The Benediktbeuern municipal council gave the green light for the construction of three new student dormitories. However, there was a lengthy discussion about the parking spaces.
Benediktbeuern - This is good news for all students of the Catholic University of Applied Sciences: The tense situation on the housing market in Benediktbeuern and the surrounding area will ease. The Ulrichswerk of the diocese of Augsburg is planning - as reported in March - three new apartment buildings with 16 apartments each. They are to be built adjacent to the existing homes on Prälatenstrasse.
The application for a preliminary decision was now before the local council. The planning was discussed in advance with the district office to clarify questions, Mayor Toni Ortlieb reported. "The project is only to be welcomed," said Ortlieb. Because in the past years a lot of living space for students had disappeared - they too would feel the pressure on the real estate market. "At the same time, there is great demand," said Ortlieb. With courses in Rosenheim and Augsburg, the KSH also got competition. The aim was to prevent the students from migrating, some of whom were already commuting from afar. "But that's not a good thing because the university operates from local students," said Ortlieb after talking to Father Lothar Bily.
The new homes will look fundamentally different from the existing houses, which are often referred to as "star boxes" and which were already causing great criticism during construction because they stand out significantly from the architectural style in Benediktbeuern. The new buildings are now to be adapted to the surrounding buildings. "The authorities now see it that way too," said Ortlieb with relief.
The municipal councils also like the buildings they were able to study on the plans at the meeting. However, the diocese of Augsburg does not provide a view to the public, a press spokesman said on Friday when asked by the Tölz courier. That will only happen when the approval is given.
Regarding parking lots, however, a lively discussion developed in the municipal council. 44 parking spaces plus two garages are currently planned. That is twice the space required. The number is generally calculated according to a bed key, Ortlieb explained. For students, there was a parking space for every five beds, plus ten percent for visitors. The Ulrichswerk would only have to provide 22 places, but had already planned 44 places.
Bruno Bacher found this parking key "strange": "Even students are all traveling by car today." Hans-Otto Pielmeier even fears a "massive traffic problem". In his opinion, 100 to 150 vehicles that would then park the surrounding streets were realistic. "I don't understand this planning at all," said Pielmeier. This would produce a traffic attack for Benediktbeuern. That is not the sustainability that KSH is committed to.
"Why not build an underground car park?" Hanns-Frank Seller and Margret Steffens agreed with Pielmeier. "An underground car park was also requested at the Fraunhofer conference center," Seller recalled the project that failed a few years ago. Both asked to speak to the KSH.
He could "not share these horror scenarios," said Rudi Mühlhans. With the demand for an underground car park, the entire project could even fail, he fears. Instead, you should talk to the KSH or Ulrichswerk whether you could not find "intelligent solutions", for example a subsidy for public transport, so that you could generally reduce car use.
Toni Lugauer shared both views. "Ultimately, however, many students will probably drive their cars," he said. Maybe there is an alternative solution with another area. You have to think about an overall solution, especially since one day you also have to renovate the existing homes. "An underground car park does not solve the problem now," said Leonhard Hundegger. You would only create 44 parking spaces there.
"If the inspectors are regularly on the move in the area and the parking bans are sanctioned, the problem quickly resolves itself," said Mühlhans. This fits the overall concept of the community to join a surveillance association (we reported).
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Ultimately, the councils unanimously agreed to give the green light to the dormitories. However, the decision calls for more parking space and the inspection of an underground car park.
The documents now go to the district office. When should construction start, what does the project cost? There is also no information from the diocese of Augsburg.
Franz Pany, Director of the Catholic Educational Institutions for Social Professions in Bavaria, on the other hand, is positive and optimistic. It is the sponsor of the KSH. “The foundation and the university thank the municipal council for this positive decision for the benefit of the students in Benediktbeuern,” says Pany. Once again, the thriving cooperation between the community and the university has shown itself: "Benediktbeuern is a true university location."