Urgently needed housing blocked for years: property developer criticizes Regensburg

Created: 09/29/2022, 21:28

By: Michael Bothner

View of the controversial mountain in the Gleisdreieck.

© Schmack GmbH

In the dispute over a possible residential area in Regensburg, the developer involved went on the offensive.

He accuses the city administration of inaction and blockade.

Regensburg - The dispute over the 400,000-ton mountain in the east of Regensburg is still in full swing.

But the developer brothers Ferdinand and Martin Schmack are now pushing ahead and again promoting their plans for residential development in the so-called Gleisdreieck.

As reported, the decision to draw up a corresponding development plan, which the city council passed unanimously in 2014, has been around for eight years now.

The mountain was already there as a noise barrier for a future residential area.

But the relationship between the city administration - in particular the Regensburg Environment Agency - and the Schmacks has been permanently shattered.

Nothing is moving forward and both sides blame each other for it.

Mountain dispute in Regensburg: the city threatened record fines

Most recently, this clinch resulted in a legal dispute before the administrative court in Regensburg.

The starting point was a removal order from the city of Regensburg for the mountain, which mainly comes from excavated material from the nearby Candis district.

The city had not extended an initially approved interim storage of this material, which is later to become the noise protection.

There was now talk of "illegal dumping of waste" and the Schmacks were supposed to remove the earth wall under threat of a record fine of one million euros.

Legal dispute over construction area: City councilors approve a quarter of a million euros for the process

The entrepreneurs sued and were right.

The mountain is not a waste in the legal sense, and a danger posed by it has not yet been identified.

Despite urgent warnings from the administrative court, the city did not want to get involved in a comparison - a joint sampling concept - and finally appealed to the Bavarian Administrative Court.

In order to cover the risk of legal costs, the city councilors approved almost a quarter of a million euros in a non-public meeting of the finance committee - among other things against the votes of the CSU, the largest partner in the current government coalition.

Dispute over the construction area in Regensburg: the top of the city without a clear line

Amazing in all of this: Regensburg's Mayor Gertrud Maltz-Schwarzfischer (SPD) had previously welcomed the decision of the Regensburg Administrative Court to the detriment of the city.

After all, there is now legal clarity regarding the waste status.

Her personal advisor had also explained that a joint concept for sampling the mountain with the Schmacks would now be discussed.

The decision to continue the legal dispute followed shortly afterwards.

For Martin Schmack, this ambivalent behavior of the city is incomprehensible.

Apartments for almost 1,500 people could be built in the Gleisdreieck, the entrepreneur said at an on-site appointment.

Housing that is urgently needed.

"What city can afford to let a place like this go unused?"

Check out the districts of Regensburg: here is a large overview.

Side swipe at the Regensburg city administration: "They don't know the documents."

He now finally wants to move the mountain to its final location.

The mayor was already there to have the relevant plans explained to her.

Is something finally moving forward?

"But we don't do anything secretly here and don't want to hide anything either," emphasizes Martin Schmack.

That's why the city will be informed about everything that's happening on the Gleisdreieck, but treat yourself to the dig: "If you don't read it, that's your problem."

The administrative court has shown that the administration simply does not know many documents.

A sound report, Schmack then makes clear, has already confirmed that residential construction would be possible on the triangle.

And with regard to possible contamination in the soil, Schmack assures us: "We've been examining everything here since 2008." As the owner, you yourself would have an interest in a clean floor.

(By the way: Our brand new Regensburg newsletter will keep you regularly informed about all the important stories from the World Heritage city and the Upper Palatinate. Register here.)

Property developer criticizes the Regensburg environmental agency: "We haven't done anything for eight years."

If the mountain were to be in its intended place along the tracks at some point, the area would be examined for ordnance and completely cleared.

"It's not half as complicated as you might think," says Schmack.

From the brothers' point of view it is clear: the "Dreibrücken" project together with the local recreation area "Candis-Berg" will not be blocked by their actions.

In the end it was "very cheap" if the city's environmental agency "does nothing here for eight years" and then claims that the mountain is a garbage problem.

Regensburg mountain dispute: developer plans new residential area "Dreibrücken"

The specific planning process for the area could already have started on their part – for a new part of the city, which the developer wants to call “Dreibrücken”.

In the end, according to Martin Schmack, the main aim of the “Candis-Berg” is to create a landscape park for the east of the city.

A planned lookout tower should offer a panoramic view of Regensburg and the park for leisure activities and space for events.

According to Schmack, the planned "Dreibrücken" district should act as an important link between the old town and the other eastern districts of Hohes Kreuz, Ostheim and the future residential area on the former Prinz Leopold barracks.

The name already refers to the three connecting bridges provided for this purpose.

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