3000 newcomers: Citizens should vote on a completely new district
Created: 09/27/2022, 18:30
By: Josef Ametsbichler
This is what the new, central square on the former railway sleeper factory site in Kirchseeon could look like, with the historic tower as a prominent feature © ece-Group
What is to be done with the site of the former railway sleeper factory?
Kirchseeon initiates requests for advice.
Kirchseeon – At the same time as the 2023 state elections, the citizens of Kirchseeon are to make a groundbreaking decision for their community next autumn: whether or not a completely new district for up to 3000 people will be built on the site of the former railway sleeper factory south of the railway line.
At the most recent meeting of the municipal council, Mayor Jan Paeplow (CSU) announced that a corresponding council request would be launched.
The topic ended up on the agenda because of the formation of a cross-party steering group.
"That's just logical," Paeplow explains his advance to EZ on the phone afterwards.
The yes or no to the plans of the new owner of the 16.5-hectare site is a fundamental decision.
From the outset, the municipality had therefore striven for close citizen participation.
Paeplow also emphasizes: "Everything is really open".
Now it is a question of future development for a final referendum to be worked out in the town hall that does justice to the topic - possibly even with more than two choices for the citizens.
The council then votes on if and how.
Greens continue to oppose the project
Natalie Katholing, leader of the Greens parliamentary group in Kirchseeon, suspects that there will be a majority for the Council request, at least since Paeplow's surprising move on Monday.
First, the Greens had suggested a decision by the citizens.
"We wanted to wait for the right time for the application to take the entire municipal council with us," says Katholing of EZ.
"The mayor has now forestalled us." The planned council decision is a signal to the investor that there is also skepticism about the plans in the community.
And that the citizens wanted to be well informed and have a say - that also applies to clubs or the Federation of Nature Conservation.
It is not the first time that the Greens have come out as opponents of the project, which envisages partly urban development, new shopping facilities, restaurants, other businesses and childcare.
Above all, an even higher volume of traffic and the high follow-up costs for the community in terms of infrastructure (Catholic: "We need a new primary school!") She cites as points of criticism.
That's what the investor says
Despite the headwind, the investor, the Hamburg-based ECE Group, is confident of being able to make the project palatable to a majority of Kirchseeon residents.
"I am pleased that we can tackle citizen participation," says Stefan Zeiselmaier when asked.
He is the regional head of ECE and responsible for the development of the area, also known as the "Iveco site".
But Zeiselmaier also says: "It won't work below a certain volume." In other words: ECE will not be able to significantly slim down its previous plans in view of the high basic costs in order to accommodate the critics.
So the vote is likely to be an either or, yes or no.
"We don't have a plan B," says the planner.
Traffic as a "subjective feeling"
"Let's think about future generations," he appeals, referring to the pressure on the housing market in the Munich metropolitan area.
"Where should people move to?" The developer promises to support the community in terms of connection and mobility concept.
"Traffic is often a subjective feeling," says Zeiselmaier.
Improvements are still possible for Kirchseeon with optimizations.
To what extent the investor will still accommodate the community, "that will arise."
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