Six weeks ago, the “Liveable Gäuboden” initiative announced its citizens’ initiative against the new BMW battery plant in Straßkirchen. This Tuesday, BI spokesman Thomas Spötzl and his fellow campaigners submitted the application for a referendum on the project, including the signatures of 474 supporters, to the town hall of the 3,400-inhabitant community. The BI should have easily cleared the first hurdle for a vote on BMW’s plans. The quorum for the admissibility of a citizens’ petition in a community the size of Straßkirchen is ten percent or about 280 eligible voters.
At the end of February, the Munich-based automotive group announced that it would be locating the new high-voltage battery plant for the conversion of its car fleet to electric drives in the Lower Bavarian towns of Irlbach and Straßkirchen. The rejoicing of the politicians and business people in the region was great. The plans were generally understood as a commitment by the global corporation to Lower Bavaria. The battery plant would be the largest industrial settlement there in decades.
However, there were also protests from the start. The BI and its supporters strictly oppose the project. They demand that up to 140 hectares of land remain for the arable land plant. “Because the soils in the Gäuboden are among the most fertile in the world,” says BI spokesman Spötzl. In addition, the BI fears that Straßkirchen will be suffocated by truck and commuter traffic, even if a bypass road is quickly built directly to the plant.
BMW reacted cautiously to the news of the citizens’ initiative. “This is a normal process in a democracy and does not come as a surprise to us,” said a spokesman. Straßkirchen’s mayor Christian Hirtreiter (CSU) did not want to comment. The municipality now has four weeks to examine the citizens’ petition. After that, the council decides. If he determines that the initiative is admissible, the vote must be scheduled within three months. Then the simple majority decides. However, the prerequisite is a turnout of at least 20 percent.