The municipality of Grasbrunn is doing well. And that too without a wide range of shopping opportunities in a retail park. That was the tenor of Mayor Klaus Korneder (SPD) at the citizens’ meeting on Thursday in the Neukeferloh community center. The place therefore enjoys a balanced financial situation, lots of nature and moderate growth and, according to Stephan Jochim, the deputy head of the Haar police, continues to occupy a top position in the ranking of the safest communities.
Korneder went into detail about the planned retail park on the B 304, corner of Waldbrunner Strasse, which he said he was open to, but against which a massive protest movement had formed. Apparently with success. He has already called the investors and urged them not to apply for a building permit. This would most likely not find a majority in the municipal council. So far he has not received any feedback, said Korneder.
The plan of the two shareholders of DS Kapital GmbH, Johannes Schöb and Michael Dreier, to build a local supply center in the Bannwald forest there, consisting of a supermarket, a gas station, a drugstore and a fast food restaurant, met with great resistance in the village. The people of Grasbrunn fear an increase in traffic and emissions as well as the destruction of the protective forest. They had already vented their anger at an information event with whistles, banners and slogans such as “Stop the madness! Stop the service area!”. The investors hardly had a chance to put forward their arguments for a local supply center as they were interrupted by heckling, clapping and laughing. “We don’t want that, see that!” was the unanimous tenor. A community of interests had already formed, and a petition against the development is still pending.
All of this showed him that a local supply center would not be heard at this point, said Korneder. Many citizens had approached him with the wish for more shopping opportunities in the community and the lack of a pharmacy in the village had also been discussed again and again. He could certainly have imagined the latter at the point. On the other hand, he was against a fast-food restaurant or a gas station from the start. But you could have talked about the project, he said.
However, Korneder wanted to clarify a few things at the end. In the run-up to the citizens’ meeting, he had received inquiries by e-mail in which there was talk of a suspected relationship between the investors and himself or the municipal council. “To what extent will the mayor or members of the municipal council benefit directly or indirectly from a possible development?” was a question from Tina Thiele from Neukeferloh, who was not personally present that evening. “This question almost annoys me,” said the mayor, adding: “Almost delete that.” Of course, he wouldn’t benefit in any way. Korneder emphasized that as mayor he was a lifelong civil servant and therefore dependent on nothing and nobody.