Because living space is scarce in Holzkirchen, the community is clearing the way for future builders for cheaper building. The instrument: a new parking space statute.
Holzkirchen – A development plan has existed in Holzkirchen since 1995 that regulates how many parking spaces a residential project must contain. For single-family houses, for example, this provides for two parking spaces. And anyone who builds an apartment building must provide 1.5 parking spaces per residential unit if the apartments are smaller than 80 square meters.
More from Holzkirchen: Teufelsgraben cycle path: the last hurdle or are there any doubts?
Holzkirchen: Market town wants cheap living space instead of parking spaces
However, many requirements are no longer up to date, explained Doris Hötzendorfer from the building authority of the market town. The new statutes now stipulate that the minimum number of parking spaces can be reduced by 25 percent if builders offer affordable living space. This is attractive for building cooperatives, but also for municipal building or for projects with special living concepts. The stipulation of the new statutes is that the rent in the new buildings must be 25 percent below the local rent for 20 years. A further 30 percent savings in parking spaces are possible if building owners create incentives through special mobility concepts for residents to forego their own car. Such concepts include, for example, car sharing offers or the shared use of bicycles.
In a sample calculation, Christian Bitter (Stattbau GmbH) showed how, according to the new statutes, an apartment building with 20 residential units of different sizes only needs 14 parking spaces (savings: around 163 square meters). The old statute required 27 parking spaces. Bitter explained to the municipal councils the difficulty of realizing an idea from the urban environment in rural areas. Where subways and buses run at high frequency, people could do without their own car. Reducing parking spaces therefore requires adequate local public transport as the backbone, according to Bitter. Since a large part in Holzkirchen is covered by stops, the quality of the public transport would be sufficient. “But we have a problem with the timing,” said Bitter.
Alternative mobility through shared use of vehicles is definitely possible here. Reducing parking spaces by means of incentives to do without one’s own car is therefore particularly an option for the main town. Parts of the community such as Großhartpenning or Föching are less suitable for this due to their location. Reductions in parking spaces due to special construction projects are possible in the entire municipality.
The municipal councils in the building committee were not sure whether alternative mobility would work in Holzkirchen. Hubert Müller (FWG), for example, asked how such concepts can be secured if the owner of the building changes. “And we have a problem when the residents get visitors by car.” Attorney Gerhard Spieß (Döring-Spieß law firm) replied that letters of commitment and an entry in the land register ensure that the mobility concept remains in place in the event of a change of ownership. In addition, there are further parking spaces in the community area, as market builder Florens Hintler explained.
Michael Wohlschläger (CSU) considered whether alternative mobility concepts might not make sense in the parts of the community outside the main town. “Perhaps someone would like to cycle to Holzkirchen?” He asked. Bitter thought this was difficult: “It is much more difficult to cope with everyday life there without a car.”
For Mayor Christoph Schmid (CSU), the development of the new statutes was “a great fight, but it was also fun”. He suspected that the statutes, which were ultimately unanimously adopted by the building committee, were not yet the final version: “Mobility and life are changing. If we see undesirable developments in the statutes, we will act. “
by Andreas Wolkenstein
–
