Horror over felled linden trees in Markt Schwaben

Dead linden trees in Lindenstrasse: sheer horror prevails among the Swabian nature lovers in Markt.

There is talk of “tree crime”.

They express their displeasure with grave lights and a song text.

Markt Schwaben

- The anger among those who believe that effective tree protection is only possible by means of a corresponding regulation is currently great in Markt Schwaben.

At the beginning of the week, shortly after the end of the woodland protection period on September 30, two massive, healthy and, on top of that, imaging - and matching the street name - linden trees were felled on an undeveloped private property in Lindenstrasse.

The age of the capital trees is estimated at 120 to 150 years, the trunk diameter should have been a good 1.5 meters.

The foliage full of buzzing bees, the branches full of chirping birds, report residents.

The EZ telephone rang promptly. There was talk of “tree crime” there. A comprehensive exchange of e-mails quickly began among local councils, especially from the green and red camps. Erich Greiner, longtime councilor for the Green Party, contacted Harald Käsbauer, a certified tree inspector and horticultural engineer in the district administration. He responded immediately. However, sobering: The procedure of the property owner, whose name the town hall does not give for data protection reasons, is legally perfectly fine.

The reason: not so long ago the market town council had repealed an old development plan called Schießstättenweg without replacement. The contents of the development plan no longer matched the actual existing development. Käsbauer informed Greiner that in his technical statement he had also drawn attention to the special importance of the linden trees, which he considered particularly worthy of protection at the time. “I advised against carrying out the revocation statute for the development plan, but this was rejected by Markt Markt Schwaben. I didn't think that the linden trees would be felled now. After consultation ... with Dr. Tischner in the town hall (Head of Nature and Environment, editor's note) the trees were now not protected,and that is why we do not have any legal remedies to take action against the felling of the two trees, ”said Käsbauer in his statement, which was submitted to the development cooperation.

"It is exactly as feared," said Erich Greiner, who meanwhile encouraged his party friends to try again to apply for a local tree protection ordinance.

This was abolished on 2005 with 12:10 votes in the municipal council.

Tree protection initiatives, especially by the Swabian Greens, failed in the following years.

For the old, green warrior it is clear: The incident on Monday and Tuesday provided another good reason to reapply for the tree protection ordinance that was once "deselected" by the CSU and Free Voters.

"We're back to it," confirmed Green Councilor Joachim Weikel yesterday.

First, because it is in the election manifesto of the Greens.

Second, because Poing recently demonstrated that it could be done.

And third, because the new case on Lindenstrasse is reason enough.

Incidentally, the applicants already have an external supporter.

Harald Käsbauer writes: "Unfortunately, the tree protection ordinance was repealed a few years ago by Markt Markt Schwaben, with the result that most of the trees that characterize the locality and landscape are no longer protected."

Weikel only corrected the tree specialist from the district administration on one point.

The main reason for the entire process is not the cancellation of the development plan because of the legal errors it contains, but the lack of a protection ordinance.

On November 20, 2018, the municipal council spoke publicly about the property in Lindenstrasse.

In an application for a preliminary building decision, there was talk of two smaller, detached single-family houses.

The whole thing had been withdrawn again.

At the moment, the building authority has neither received an application nor a preliminary inquiry.

Because the B-Plan no longer applies and there is no new one, theoretically much more extensive construction could be carried out here.