The planned residential complex for senior citizens in Dornacher Feld continues to divide the Feldkirchen municipal council. In the meeting on Thursday evening, the local politicians discussed the project again after the Munich District Office expressed doubts about a decision that had already been taken. The result, however, remained the same: with a narrow majority, the members of the committee approved the plan to build a complex with 58 condominiums for senior citizens on a property in Dornacher Feld.
The local politicians had already discussed the project in several closed meetings before it became public this summer. In July there was a scandal at a meeting of the local council: the parliamentary groups of CSU and SPD left the meeting room before the decision was made because, at the request of Michael Schön (Independent Voters’ Association, UWV), voting should take place without discussion. There had already been enough debate, there were no new arguments, that was Schön’s reasoning at the time.
In the absence of the two parliamentary groups, the UWV and the Greens finally approved the project unanimously in the July meeting. Both sides then had the events checked by the local authority. This came to the conclusion that the decision could indeed be illegal as the right to debate had been violated. The district office therefore advised the municipality to deal with the issue again. And the representatives of the CSU and SPD took the opportunity to present their concerns: The location in particular is viewed critically by the members of the two parliamentary groups. The property is right on the railway line, as Stefan Seiffert (CSU) noted. With the planned four-track expansion of the line, “a large number of freight trains will pass close by”. Brigitte Pfaffinger (SPD) also criticized the situation on the outskirts: “Seniors belong in the center of the village, not outside. You just push them away.” In addition, she feared that the investor would only see the system as a financial investment.
The property is currently located in an industrial park and, according to Pfaffinger’s calculations, is worth around 2.8 million euros. After the necessary change in the development plan for a residential area, this sum increases to over seven million. “It’s all about the return for the investor.” Pfaffinger’s parliamentary group colleague Christian Wilhelm described the project as “luxury apartments for seniors without a care concept”. According to his own statement, there is no need for this – senior citizens could soon live independently in the new facility on the former Raiffeisen site.
As before, however, the Greens and UWV support the project. Silvia Pahl-Leclerque (Greens) doubted the meaning of the renewed debate: “From our point of view, this has already been discussed. We had our reasons for agreeing, nothing has changed.” Pahl-Leclerque did not want to repeat the arguments, but simply stated: “It is an offer, so far everything has been idle. For us this is a good solution.” Mayor Andreas Janson (UWV) sees it similarly. “There are certainly still many points that must be clarified in the further process. But we can offer our seniors something that does not exist anywhere else,” said the town hall chief.