For years, the residents of Darmstadt's Martinsviertel have been fighting for the preservation of the Bürgerpark. The Martinsviertel district association and the landlord of a local beer garden have even filed a lawsuit for judicial review. But a project for high-quality living space can hardly be prevented.
Around a small lake at the Bürgerpark, 47 single-family houses are to be built as single, semi-detached and terraced houses in the high-price segment, especially for specialists and executives, as stated in a brochure of the developer, who sees the circle of buyers among managers of ESA and ESOC, Software AG or Merck.
Peter Schmidt, formerly politically active as a Green and Darmstadt city councillor, and the architect and expert of the citizens' association, Maximilian Oeter, no longer understand the world. They ask how a city government supported by the Greens could allow "such a landscape crime" and advocate the construction of high-priced housing. And this, although in Darmstadt, especially housing for low-income earners is missing, as both criticized in an interview with this newspaper.
No one knows what's inside the pits
The entire project has a long history and there have probably been violations of the law in the past that were not punished by the administration. For example, there is a contract from 1989 with the then owner of the area, in which a public good commitment is stipulated. The development plan of that time assigns the area to the Bürgerpark. The municipal nature conservation advisory board, which consists of 19 people, has rejected the planned construction project with a view to landscape protection and soil sealing. Nevertheless, according to the citizens' initiative, 70 of 77 old trees have now been felled.
In the area of today's Bürgerpark, there used to be brickworks that mined clay there. Most of the pits have been backfilled, although no one knows exactly what is in the pits, says Peter Schmidt. Six pits filled with groundwater and formed small biotopes. After the brickworks, various other companies came to the site, including a subsidiary of Preussag. After the subsidiary had also withdrawn, its managing director took over the area and paid the city one million marks for it. In the contract between the managing director and the city, which is available to this newspaper, the owner undertakes to demolish old factory buildings by 31.12.1994.
"Somehow trying to stop this madness"
It continues: "A landscape-appropriate planting of the property in the character of the Bürgerpark-Nord is to be carried out after consultation with the garden office." If the owner does not comply with the conditions, he has to pay a contractual penalty of up to 100,000 marks every three months. In addition, the buyer undertook to transfer the rights and obligations to the buyer in the event of a sale. The city itself waives a right of first refusal in the contract for the sale case.
But instead of assigning the area to the Bürgerpark, it was surrounded by high fences. The owner at the time built there illegally, says Peter Schmidt, but the city no longer cared about it. Instead, the city councillors adopted a development plan last year that allows development planned by an investor. The argument: Acute shortage of housing in Darmstadt.
"The planning contradicts the building code and the legally binding development plan as well as the objectives of the regional plan and the landscape plan," write the opponents of the development in a leaflet. The members of the citizens' movement know that an action for judicial review has no suspensive effect. A verdict can probably only be expected in four or five years. By then, the planned houses would have been standing long ago, thus creating facts. Therefore, they now want to file an urgent application and file an action for annulment. BI is powerless against the tree felling work shortly before the start of the breeding and setting season, admits Schmidt. "But we will somehow try to stop this madness.
Start of construction planned early next year
The investors of the "Projekt Kastanienallee am Teich GmbH und Co KG" want to start building the first houses at the beginning of next year, they expect approval for this summer. If this is available, the sale should start. In an extensive publication, they explain the new construction project and advertise the allegedly unique project in Hesse with self-sufficient heat supply. Among other things, the heat of the small pond and photovoltaics are to be used. The announced lawsuits "we take note of with serenity. We do not want to speculate on the possible effects of the lawsuits on the schedule," says the spokesman for the investors, Dirk Metz, on request.
The builders do not have to worry about selling the houses. According to Metz, there are now more than 360 interested parties for the planned homes. It is a "colorful mix of people of different ages, different origins and different income levels".
The investors trust in the decision of the city parliament, as Metz says. Both the barbecue hut of the citizens' association, which is often used in summer, and the beer garden directly adjacent to the planned houses are not seen as a problem. The fact that trees had been felled on the site in recent weeks was not true. There is currently no preparatory work.