“The restrictions, according to the annotations on the individual titles to the homeowners’ lots, ‘shall remain in force for fifty years from January 15, 1957.’
by Ducky Paredes
Bel-Air Village, the private subdivision in Makati City has a total land area of 78.7 hectares. Bel-Air was developed in four phases, and consists of 950 lots, thirty-two streets and two well-developed parks in Phases II and III. Makati Avenue separates Phase II from the rest of the subdivision. Bel-Air and much of the Ayala land in Makati were part of what was the Nielson Field, the main airport of Metro Manila until this was transferred by President Roxas to what was then Nichols Air Base despite the protests of the Ayala family.
In 1956, the Philippine Airlines Pilots Union (ALPAP) approached Col. Joseph McMicking, a major Ayala stockholder, for a subdivision for its pilots. Capt. Antonio O’Brien was then the President of ALPAP. With the support of his friend Col. McMicking, Phase I of Bel-Air Village was opened in 1957 at the price of P15.00 per square meter for pilots and P30.00 per square meter for non-pilots. Bel-Air Village officially was the third subdivision developed by the Ayala Corporation. Capt. O’Brien chose the name Bel-Air as the pilots wanted a name that included the word “air.”
The area was then mostly cogon and talahib and of the more than 200 ALPAP pilots, only 100 bought lots and 50 erected houses. Those who did not erect houses sold their lots at a handsome profit.
When Bel-Air Village in Makati started selling, there were restrictions that went with the lots. While these restrictions made for a more orderly subdivision, they also served another purpose. These also assured the developer – Makati Development Corporation — that it could sell the still vacant lots at a premium since the subdivision was well-kept with all lot owners belonging to the Bel-Air Village Association (BAVA) and all the restrictions, as to height of the house, easements, building materials, sewage, signage, pets, use (only residential) and so on strictly observed.
The restrictions, according to the annotations on the individual titles to the homeowners’ lots, “shall remain in force for fifty years from January 15, 1957, unless cancelled in its entirety by two-thirds vote of members in good standing of the Bel-Air Association. However, the Association may, from time to time, add new ones, amend or abolish particular restrictions of parts thereof by majority vote.”
Obviously, at that time, the developer, which imposed the restriction knew that in 50 years, all the lots would have been sold and the owners could then do as they pleased. After all, it was not really prime property since it was within sight of less than ideal areas — a cemetery, a squatter area and a power plant. The developer made sure that it was getting very good money for less than prime land.
Now, of course, any of the 900 Bel-Air lots will sell for much more than the original price. In fact most of the 900 homeowners bought their land at much more than the initial offering price.
Now that the restrictions have expired, the BAVA (Bel-Air Village Association) wants the restrictions extended to August 23, 2032, an additional 25 years. It tried to do this by calling a meeting of the Association.
The HLURB (Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board), however, has ruled that while there was a provision in the restrictions for amending them, there was no provision in the original restrictions for extending them beyond 50 years. Thus, the HLURB ruled that on the question of “whether or not BAVA has the power to extend the effectivity of the Deed restrictions and impose new ones,” “we rule in favor of the complainant.” In other words, no way, Jose!
The HLURB decision states that it is “clearly stated (that) such restrictions shall be effective only for Fifty (50) years from 15 January or up to January 2007.”
Tomorrow, the BAVA will hold a general meeting to decide how to proceed. The residents are being told scary stories about what could happen if the restrictions are allowed to lapse. The benefit to the lot owners is that their properties (without the restrictions) would increase in value because of the possibility that they could be used for more commercial purposes. Land in the periphery of Bel-Air is selling at about P200,000 per square meter while Bel-Air lots (with the restrictions) are at about P20,000 per sq.m.!
A Bel-Air resident says that, although he will never sell his house, and he feels that his neighbors will also not be selling any time soon, he would find some comfort in knowing that the value of his house and lot has increased several fold.
What would the 25-year extension accomplish? Only that those developing the adjacent areas – such as the former power plant – would not have any competition until they would have fully developed that new area. Again, the extension of these restrictions would serve the developers’ purposes even as they would also assure the residents of a continuation of their being a more orderly community.
At the same time, if the majority of the residents of Bel-Air were to agree to extending the restrictions on their lots, the route will be a difficult one. They will certainly eventually have to go all the way up to the Supreme Court to overturn the HLURB decision. Any resident or an outsider wanting to buy a lot who wants put up a house or building higher than nine meters can take them to court.
A resident says: “Even without the Deed of Restrictions, BAVA can still continue to thrive with reasonable rules and regulations regarding security and traffic, and other basic services which could very well be funded by Barangay Bel-Air with an annual budget of approximately P200 million appropriated for this purpose and other essential services.”
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The Capitol Senior Golfers, Inc. will hold its monthly tournament tomorrow, beginning at 6:00 a.m. Capitol seniors should expect to have a lot of fun sat the Buklod restaurant right outside the golf course since the clubhouse is under renovation.
The Seniors of Valley Golf Club will hold its Quarterly tournament also tomorrow, Saturday starting at 11:00 a.m. at the South Course. Competition will be a scramble where each player tees off on each hole. The best of the tee shots is selected and both players play their second shots from that spot. The best of the second shots is determined, then both play their third shots from that spot, and so on until the ball is holed.
The last senior tournament I played was at the Fernando Air Base course in Lipa which has a 705-yard par 6 for the 18th hole, If you haven’t played that one, try it. How often can one try to birdie a Par 6? I didn’t; played horribly that day! But, one senior competitor birdied the 18th on that day.
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hvp 06.26.08)
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