Settlement pressure is growing, building land is becoming more and more valuable.
In order to enable more dense construction, the Free State will loosen the building regulations from February.
A relaxation that the Otterfinger municipal council does not like.
A statute, which was quickly issued, is intended to slow down the new generosity of the building regulations and help to preserve the traditional townscape.
Otterfing -
Builders in the Free State can look forward to more leeway.
The amendment to the Bavarian Building Code, which will come into effect in February 2021, gives them new freedom.
The extension of the attic will be simplified, the building material wood will be promoted, charging stations and antennas will in future not require approval.
So far, so unproblematic.
In the package, however, there is also a rather rotten egg - at least from the point of view of some municipalities: The previously valid distance rules, which stipulate the free space between buildings, are being softened.
"That would open up more opportunities for densification," declared Hubert Zellner, designated building authority manager in Otterfinger Rathaus, on Tuesday (January 19) in the local council.
He recommended that the committee take the option granted by the legislature in advance to keep the spacing areas in the entire municipality at the previous level with a separate statute;
Exceptions are commercial areas and development plans that specify their own spacing depths.
The local council followed this unanimously.
Otterfing wants to preserve residential structures that can hardly be found in the city
“We don't generally close ourselves to any redensification,” emphasized Mayor Michael Falkenhahn (SPD);
The town hall is currently creating the conditions for more dense residential use, for example in the residential area on Markweg.
“But we don't want to reveal our basic, loose development either,” said Falkenhahn.
In the community there are forms of living that are rarely found in urban quarters: a lot of distance to neighbors, airy open spaces for children and also space for "ancillary facilities" to store garden tools or bicycles.
Otterfing is exposed to strong settlement pressure in the suburb of Munich, explained Zellner.
Without the statutes, he sees the “preservation of the townscape, the traditional character of the settlement and the quality of living” at risk.
Possible property restrictions that arise from the statutes compared to general building law would have to take a back seat to the community's desire to maintain the quality of living typical of the area.
Property developers are waiting for every opportunity to accommodate more living space in one area
The Miesbach district office assesses the possible consequences of loosened spacing areas less dramatically, admitted Zellner: "They say that a lot can be regulated via the insertion requirement." But the municipality here does not want to rely on the effectiveness of this much-cited Paragraph 34 of the Building Code.
The mayor argues that property developers, in particular, are taking advantage of every opportunity to accommodate as many apartments as possible in one area in view of rising land prices.
“This can also have a negative impact on the peace of the home,” explained Zellner.
Less distance means less exposure, ventilation and tanning.
"We have to protect our structures," said Andreas Eichhorn (SPD), "otherwise some citizens may soon have no more sun in their ground floor rooms."
When asked by Georg Schlickenrieder (CSU), Zellner explained that many municipalities are currently dealing with the issue of such a distance depth statute.
“Can we allow exceptions to the new statutes?” Asked Robert Schüßlbauer (CSU).
This is always possible on request, replied Zellner, "but the council should be very careful with such exemptions."
