As of: March 6, 2024, 9:00 a.m
By: Magnus Reitinger
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The city is pursuing this goal by drawing up new development plans to preserve retail space within the old town ring.
First of all, it's about the area between Admiral-Hipper-Straße (pictured here) and Hofstraße.
© Rudder
In order to strengthen Weilheim's old town as a shopping destination, the city wants to gradually issue new development plans there - and thus secure the use of shops and prevent betting shops, for example.
But not everyone in the city council liked that.
Weilheim
– draw up development plans where everything is already built on?
That sounds strange.
However, large parts of Weilheim's old town have not yet been regulated in a binding way in terms of urban development, explains the city administration - for example when it comes to the use of buildings.
And because there have recently been “an increasing number of inquiries about possible uses for vacant properties in the city center area,” the town hall agreed to tighten things up here.
This is how the town hall wants to “keep the city center attractive”
Development plans will gradually be drawn up for old town districts that are still “unregulated”.
It starts with the area between Admiral-Hipper-Straße and Hofstraße.
It's about securing ground floor areas for shops and restaurants, explained building administration manager Manfred Stork at the most recent city council meeting.
“Non-retail uses”, especially betting offices, are to be excluded – and, for example, brokerage or insurance offices are only allowed on the upper floors.
The stated goal: to preserve retail space in the Altstadtring, “keep the city center attractive” and continue to attract purchasing power there.
Of course, protection applies to current uses, as was emphasized.
BfW city council: It is better to cancel development plans than draw up new ones
But there was also criticism of the approach in the city council.
Property owners in the city center are “already restricted and punished enough,” said Florian Lechner (BfW), who is an architect by profession.
Of the currently 160 development plans in Weilheim, some should be repealed rather than new ones drawn up, said Lechner: “I am decidedly against another prevention plan”.
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“The city council doesn't want to prevent anything, but rather shape it,” countered Mayor Markus Loth (also BfW): “I understand the argument and I too am a fan of de-bureaucratization,” said the city hall boss, but development plans are “the most important right of a city council and the common thread for urban development”.
This is about strengthening retail.
Similarly, Klaus Gast (CSU): "I'm happy to go along with de-bureaucratization, but development plans are important for urban development." And in the current case, it's about "being able to undermine possible wrong developments in this area."
Will we also allow residential use on the ground floors of the old town in the future?
As a newcomer to the city council – as he said himself – Bernhard Kerscher (SPD) was “astonished that there are still so many areas in the city center without a development plan”.
However, in view of the trend that can be seen everywhere and, in his opinion, can hardly be prevented, the disappearance of shop uses in the center, he wonders whether other uses should not be considered.
“We won't fill everything with culture and gastronomy,” said Kerscher, and we may also have to allow residential use on the ground floors.
Stefan Emeis (Greens), however, feared that the already high retail rents “will rise even further if retail space is lost due to residential use.”
“Long periods of vacancy are not a solution either,” warned Saika Gebauer (FDP).
According to her, allowing ground floor apartments in certain parts of the old town could perhaps trigger a revival that would also benefit trade.
What she doesn't like about the draft development plan presented is that "it consists of many exceptions," Gebauer continued.
Hubert Schwaiger (BfW), on the other hand, said that this was “just a good thing” because it creates flexibility: “We set the direction, but always have the opportunity to allow exceptions.
That’s why it’s a successful design.”
That's ultimately how the city council majority saw it: With the exception of Gebauer and Lechner, the councilors agreed to the city building authority's draft and instructed the administration to initiate the preparation process for the development plan between Admiral-Hipper-Straße and Hofstraße.