A leaflet that Gräfelfinger found in her mailbox these days caused irritation. It was written by the new association “Friends of the Garden City of Gräfelfing” and criticized the “disproportionate densification at the expense of the Garden City of Gräfelfing”. The planned development on the former Doemens property on Stefanusstrasse is given as an example. In addition, an online petition is called for to be signed. Mayor Peter Köstler (CSU) was upset about the “misleading” content. “Horror scenarios” would be set up and “misinformed” would be given.
Since 2016, the community has been planning to build affordable housing on the property owned by the community. Since then there have been protests from residents against the project, especially from the surrounding area, which fears that the development will be too dense. In the meantime, the loose grouping has become the registered association “Freunde der Gartenstadt Gräfelfing”, which advocates a “garden city-adequate” densification. The distribution of leaflets is the first concrete action with which the association addresses the entire citizenship.
On the leaflet, two large blocks are mounted in an aerial view.
(Photo: SZ)
The leaflet shows an aerial view of the Doemens site with the existing school building. Another visualization shows a “possible development according to the new development plan”. Two huge black building blocks appear there squeezed onto the property, a shadow should make it clear how the environment is affected. Only: The representation does not correspond to the current planning status. This Thursday, the development plan will be discussed again in the building committee. The findings from an architect study that was presented in the autumn and provides for the preservation of the existing building and the trees on the property have been incorporated into the current design. In addition, according to the study, the top floor should be set back as a terrace floor, and the building mass was reduced overall. The description on the leaflet is “simply wrong,” says the mayor.
Johannes Schmidt-Fischer, chairman of the association, stated that he had deliberately taken a sharper stance with the “handout”. “We want to activate people to position themselves regarding the massive densification.” One is for affordable housing, but “not at the expense of the garden city”. When asked why the association was spreading an old planning status, Schmidt-Fischer initially answered evasively. The pictures of the architect’s study were also “not much better”. The representation used would correspond to the preparation decision of 2016. What is not documented on the flyer is that the development plan has been discussed and revised several times since then.
The IGG guards against a mix-up
The interest group Gartenstadt Gräfelfing (IGG) also reacted to the leaflet on Thursday, also because the lettering and logo of the association are very similar to those of the IGG representation, said the chairwoman and former mayor Uta Wüst. In the past few days, she had been approached several times by citizens who thought the leaflet was an IGG campaign. “We appreciate fellow campaigners for the garden city, but we have to draw a clear line here.” A statement by the IGG states: “We strongly condemn populist behavior and the dissemination of misinformation.”
On Wednesday afternoon, 161 citizens signed the petition, which is generally directed against the municipality’s densification plans, including on municipal land. Depending on the response, the association would like to “actively approach the municipal council,” says Schmidt-Fischer. Meanwhile, Mayor Köstler is sticking to the building management process. “We are consistently continuing on our way.”