City government officials want building regulations changed so that Santo Domingo neighborhoods can sprout more, taller skyscrapers. Many neighborhood groups have opposed changes in zoning that would enable 15 families to live where previously one family resided.
El Caribe newspaper today carries an interview with seismology expert, Juan Payero de Jesus, director of the Seismology Institute of the UASD. Payero stresses that building companies must incorporate more stringent construction standards compared to those outlined in the 1979 legal code; that there must be permanent supervision of the constructions to prevent the use of inadequate materials, and that emergency escape systems have to be incorporated into all buildings. Payero explained that Santo Domingo is not in one of the most vulnerable earthquake zones, nevertheless, but is at risk of earthquakes of around 6 on the Richter scale – as have occurred in the past. He said that the most vulnerable area of the city is to the north of John F. Kennedy Avenue.
The municipality has commissioned a study of possible zoning changes that would enable tall buildings of nine to 15 floors to be built in neighborhoods like Bella Vista, Urbanizacion Real, Gazcue, Naco, Paraiso and Piantini.