OFFICE OF THE MAYOR March 2, 2023

Akle St., Kaybagal South,

Tagaytay City, Cavite

Attn. : Hon. Abraham N. Tolentino

City Mayor

Project : Proposed 2-Storey Novitiate Building

Subject : Letter for Zoning Exemption

Honorable Sir:

Greetings and peace to you!

First of all, we are very grateful that your office has accepted and provided your signed approval of
this project through our proposal letter that we sent last January 21, 2023.

Last Feb. 21, 2023, the building inspector from the City Engineering Office of Tagaytay City
conducted an ocular inspection in the proposed site.
They found out that the site has a relatively flat terrain, and it does not have a steep slope.
Therefore, they concluded that the site is buildable that will require minimal cut and fill works.

However, they said that a major part of the property is categorized as Ecological Development Area
based on the latest Zoning Map of Tagaytay City (See Figure 1) below. The exact location of the
building can be categorized as part of South Tourism Strip.

(Figure-1 : Amended Land use Map of Tagaytay City 2019)

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 Figure 2: Vicinity Map

However, the lot property that will be used for the proposed 2-Storey Novitiate Building has TCT No.
277 and has an area of 28,766 sq.m which is classified as R1 (First Class Residential Land) in its Tax
Declaration as shown in the Figure-3 below:

Figure-3: Latest Tax Declaration of TCT No. 277)

The footprint of the building is only 600 sq.m only which is only 2.1% of the total lot area.

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About 30% of this lot is accessible from the public as tourist site which they can visit the overlooking
cemetery of the religious of Franciscan Missionaries of Mary and more than 67% of this lot is still in
their natural state as an Ecological area.

In summary, please find Table-1 below for the land use percentage summary of the said lot.

Table-1 (Lot Usage Percentage)

Area %
Lot Usage Description (m2) use
Existing Novitiate Building 350 1.2
Proposed Novitiate Building 600 2.1
As Tourism Site 8,320 28.9
Green Space & Ecological Area 19,496 67.8
Total 28,766 100

We are requesting your good office to exempt the project from the zoning ordinance for “South
Tourism Strip” and/or “Ecological Development Area” with the following reasons:

1. As already verified by the building inspector from City Engineering office of Tagaytay, the
proposed site is relatively flat, and the proposed building can be build with minimal cut and
fill site works.

2. The footprint area of the proposed 2-Storey Novitiate Building is only 2.1% of the total lot
area.

3. The building is an environmental “green” building because solar panels will be installed at
the roof to utilize solar energy that can contribute in reducing the carbon emission from
power production. The building will also have a rainwater tank that can hold a 28 cu.m of
rainwater to minimize the water consumption from city water supply.

4. The building will have a 10m offset from the property line which is more than the zoning
ordinance and building code requirement. This 10m offset will be a green space area along
the Tagaytay-Talisay Road to help in reducing the vehicle pollution in the area.

5. The novices and the sisters who will reside in the proposed novitiate building will help the
local community by providing employment and necessary aid, like the sisters of the
Franciscan Missionaries of Mary usually do, during emergencies like the previous Taal
eruption and other natural calamities.

6. The building will have an earth-toned or natural color to complement with the surrounding
ecological area.

7. The green space that will be develop around the proposed building is almost equal to the
footprint of the building.

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 8. The 1st floor of the building will have an elevation of 2.5m~3.0m below the Tagaytay-Talisay
Road Level. Therefore, only the 2nd floor and the roof of the building will be exposed from
the Tagaytay-Talisay Road. The site elevation is lower than 12m from Tagaytay-Calamba
Road and therefore, the building will not obstruct the view of public to Taal lake.

With these conditions, we are hoping that your good office can allow us to start with the
construction of our new home.

Thank you and the warmest regards,

Sr. Marilyn P. Oliva

Owner’s Representative
Franciscan Missionaries of Mary

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