As of: March 23, 2024, 8:00 a.m
By: Gabi Zierz
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There used to be a linden tree here: on Friedrich-Fischer-Straße only the vacant spaces remind of the locations of the nine trees.
© Hans Moritz
The green redesign of Friedrich-Fischer-Platz in Erding continues to cause a stir.
Mayor Max Gotz has now rejected criticism from business people in the city council.
Erding - The green transformation of Friedrich-Fischer-Straße in front of the Sparkasse in the heart of Erding into a square with trees, seating and a water feature has been the subject of discussion for weeks.
Mayor Max Gotz has now responded to the criticism from three business people who see their existence threatened because of the construction work and the loss of twelve parking spaces and feel uninformed (we reported) in the city council.
“I have to react to it, otherwise it will mean that they are right,” he said at the meeting on Thursday evening.
“We personally invited business people and homeowners seven or eight times as part of the ISEK,” he explained, referring to the procedure for the integrated urban development concept.
“Either you can’t read or you can’t see the posters or something else is involved,” said Gotz, “astonished by such appearances.”
As is well known, an unexpected number of citizens took part and contributed their ideas.
These were also incorporated into the redesign plans.
One goal of the redesign: Protect the city center from overheating by adding more trees and water sources.
The city councilors made this decision unanimously in the urban development committee at the beginning of October.
Gotz now asked them to “continue on our path so that we can move forward quickly.”
Addressing the critics, he said: “Democracy involves participating in the opinion-forming process or respecting the decision.”
It is right to increase the quality of stay, emphasized the mayor, with a view to the survey results among passers-by as part of the Erding master plan, which were presented on Monday at the city's business reception and call for exactly this (we reported).
The factions in the city council also see it this way; two of them – the SPD and the Greens – publicly expressed their approval again after the criticism.
Burkhard Köppen (CSU) suggested providing information about ISEK in the newsletter in order to convince any critical citizens.
“We’re coming off the warmest 15 months on record and we’re agonizing over details like parking.”
The Federal Nature Conservation Association is annoyed by the tree felling
The Erding district group of the Federal Nature Conservation Association (BN) had also publicly praised the redesign plans.
Now, in her own words, she is horrified because the city had nine linden trees with a trunk diameter of 20 centimeters felled in anticipation of the construction work.
According to the city's reasons, this had to be done before March 1st because of the birds' breeding season.
“This approach is a prime example of misunderstood regulations,” writes the BN in a press release.
“In doing so, the city administration is counteracting the regulations on nature conservation and is the worst possible example for the citizens,” says BN district chairwoman Gabriele Betzmeir.
The trees have finally grown so well that they can endure a warmer, drier summer and produce enough leaves that one could assume a small effect on heat and air quality.
“Now we are voluntarily and unnecessarily going back to 'go', thereby throwing everything that was previously right in the direction of adapting to climate change into the trash.
“That reminds me a lot of Schilda,” criticizes BN district manager Sabine Lanzner.
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The BN therefore demands that the new trees to be planted must be at least as large as those that have now been felled: “In addition, for every tree removed, at least two, and preferably three, new ones must be planted.”
In addition, from the perspective of conservationists, Erding urgently needs a tree protection ordinance.
The city council has so far rejected this because it fears that citizens would cut down their trees as a precaution before it takes effect.
“And then the city itself behaves exactly the same way – and only because of a scheduling restriction of a few months, that’s unbelievable,” says Lanzner angrily.
The aim of all regulations for the protection of plants and animals is to establish awareness and to consider before measures and projects how the goal can be achieved with the least amount of intervention.
“We actually thought that here in Erding we were already a few steps further along the path to becoming a climate-friendly community,” Betzmeir concludes sadly.