ᐅ Building an End-Terrace House – What Technical Requirements Should Be Considered?

goalkeeper schrieb:
All building plots are owned by the municipality and are allocated through a central application process in March. Therefore, there are no issues in this regard.

Yes, that’s how I understood it as well. I meant more that the municipality must ensure during the allocation process that the building encumbrance (Baulast) is actually registered before the purchase contracts are signed or the entries are made in the land registers. If the responsible people are not paying attention, it will be difficult... and it seems there are always some officials in authorities/offices/administrations who overlook such matters.

goalkeeper schrieb:
That should be possible, right?

Maybe. However, I consider it legally questionable. A building encumbrance (building burden) must be project-specific and concrete. Furthermore, the purpose of such an encumbrance is to remedy building law violations related to a specifically planned construction project. In this case, the building authority is trying to retroactively regulate omissions or even intentional planning freedoms by urban planners that should have been included in the zoning plan or the associated design regulations. There is a ruling by the Higher Administrative Court of Baden-Württemberg dated September 2, 2009 (3 S 1773/07), which deals with a different issue but contains fundamental comments on building encumbrances in paragraphs 53 and following. As with many cases, other interpretations are possible, but I could imagine the following scenario: the encumbrances are registered, the properties are sold, and initial building permit applications are submitted. The second builder receives a rejection for their stepped-back floor with a shed roof because the first builder applied for a gable roof, and then files a lawsuit against the rejection and the encumbrance. The third builder adapts to the first. The second wins, builds their stepped-back floor, and the third, still waiting for financing or a contractor, suddenly faces unexpected problems.

I don’t understand how such a decision from the building authority could even happen. These are professionals – trained experts. They do this all day long.
Has this flexibility in the development plan been successfully tested with other townhouses before? Do they have a Plan "C" ready? Or are we just overthinking everything?
Considering that the original poster already failed to find building partners with a "keep everything open" approach, it’s unlikely that things will go better with other townhouses.

Without intending to judge the specific issue here: The officials on the administrative side act according to legal requirements. The final decision is then made by a committee or local council composed of politicians, who may or may not have various degrees of legal background. However, if this body is determined to "shape" things and sets its mind to something, even extensive warnings from the administration that it is not practical or legally possible may be ignored.

The mayor, in fulfilling their official duties, might then consider the decision legally flawed and refuse to enforce it. The administration could raise objections. But if the political will remains strong in the end, the responsibility often lies more with the politicians than with the administration.

kaho674 schrieb:
I don’t understand how such a decision by the building authority can even happen.

Shortage of skilled professionals. But it doesn’t really matter: it’s no better among lawyers, so that citizens can hardly find an affordable expert who can enforce their rights in court.

Maria16 schrieb:
The people on the administrative side are legally sufficient.

Well, not really with zoning plans. Politics may recognize that building land needs to be created, but the concept, including reports, justifications, and legal plans, is prepared by the municipal planners or, as in this case, an external service provider, where the relevant experts should bring in their extensive experience. Politics only makes the decisions. This isn’t about political decisions here, but about the professional conflict between planners and permitting authorities, which in this case are also located in different authorities (municipality and district), creating additional difficulties. When a citizen gets caught between the very slow-moving grinding stones of two public administrative bodies, it can be quite unpleasant—especially as one usually budgets financial reserves, if any, more for landscaping than for prolonged double expenses of rent and loan repayments.

11ant schrieb:
Then the zoning plan might become a case for the administrative court. @Escroda: what would apply in the meantime?

It does happen that zoning plans are overturned, but it’s rare—especially if no objections were raised during the public participation process when the plan was prepared. Even if a judicial review procedure is pending, the planning law of the zoning plan applies until a court declares it null and void or orders its repeal. If there is a prospect of success, it would be wise for the municipality to issue a development freeze (moratorium) to avoid potential compensation claims.
By pressure from lawsuits, I meant legal actions against denial notices or permits granted to neighbors that could lead the municipality, on its own initiative or upon urgent recommendation by the permitting authority, to pursue an amendment of the zoning plan.

kaho674 schrieb:
I don’t understand how such a decision from the building authority could even come about.

I suspect that, as some sort of transparency initiative—and unfortunately as a first-time experiment without prior experience—they wanted to break away from the usual “old boys’ network,” where the development of building areas is typically handed over to close associates like Huber (a stand-in name for a mayor’s friend) or Häberle (a stand-in name for a bowling club buddy of the head of the building department).

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