transmigration of rural poor to Cities/Urban Areas, seeking employment.

•  Ongoing environmental degradation; 

• Fragmented laws constrain development 

1. Promote the efficient utilization, acquisition and disposition of land as a limited resources;

2. Influence, direct and harmonize decisions and activities of the public and the private sectors affecting the use, management and disposition of lands;

3. Reconcile land use conflicts between and among individuals and government agencies relating to present needs and anticipated demands for land;

4. Promote desirable and efficient patterns of land uses and prevent premature and wasteful development and minimize the cost of public facilities, services and infrastructure;

5. Protect and preserve valuable agricultural areas consistent with the need to promote industrialization;

 6. Maintain ecological balance thru Control of development in critical areas such as flood plains and watershed areas; 

7. Integrate programs and projects on land resources development among land development agencies; 

8. Conserve areas of ecological, aesthetic and historical values and maintain and protect natural open areas and areas of significant views;

9. Promote and implement a shelter plan (Thru identification of sites suitable for housing); and 

10. Promote an efficient circulation system