Why Do I Need a Building Permit

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Why Do I Need a Building Permit?
Whether we are in our homes, offices, schools, or places of entertainment, we take for granted the
fact that the structures that surround us are safe. What we usually don’t think about is that most
aspects of building construction – framing, wiring, heating, and plumbing facilities – represent a
potential hazard to building occupants and users.
Building codes strive to reduce risks to an acceptable level. Building inspections provide the means
to verify that the codes have been followed. The building permit is the link between the two. The
permit and inspections ensure that your personal safety is protected and that your investment in
your home also is protected.
Who Should I Contact Regarding Building Permits?
The city's Building Official is responsible for maintaining Piedmont's standards for both home and
commercial construction. This includes review, acceptance and issuance of permits for building
projects and periodic monitoring and inspection during the construction process. The Building
Official is available Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to Noon at (510) 420-3062.

How Long Does It Take to Get a Building Permit?
All building permit applications take at least 24 hours to be processed. All applications are
processed in the order in which they are received. Processing time varies depending on the
complexity of your project and the level of review required. Permits for simply jobs (rewiring
electrical, hot water heaters, sewer repair, etc.) are typically processed in one (1) to five (5) days.
However, if additional information is needed, we will usually telephone the applicant for that
information. Once the information is received, the permit is usually ready a few days later.
VALIDATION
SECTION 305. Validity of Building Permits The issuance of a building permit shall not be construed
as an approval or authorization to the permittee to disregard or violate any of the provisions of the
Code. Whenever the issuance of a permit is based on approved plans and specifications which are
subsequently found defective, the Building official is not precluded from requiring permittee to
effect the necessary corrections in said plans and specifications or from preventing or ordering the
stoppage of any or all building operations being carried on thereunder which are in violation of the
Code. A building permit issued under the provisions of the Code shall expire and become null and
void if the building or work authorized therein is not commenced within a period of one (1) year
after the issuance of the building permit, or is suspended or abandoned at any time after it has
been commenced for a period of one hundred twenty (120) days.

Introduction
DMCI Homes Torre de Manila is a condominium project of DM Consunji Inc. (DMCI). The
construction of the controversial 46-storey Torre de Manila condominium that mars the vista or
visual corridors of the Rizal Monument in Luneta has been considered as an eyesore by its critics,

especially heritage conservationists. Critics insists that the building will ruin the sightline of
the Rizal Monument in nearby Luneta Park.

Brief History
JUNE 2012 – In the same month DMCI got a zoning permit from the Manila Zoning Board of Adjustments and Appeals (MZBAA) for the
construction of the condominium, cultural heritage activist Carlos Celdran protested the plan, saying it will destroy the view of the Rizal
Monument.
JULY 2012 – City building official Melvin Balagot granted DMCI Homes a building permit, saying the firm submitted all the necessary
requirements.
However, in the same month, Manila city councilor Don Juan “DJ” Bagatsing drafted a resolution suspending the building permit issued by
Balagot. This was approved by city council.
APRIL 2013 – Lim, however, vetoed the city council resolution stopping the condominium's construction a month before the 2013
elections, while the council was on recess and officials were busy with their respective election campaigns. This prompted Celdran to
revive his online petition against the building's construction.
NOVEMBER 2013 – Months after Estrada's election as city mayor, city councilor Bagatsing refiled the Lim-vetoed resolution, saying the
building's construction violates a zoning ordinance pertaining to floor area ratio and height restrictions within a University/Institution Cluster
Zone.
The resolution suspended the condominium's construction temporarily.
JANUARY 2014 – The MZBAA later approved DMCI Homes' appeal, granting the firm an exemption to the local zoning laws.
Manila Councilor Joel Chua, chairman of the Oversight Committee of the Manila City council, said the taxes the city will earn from the
condominium project can be used to pay Manila's debts.
AUGUST 2014 – Senator Pia Cayetano joined the fray, filing a resolution emphasizing the need to review laws and policies governing the
preservation of national and historical sites.
She later conducted an ocular inspection of the site. After her visit, she said the building violated zoning permits.
The senator said those who would file a case against DMCI Homes can use the "builder in good faith" and the "builder in bad faith"
argument.
A builder in good faith is someone who starts the construction of a building or a house without knowing any flaw in the land title or permits.
SEPTEMBER 2014 – Knights of Rizal filed a petition before the Supreme Court asking that the construction be stopped.
OCTOBER 2014 - Kabataan party-list Rep. Terry Ridon appealed to Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno to inhibit herself from the Torre
de Manila case. He said he received information that Sereno's husband, Mario Jose Sereno, previously worked in DMCI's corporate
planning office.
NOVEMBER 2014 - The SC included the National Museum (NM), National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) and the
National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) as respondents in the case.

JANUARY 2015 - The National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA) issued a cease-and-desist order to stop the construction of
Torre de Manila.
DMCI Homes, however, did not heed the cease-and-desist order, according to the NCCA.
FEBRUARY 2015 – Three months after the SC issued a resolution making NM, NHCP, and NCCA as respondents, the three agencies
asked the high court to remove them as respondents.
JUNE 2015 – The high court finally issued a TRO temporarily halting the condominium's construction.
Many contractual employees relying on the Torre de Manila construction are left without jobs.
DMCI Homes, for its part, said it will "vigorously pursue" legal remedies.

Building Permit issued
The building is approved by the Manila city government under Mayor Alfredo Lim, granted a
building permit to DMCI . because the company, according to Melvin Balagot, the city building
officer, had duly submitted all requirements, including an approval from the city planning office in
the form of a zoning permit. In June 2012, DMCI managed to secure a zoning permit that allows the
company to build the Torre de Manila in a lot along Taft Avenue The planned location of the building
is behind the lot previously occupied by the Manila Jai Alai Building. In November 2013, the Manila
City Council suspended the building's construction citing zoning violation. The city government by
that time is now under Mayor Joseph Estrada.[1]

Violation why the construction stopped
The Supreme Court (SC) issued on June 17, 2015 a temporary restraining order (TRO)
on D.M.Consunji, Inc.’s (DMCI) construction of Torre de Manila then on June 16 to stopped the
continuation of the construction. The floor-to-height ratio must not exceed seven stories in height.
The building has been termed by critics as Terror de Manila and Pambansang Photobomb (National Photobomb).
According to the "Guidelines on Monuments Honoring National Heroes, Illustrious Filipinos and other
Personages" of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), vista points and visual
corridors to monuments should be clear for "unobstructed viewing appreciation and photographic
opportunities."

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