YOUR TRAFFIC, YOUR TAB: Iloilo City requires traffic studies before major construction projects

ILOILO CITY — Public and private developers in Iloilo City will have to secure an approved Traffic Impact Assessment (TIA) before obtaining locational clearance or zoning compliance for major construction projects, as the city government seeks to curb gridlock driven by a real estate boom.

The TIA Ordinance, authored by Councilor Sedfrey Cabaluna and passed by the City Council on Wednesday, Nov. 11, makes traffic evaluations mandatory to protect public safety, ensure sustainable urban growth, and preserve mobility across the city.

It also requires developers to shoulder the traffic impacts directly generated by their projects, rather than passing the cost of mitigation measures on to the city government.

Cabaluna, who chairs the council’s Committee on Transportation, said the city road network has faced increasing strain from a real estate boom featuring high-rise condominiums, mixed-use developments, and commercial complexes.

He said the legislation marks a shift from reactive traffic management to proactive urban planning.

“At present, Iloilo City responds to traffic after congestion has already set in. By then, poor traffic condition is irreversible without costly retrofits,” he said.

“Effective and efficient traffic management is essential to ensuring the city’s sustainable development, public safety and overall mobility. We must manage traffic impact before the first brick is laid — not after residents are trapped in gridlock,” he added.

Cabaluna earlier said four of the city’s six major development hubs had not submitted TIAs.

A traffic consultant’s survey disclosed by the city government in November 2025 counted 38 chokepoints across the city.

The city’s zoning ordinance for 2021-2029 already authorizes the zoning administrator to require a Traffic Impact Statement from major traffic-generating developments, but the new measure sets the process, thresholds, and penalties.

TIA applicability

Under the ordinance, a TIA is required for public and private developments that meet any of the specified situational criteria or physical size thresholds.

A TIA becomes mandatory if a proposed project meets any of these situational criteria:

• Generates 100 or more vehicle trips per hour during the morning or afternoon peak period.
• Is located within 50 meters of any major intersection.
• Converts an existing low-intensity land use into commercial use.
• Involves a renovation or change in use that increases vehicle trips and parking demand.
• Generates on-street parking demand on adjacent streets.
• Costs more than 10% of the city’s annual income.
• Draws a verified formal complaint from a recognized homeowners association over potential congestion.

The ordinance also sets size thresholds by land-use classification, measured in gross floor area (GFA) for most categories.

Projects meeting or exceeding these values require a TIA regardless of location:

• Residential: 100 dwelling units or more than 1 hectare.
• Commercial: 810 square meters GFA.
• Educational: 2,500 square meters GFA.
• Office buildings: 1,575 square meters GFA.
• Motor vehicle buildings: 540 square meters GFA.
• Fast-food outlets: 200 square meters GFA.
• Gasoline stations: 100 square meters GFA.
• Recreational facilities: 810 square meters GFA.
• Industrial developments: 1,000 square meters GFA.
• Hotels: 100 rooms.
• Medical facilities: 50 beds for public facilities and 85 beds for private facilities.
• Convention centers and religious or charitable facilities: 500 square meters GFA.

Existing establishments are not automatically required to submit a TIA simply for continuing regular operations.

The requirement applies when they seek a new locational clearance or zoning compliance and meet the ordinance’s criteria.

Developments that do not meet the thresholds may still be required to undergo a simplified Traffic Operational Analysis (TOA), as determined by the Traffic Impact Management System Unit (TIMSU).

Five-tier evaluation framework

The ordinance sorts developments into five categories based on scale, traffic generation, and complexity to determine the scope of study, study horizons, minimum study area, and review fees.

Category 1 covers small-scale developments, such as single-family residential buildings, which do not require a full TIA but may be required to submit a TOA.

Category 2 covers small developments generating 100 to 500 peak-hour trips, which must assess their access driveways and adjacent intersections for the opening year.

Category 3 covers moderate, single-phase developments generating 500 to 1,000 peak-hour trips, which must examine national roads and major intersections within 500 meters for the opening year and five years after opening.

Category 4 covers large, single-phase developments generating more than 1,000 peak-hour trips, which require assessments for the opening year, five years after opening, and 10 years after opening within a 1-kilometer study area.

Category 5 covers moderate or large multi-phase developments, which must assess traffic conditions for the opening year of each phase, five years after opening, and 15 years after opening or at full occupancy and build-out, also within a 1-kilometer study area.

Applicants must pay a filing and technical review fee based on their category: PHP 5,000 for Category 2, PHP 15,000 for Category 3, PHP 30,000 for Category 4, and PHP 50,000 for Category 5.

Forty percent of collections will go to the city’s general fund, while the remaining 60% will support TIMSU operations, including technical capacity building, site inspections, and evaluation tools.

Who evaluates the study?

The ordinance creates the TIMSU, chaired by the head of the City Planning and Development Office.

Its members will include representatives from the City Zoning Administrator’s Office, Traffic and Transportation Management Office, City Engineering Office, City Legal Office, and Data Assessment and System Management Office.

The unit will accredit TIA preparers, determine the scope of required studies, review reports, issue certificates of approval, monitor compliance, and recommend developers’ proportional contributions for off-site traffic mitigation.

Before conducting the study, developers and their accredited TIA preparers must attend a scoping session with TIMSU to establish the study area, methodology, and assessment periods.

After receiving a complete report, TIMSU will issue a written Notice of Technical Completeness and will have 20 working days to decide on the application.

If it fails to issue a decision or a notice of deficiency within that period, the TIA will be deemed approved solely for processing the project’s locational clearance.

A clearance issued on that basis remains conditioned on compliance with the mitigation measures in the submitted report.

Principle of proportionality

Section 16 of the ordinance divides financial responsibility for off-site traffic mitigation between the city and developers under a principle of proportionality, with developers shouldering the impacts their projects directly generate.

When an approved TIA determines that a development will require improvements to roads, intersections, or public transportation services outside the project site, the developer may be required to fund or undertake the corresponding mitigation measures.

However, developers will not be solely responsible for addressing pre-existing infrastructure deficiencies or general traffic growth unrelated to their projects.

The TIMSU will compute developers’ proportional fair-share contributions and recommend cost-sharing arrangements.

These will be formalized through a memorandum of agreement between the city government, represented by the mayor, and the developer, subject to City Council approval.

The ordinance also requires developers to incorporate approved traffic mitigation measures into their construction plans and specifications before receiving locational clearance or zoning compliance.

“The TIA provides an opportunity for preventing traffic related problems that might be encountered due to development. The government should not bear the responsibility for providing solutions to problems brought about by certain projects,” Cabaluna said.

“Proponents or developers must internalize external costs directly attributed to the proposed development. This will mean that government funds will not be strained by taking on every problem brought about by traffic generated by new development and instead utilized for more practical concerns,” he added.

Penalties

The ordinance sets administrative penalties for developers who fail to build the approved mitigation measures into their actual construction.

Owners will receive a Notice of Violation and face a hearing conducted by TIMSU in coordination with the City Legal Office.

Those found in violation will be fined PHP 5,000 and given a six-month grace period to comply.

The penalties apply to owners of establishments, not lessees.

If the violation is not corrected after six months, TIMSU will recommend to the mayor the suspension of the owner’s permits and licenses.

Continued noncompliance beyond one year from the notice and hearing is ground for TIMSU to recommend cancellation of those permits and licenses.

Consultants who submit false, fabricated, or misleading TIA reports will have their accreditation revoked and will be blacklisted, without prejudice to criminal or civil cases.

Appeals and effectivity

Parties aggrieved by a TIMSU decision may appeal to the mayor within 15 calendar days of notice, and the mayor must decide within 30 calendar days.

The ordinance takes effect 10 days after its posting in at least three conspicuous places for three consecutive weeks or its publication in a newspaper of general circulation, whichever is later.

The TIMSU must adopt its internal rules of procedure within 60 days of effectivity, and the City Council will review implementation every three years.