10-Year Plan (1999 – 2008) THE STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK

CHAPTER 1

Looking Beyond Tomorrow

The Strategic Development Framework
for Calapan City

Alice asks the Cheshire Cat, "Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from
here?" The Cat answers, 'That depends a good deal on where you want to get to." "I
don't much care where," replies Alice, only to be answered by the Cat: "Then it doesn't
matter which way you go." "As long as I get somewhere," Alice added as an explanation.
"Oh, you're sure to do that," said the Cat, "if you only walk long enough."

From Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

Most of the Philippines, like Alice, has known or cared little where it was going
concerning planning and development. Communities have gotten somewhere
after a long time. Nevertheless "getting somewhere" is not good enough: it has,
in many cases, been counterproductive and just plain bad planning.
Communities need to clarify where they want to go. The clear formulation of
goals and priorities is the key to sustainable success.

This Chapter presents the overall strategic development framework that served
as the keystone for the city's Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP).

The synthesis represents the consensus that emerged during the Focused
Group Discussions, the Visioning Workshop, and the Planning Workshop. The
consensual appraisal of the appropriate development-planning framework for the
city of Calapan is largely based on the technical appreciation made by the
Consultant Team of overall development trends and directions prevailing in
Calapan.

1.0 STRATEGIC PLANNING APPROACH

The formulated Comprehensive Land Use Plan for the City of Calapan is based
on three essential principles:

 Strategic Planning

 Sound technical knowledge and analyses

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10-Year Plan (1999 – 2008) THE STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK

 Realistic and implementable measures primarily based on market-based

incentive instrument.

Figure 1.1 presents the strategic planning approach adopted in the formulation of
the CLUP of Calapan.

Figure 1.1
Strategic Planning Approach

Long-term Horizon

Holistic View Calapan City Integral Role

Land Use Plan For Technology

Adaptive Change

The planning process was guided by the following principles:

 National/regional strategic directions under local governance

 Practical and achievable objectives and plans

 Market-based but socially responsible

 Environmental integrity

 Consultative process

The CLUP tackles the city's growth in a comprehensive, integrated and regional
basis but firmly rooted on local conditions.

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2.0 THE STRATEGIC CONTEXT OF CALAPAN'S CLUP

Figure 1.2 presents the strategic context of the city's CLUP.

The CLUP is viewed as a tool for overall economic value creation for the city of
Calapan. Value creation can only be accomplished through:

 Enhanced operational efficiency of the city's residents and businesses. By

rationalizing the use of land and environmental resources within the city, the
flow of economic and leisure activity within the city will be improved. Such
improvements will ultimately lead to better higher productivity and better
competitiveness for the city.

 A market-based approach to land use planning requires the identification,

planning, and timely implementation of investment projects that will largely
leverage scarce city resources to attract private sector investments.

 Given the magnitude of the investment needs of the city and the scarcity of
city government funds, creative financing instruments that will maximize
the leverage effects of city funds will have to be devised and implemented to
assure the sustainable flow of investment funds during the plan period.

The CLUP has proposed a ten-year supportive and implementable capital

investment program that which is consistent with the recommended urban
form and related land use.

Land use and the resulting built environment is a manifestation of what the
community of Calapeños believes, values, and strives to be, as well as an
archive of its own development.

The built environment is Calapan's infrastructure, civic and service centers, parks
and planned open spaces, neighborhoods, landmarks, roads and walkways, and
all those public and private places that compose the community and constitute a
critical frontier. It is necessary to understand the interactive relationship between
Calapeños and the built environment and to unite these two elements in a way
that optimizes both. The actual physical medium through which a sustainable
Calapan may be realized is in fact the built environment of Calapan.

An integral relationship exists between how a community is planned and

developed --- its form, configuration, and use --- and its capacity to meet its
social, environmental, and economic needs. Community form, which represents
the needs and priorities of the community, directly influences community capacity
to sustain itself into the future.

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Figure 1.2
Strategic Context of the Comprehensive Land Use Plan for Calapan

Economic and Competitive Environment

Data Sources

Analytical Framework and Tools

Investment Financing
Effectiveness Effectiveness

Overall results and economic

value creation for Calapan City

Operational Effectiveness

This integral relationship gives rise to certain critical planning considerations for
the city of Calapan. Among the numerous components and systems that were
considered during the comprehensive land use planning process for Calapan are:

 Land use issues and conflicts such as developed versus open spaces,
agricultural versus urban uses and public versus private spaces, visual
relationships among landmarks, streets, buildings, and other elements of the
built form;

 The role of neighborhoods within the community; arrangement and mix of

activities;

 Presence, location, and vitality of community facilities and service centers;

 Geological and ecological considerations like fault zones, flood zones,

forests, coastal areas, wetlands and watersheds;

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 Meteorological considerations like rainfall and high winds;

 Public transportation and pedestrian systems; and

 Relationship between urban and rural surroundings.

Natural hazard mitigation, crime prevention, cost-effective movement of goods

and services, and viable neighborhood development are some of the practical
goals of the city of Calapan. Comprehensive land use planning and development
are the processes of shaping and managing the built environment to achieve
Calapan's goals --- in this case, an efficient and sustainable community.

3.0 DEVELOPMENT CONCERNS

Appraisal of available information and data as well as field observations of the

Planning Team indicate that Calapan's growth as a city has to contend with of
three critical and interdependent developmental concerns. These are:

 Rapid Population Growth

– Growth spilling into what used to be rural areas of the city;

– Pressure on city services and utilities; and

– Growth of “squatter” colonies.

 Limited Economic Base

– Limited employment opportunities;

– Low income and high incidence of poverty; and

– Limited local public financial resources.

 Environmental Problems

– Periodic flooding;

– Waste disposal; and

– Potable water.

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4.0 TOWARDS A SMART GROWTH PATH FOR CALAPAN

The development goal espoused by the city government of Calapan and

supported by most of the citizenry is a sensible growth that balances the need
of Calapan for jobs and economic development with its citizens’ desire to save
the city’s natural environment before it is forever lost.

The envisioned growth path shall be anchored on three major factors:

 Community: encourage a livable community within the city;

 Environment: protect the environment; and

 Economy: enhance economic vitality.

It shall be guided by three key principles:

 Sustainability of all resources;

 Integrated resource management; and

 Maintenance or enhancement of the local quality of life.

5.0 PLANNING FRAMEWORK FOR LAND DEVELOPMENT AND

REDEVELOPMENT IN CALAPAN

The consensus arrived at during the Visioning Workshop held on 09 November

1998 and which was confirmed and set out in detail during the 17 December
1998 Planning Workshop indicated that the people of Calapan envision a
development path rooted in a respect for both the natural environment and
human nature. Specifically, the participants wanted a land use plan that:

 Places a high value on quality of life. The participants strongly espoused that
land in Calapan is first and foremost for people and that the primary objective
of the planning and development process is to improve the quality of life of its
residents, socially, economically, psychologically, and spiritually. The
designed policies of the plan seek to achieve quality of life in a fair, open, and
democratic manner.

 Respects the natural environment. The participants recognized the city's

relationship to nature and sees nature's systems and components as
essential to its well-being. The participants understand the sensitive interface
between the natural and built environment and strongly advocate a land use
plan that will support and complement --- not interfere with --- nature, and
avoid ecological disasters.

 Optimizes essential resources. The comprehensive land use planning process

is rooted in an inventory of the Calapan's human, natural, and economic

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10-Year Plan (1999 – 2008) THE STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK

resources and appreciate their finite quality. Effective implementation of the

land use plan ensures that forests are not overused, people are not
underemployed, and the places of the built environment are not stagnant and
empty.

 Recognize the limits of scale and capacity. The land use planning process
recognizes the optimum scale and capacity with regard to the natural and
human environment. It seeks to ensure that the environment is not
overdeveloped, overbuilt, overused, or overpopulated. It recognizes the signs
of tension that indicate when the environment is overstressed and can adjust
its demands on the environment, to avoid pollution, natural disaster, and
social disintegration.

 Adopts a systems approach. The participants understand that the natural and
human environments make up a holistic system, comprising individual
components that interrelate and affect the whole. Beaches are a part of
coastal systems, families are a part of social networks, particulate and
currents are a part of air systems, and jeepney routes and sea-lanes are parts
of transportation networks. The city's land use plan attempts to maintain
harmony and balance within the environment.

 Values diversity. The participants understand that a cross section of the

human and natural environment reveals one constant --- diversity. Human
diversity and biodiversity are essential to a thriving socially dynamic web of
life. For Calapan to be sustainable, the city's land use plan will not segregate
or segment populations or elements of nature but integrates them into the
fabric of the community.

 Preserves heritage. Calapeños value the indigenous and time-honored

aspects of its culture and history. They understand that the built environment
grows up through and around such traditions as harvest time, and other
institutions as the local church, the "municipio", and the Main Street. They
celebrate the city's past and its heroes and want them considered in the city’s
transformation and development.

 Is responsive and proactive. Calapeños desire a land use plan that is

responsive to the city's changing community needs. Whether by redirecting
growth to areas less vulnerable to natural hazards, promoting peace and
order, or attracting economic development, the plan promotes actions that will
avoif threats to community well-being and maximize good opportunities
through the built environment.

Given these expressed considerations, the comprehensive land use plan

prepared for Calapan is based on a physical-planning framework characterized
by the following:

 Traditional urban patterns but with an ecological underlay.

 A wide array of geographical landscapes and ecosystems.

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 City land management zones where:

– Conservation of habitat, recreation, scenery, and community

watersheds is a priority.

– Resource development activities may be subject not only to city

regulations and guidelines but also to more comprehensive resource
stewardship strategies.

6.0 PROPOSED CHARACTERISTICS OF CALAPAN’S LAND USE PLAN

The following features of Calapan's Land Use Plan map out the practical
conditions that will determine where the city of Calapan will ultimately go as a
community. The features operationalize the land development-planning
framework agreed upon during the Visioning Workshop and confirmed during the
subsequent Planning Workshop.

 City development is economically viable and preserves open space,

natural resources, and sustainable habitats.

 Existing infrastructure is to be enhanced and expanded to serve current

and future residents.

 Compact development is to be focused on the existing commercial center,

the proposed new town center, and existing or planned transportation
facilities.

 Redevelopment is to be actively pursued, including in-fill development and

the revival of obsolete buildings.

 Traditional downtown and urban neighborhoods are to be recognized as

being important to the socioeconomic health of the city.

 The proposed land use should create a sense of community and ensure
ease of movement and safety of residents.

 The proposed land use along with the proposed supportive development
project package is to serve as the basis for certainty and predictability in the
city development process.

 The comprehensive land use plan rests on a mutually beneficial

collaboration among the community, the NGOs, and the public and private
sectors.

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7.0 CITY LAND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVES

The utilization of the city's varied land resources as city land management zones
aims to:

 Maintain the city’s aquatic and terrestrial habitat and populations.

 Maintain the city’s agricultural land reserve.

 Optimize the use of the city’s food production resource base to supply
food market demands.

 Ensure that a full range of outdoor recreation and tourism opportunities

are available and that special recreation and tourism values are identified and
maintained in all resource management zones.

 Maintain viewscapes and air quality near facilities and areas identified as
having high capability for tourism.

 Ensure that air quality is protected for future generations.

 Protect the quality and quantity of ground and surface water.

 Maintain access for exploration and development of mineral and petroleum

resources across all resource management zones except protection areas.

 Ensure that natural, historical, and cultural sites are not compromised by
development.

8.0 LEVERAGING THE CITY'S DEVELOPMENT

The CLUP rejects a top-down, command-and-control policy implementation.

Instead, it seeks to redirect the city to its desired growth path and urban form
through a system of incentives effected primarily through a set of public
investment projects to which residents and outside investors can positively
respond. The approach seeks to sustain a consensus among the many city
stakeholders who affect development decisions.

The implementation of the CLUP will be based on an integrated and consensual

system of regulatory, permitting, and financing structures. Thus, the city
government, environmentalists, real estate developers, and the city residents can
make a "smart" growth path for the city work not only on the land but also on the
balance sheet.

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