Hunsrück-Middle Rhine in transition: residential building areas are set to decrease drastically!

The Verbandsgemeinde (VG) Hunsrück-Mittelrhein is forced to reduce the designated living space in its land use plan. According to a report by the Rhine newspaper There are more than 80 hectares of unused residential building space in the land use plans of the former municipalities of Emmelshausen and St. Goar-Oberwesel. This amount exceeds the requirements of the new planning law.

The VG Hunsrück-Mittelrhein was founded on January 1, 2020 through the merger of the old VGs Emmelshausen and St. Goar-Oberwesel. In order to meet the requirements, a common land use plan (FNP) must be drawn up by January 1, 2028. Instead of developing a completely new plan, the aim is to merge the existing plans for cost reasons.

About the land use plan

The land use plan is a preparatory development plan that is drawn up by the association municipality or by non-association municipalities. It contains urban development uses for various areas, including residential building areas, commercial building areas as well as utility areas, areas for public needs, traffic areas, green areas, forest areas and agricultural areas. As the Hunsrück-Middle Rhine website As explained, the land use plan has no direct legal effect on citizens. No legal claims such as a building permit can be derived from it.

However, the land use plan acts as a binding, planning-binding program for the administration and other authorities. Development plans that contain legally binding provisions must be developed from the representations in the land use plan. Citizens can be affected in outdoor areas if the land use plan contains contradictory representations or if there are planning reservations. In addition, there is an impairment of public interests if a project can cause or be exposed to harmful environmental impacts.