Shelved Burnham Park Development Plan needs to be reviewed – CEPMO

BAGUIO – The City Environment and Parks Management Office (CEPMO) is recommending the review of the Burnham Park Master Development Plan (BPMADP) prepared and donated to the city by the University of the Cordilleras (UC).

CEPMO head Cordelia Lacsamana on Tuesday, March 21 said the recommendation was made to incorporate the current use of various portions of Burnham Park to serve as guide for future plans.

The BPMADP was donated by the school as a gift on the centennial celebration of Baguio City in 2009 but which has been shelved since.

Lacsamana said the university spent more than P1.9 million to produce the detailed BPMADP.

The 34-hectare Burnham Park was named after Daniel Burnham, an American urban planner who produced the city's master plan during the American colonial period when it was declared as a chartered city by the 1st Philippine Commission on September 9, 1909.

Lacsamana called on all individuals and groups wanting to use portions of the premier park to coordinate with the CEPMO.

She admitted that the CEPMO does not have the technical capability to conduct a review of the proposed BPMDP which will involve engineering and architecture experts to undertake the review and make the appropriate amendments.

Lacsamana said the CEPMO is looking into the preparation of similar master development plans for the different parks in the city to serve as blueprints of future developments by the local government and other agencies to improve the state of the city's parks and contribute in sustaining the robust local tourism industry that is spurring the city's economic growth.

The administration, management, and operation of Burnham Park were turned over to the city by virtue of Executive Order No. 224, series of 1995 and Executive Order No. 69, series of 2009. (PNA)