City council throws down petitions for citizens

The citizens' petition for the development of the Kreuzlinger Feld has failed in the city council.

The committee also rejected a request for a council.

The initiators of the request do not want to admit defeat yet - there is a threat of a legal battle.

Germering -

The citizens' petition submitted to the city on June 10th “For a Germering worth living in - against traffic chaos and building craze” is not permitted.

The city council decided this with a narrow majority of 21:18 votes.

Already in the citizens 'question time at the beginning of the meeting, representatives of the citizens' initiative (BI) vehemently criticized the legal opinion drawn up on behalf of the city.

Rudolf Kauper judged his statements to be untenable and outrageous.

Martin Barth spoke for the BI of an embarrassing approach by the city administration.

The BI also criticized the fact that the draft resolution was allegedly drawn up before the legal opinion - and thus virtually given the direction to it.

Lord Mayor Andreas Haas (CSU) replied that there was an automated program for meeting templates.

This basically sets the date at the start of creation.

"So it doesn't have the background you suspected," Haas asked the BI representatives.

Kreuzlinger Feld Germering: The Debate

As part of the city council debate, attorney Kerstin Funk, who had prepared the report, stated that the petition for citizens contained a non-legal issue.

"Citizens' petitions must contain clear objectives," said Funk.

In contrast, there is another legal opinion that the BI commissioned from the Olching lawyer Ewald Zachmann.

This had been forwarded to the group chairmen the day before the meeting.

Zachmann stated that the request was to be understood as comprehensible and to be regarded as permissible.

Several city councilors emphasized in their interventions that it is not easy as volunteers to assess complex issues.

"We as city councilors are dependent on the information provided by the administration," said Oliver Simon (CSU).

That was done in perfect form.

Sepp Dürr (Greens) added that a final assessment is difficult even for people with legal knowledge.

"The legal supervision in the district office can be just as wrong." He himself considers the request to be clearly formulated.

For the SPD parliamentary group, their spokesman Daniel Liebetruth requested an adjournment and the creation of a neutral report.

At this point, OB Haas referred to the applicable deadlines, according to which the city council had to decide on its admissibility within one month of submitting the request.

No further expert opinion could be seriously issued within four days.

In addition, deadlines for summoning the city council are to be observed.

Incidentally, no one would make the decision easy for themselves, no matter in which direction it was going, says Haas.

According to the mayor, it is legitimate for the BI to seek further legal steps in a constitutional state.

Kreuzlinger Feld Germering: The request for advice

With just as narrow a majority as in the referendum, the Green parliamentary group's motion for a council petition on the Kreuzlinger Feld was rejected.

Since this was not on the agenda, the legal supervision of the district authority was contacted to be on the safe side.

Their answer: The city council should have been completely present in order to comply with the information obligation given the urgent nature of the information.

A decision in principle and a subsequent referral in a further meeting are, however, possible.

Peter Klotz (FDP) was able to get used to this approach.

Sepp Dürr (Greens) found it difficult to exclude the citizen.

Simon contradicted this: "A council petition must not be an instrument to circumvent an inadmissible citizen petition."

After the vote on this point, Fereschteh Erfadi-Zimmermann (SPD) received a reprimand.

Reason: She had withdrawn from a clear vote by abstaining.

Kreuzlinger Feld Germering: Hot verbal battles in the meeting

“The worst accusation we could make is that we supported citizens and made a mistake.”

Sepp Dürr

"During my studies I learned that quoting judgments does not replace an argument."

Andreas Haas

“Today we will also vote on the basic features of democracy.”

Achim Pusch, BI

"I don't feel partial."

Lawyer Kerstin Funk

“Almost 3,000 signatures cannot be ignored.

That must not be infiltrated. ”

Daniel Liebetruth

"BI's taunts are unspeakable."

Katrin Schmidt

Kreuzlinger Feld Germering: Lawyer criticizes the city's actions with sharp words

The reaction to the decision of the city council was not long in coming.

Ewald Zachmann, lawyer for the citizens' initiative that initiated the referendum, sharply criticizes the behavior of the committee and the administration.

The city’s approach is contrary to the principles of a fair trial.

The referendum had been known for a long time - and so was the question.

Their admissibility could have been examined long ago.

Concerns could have been raised earlier.

Citizens' petitions and referendums are elementary elements of local democracy.

"Our clients could therefore expect that they would be given a legal hearing in good time so that they could react to concerns if necessary," says Ewald Zachmann, who himself was mayor of Olching and deputy district administrator for a long time.

From a legal point of view, the referendum is not objectionable. The lawyer is all the more bothered by the city's actions. He warns: “This can lead to a catastrophic loss of confidence in a functioning local government.” Tog