Ecological urban development is desired, but a “public park” is sometimes found to be unnecessary: These are two results of the public participation for the new building area below the Pölten church.
The result was a “Charter for Sustainable Housing”, which is intended to set standards.
The development below the Pölten church is Weilheim's largest new building project.
There was also a large-scale public participation under the motto “Dare to do something new”.
The results have now been presented to the city council.
Weilheim
- Not only should the results be exemplary that came out of the public participation under the motto “Dare to do something new”.
In the opinion of the organizers, the route to these was also exemplary.
With the corona-related format of hands-on stations and district walks on three days at the end of July, as well as a postcard campaign, far more citizens were reached than would have been the case with a large event in the town hall.
The “Deutsche Architektenblatt” is currently reporting in detail about this special type of participation, which precedes the development plan procedure - albeit very briefly -, the city council said with pride last week.
“Round table” was very exclusive
"Open play, together with the citizens, brings a lot of positive things," is how city architect Andrea Roppel-Sommer summed up the participation process.
This also included three workshops of a “round table”, which due to the corona restrictions could only be “very exclusively with experts”, as architect Jan Weber-Ebnet said in the city council.
The fact that the active “Urban Development” working group of the Weilheim Agenda 21 was not involved - which it strongly criticized - was due to the pandemic, explained Roppel-Sommer.
If so, all agenda groups should have been invited, “and that didn't work”.
Also interesting: the number of users of the Weilheim city bus is to be doubled.
Weber-Ebnet, co-owner of the Munich office “bauwärts”, which accompanied and evaluated the process in Weilheim, reported “very positive experiences”.
The response rate of 20 percent for the postcard campaign was "respectable", and "hundreds of intensive discussions were held" at the stations on site.
In contrast, a special participation of children and adolescents was no longer possible in terms of time.
If you do that in a small form this week, the agenda group from the high school will come to visit the district.
Criticism of the pace of citizen participation
Weber-Ebnet admitted that the “small time window and the speed” of public participation had been criticized.
Nevertheless, one experienced a “great depth” in conversations.
Compared to other municipalities, Weilheim's citizens can feel a “great openness” to the subject of urban development and “a high level of trust in politics”, the planner noted.
That is a good basis for further cooperation.
Weber-Ebnet also stated: "Everyone here knows about the beauty of their place of residence, and many want to preserve their privileges."
Desire for community projects
As far as the concrete planning for the area "north of Geistbühelstrasse" is concerned, the top priority was the desire for a "good social mix" in the residential area, including community and multi-generation projects.
Many would prefer to see the planned day-care center in the middle rather than on the railway line, and the central bike and footpath should continue through the quarter as it is now.
The main concerns are the density and height of the buildings and the traffic situation.
According to Weber-Ebnet, opinions differ greatly when it comes to mobility, ranging from the requirement for additional parking spaces to the desire for a completely car-free district.
It is clear to the planners: "There is no alternative to the mobility transition and no right to a parking space in front of the front door." In principle, ecological urban development is also accepted by those affected, and indeed desired.
Skepticism about the "Bürgerpark"
The planned “Bürgerpark” between Pölten Church and Au, however, is considered by many to be dispensable, reported Weber-Ebnet.
In this regard, it is more likely to be a natural green area, according to Roppel-Sommer: In any case, there is a need for a “compensation for the massive development” and also a retention area for rainwater.
City councilor Saika Gebauer-Merx (FDP), on the other hand, wondered aloud whether there could be space for urgently needed sports facilities for schools or the indoor swimming pool.
While Ullrich Klinkicht ("Weilheim Together") complained that the plans were already too rigid and citizens could only bring in small improvements, Marion Lunz-Schmieder (CSU) pointed out that the planning was "not yet completed".
Stefan Emeis (Greens) said that he had “learned how great the influence of property developers is” in the workshops.
In general, the city needs clearer guidelines in order to reduce this and increase the influence of the citizens.
Charter is published on the Internet
In general, the experience of this participation process should also point the way for further construction projects in Weilheim - by means of the “Charter for Sustainable Housing” that was developed at the same time.
The draft is ready, said Roppel-Sommer, it should now be discussed in the city council groups and will soon be published on the city's website.