Debate about company expansion in Pfrombach: Moosburg gets a referendum

In the debate about the expansion of the container company ELA in Pfrombach, the population is now being asked - by referendum.

An interim success for BI.

Moosburg

- Now it's getting serious: Moosburg's city council passed the resolutions on Monday that are required for a referendum to expand the premises of the container company ELA.

The citizens' initiative (BI) Pfrombach / Aich has fulfilled all formal tasks, now the population should decide.

A pure postal vote has meanwhile been rejected by a majority.

BI had done well to collect many signatures for the citizens' initiative “Farmland in the hands of the farmers”. 1,771 signatures were submitted to the city, almost 200 of which were classified as invalid. These are double or triple entries, minors or people who are not eligible to vote in Moosburg. 1559 signatures were valid and were still well above the limit of the minimum number of 1242 signatories (nine percent of 13,795 eligible voters). There were also no objections to the question, the representatives of the citizens' initiative and the topic itself. This cleared the way for the referendum.

The official question is: “Are you in favor of stopping all municipal plans that serve to designate the 'Containerbau ELA' industrial park in Pfrombach?” With the unanimous confirmation of the referendum, the city council had the option of approving the question on Monday.

That would have done the referendum.

However, the goals of the referendum were rejected with 10:12 votes.

Erwin Weber (CSU) warned that “it would be a very bad sign for Moosburg as a business location if we stopped our planning now”.

He received support from Martin Pschorr (SPD), among others.

He pointed out that the city council had been dealing with the issue for a very long time "and we have made sensible decisions".

Panel discussion proposed

Moosburg's 3rd Mayor Michael Stanglmaier would have liked to save himself the referendum and would have agreed to the question. The Green representative pleaded for the process to be accelerated and for a compromise solution acceptable to all to be sought directly with the ELA company and the representatives of the citizens' initiative. The representatives of the BI confirmed their willingness to talk to the city council.

The city councilman Manfred Tristl (CSU), who lives in Aich, saw in the debate the difficulty that not everyone was informed about the state of affairs. With the planned expansion of the container company, only 24,000 square meters would be sealed, the rest of the property would get a meadow orchard to compensate. The suggestion made by Aich City Councilor Philipp Fincke (FDP) to organize a city panel discussion also went well with this. At such an event, the ELA company and the citizens' initiative could make their points of view clear.

After the decisions of the council, the administration of the city now has the task of discussing the various details of the implementation of a referendum with the initiators of the referendum.

For this process, Michael Stanglmaier applied for postal voting documents to be sent directly to all eligible voters.

This is safe and voter-friendly, especially with the increasing number of corona infections.

Citizens' petitions by postal vote?

Local chief Dollinger is against it

Mayor Josef Dollinger categorically rejected this.

"A vote in attendance is of higher quality," said Dollinger and saw no reason to speak against the opening of polling stations.

The town hall managing director Josef Mühlberger explained that a pure postal vote would cause additional costs in the five-digit range.

The direct letter voting on the ELA extension was ultimately rejected by a majority of 9:13 votes.

Now it is important to find the right date for a classic election Sunday in the Moosburg urban area.

Then the citizen has the decision about new commercial space in Pfrombach in hand.

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