The citizens’ initiative “Preserve green spaces” is largely rejected in the city council. Apart from the members of the parliamentary group ÖDP/Munich-List and the two city councilors of the Free Voters, no supporters have been found so far. Most parliamentary groups consider the demands of the citizens’ initiative to be too radical or too undifferentiated. Even the Greens are distancing themselves, although, according to parliamentary group leader Mona Fuchs, they share the goal of “preserving as much green space as possible”. The text of the question put to the vote would “rob the city of any creative freedom,” said Fuchs.
The alliance, which is supported by around 60 organizations, handed in the signatures with which it wants to reach the referendum on Monday at the election office. This was confirmed by a spokesman for the district administration department. This will now check whether the necessary 35,000 valid signatures have been reached. If that is the case and there are no legal obstacles, the people of Munich will probably be asked to vote this year. The note should say: “Are you in favor of the state capital of Munich doing everything possible to ensure that both the general green spaces designated in the land use plan and their public green spaces are preserved and no longer sealed?”
More than 1200 parks and green spaces are listed in the city’s so-called green spaces statute. All these plots of land would be taboo with a successful referendum for sealing or development. That goes too far for the Greens. Politicians would lose any possibility of coordinating different uses of land. “In case of doubt, this can even have a negative effect on the preservation of green spaces,” said parliamentary group leader Fuchs.
Your colleague from the SPD, Christian Müller, is much sharper in his rejection. The alliance worked with false information on at least two points, he said. Munich is by no means the most sealed city in Germany when you compare the areas that are actually relevant. And that there is a loss of green space is simply untrue. “From 2016 to 2020 there were nine changes to the land use plan. 20 hectares of additional green space were created,” says Müller. The question was “senseless” and the citizens’ request “tailored to the polemics of the ÖDP”.
The CSU wants to wait with a clear positioning. The preservation of green spaces is “of great importance for the urban climate and the quality of life in Munich,” said parliamentary group leader Manuel Pretzl. Whether a citizens’ initiative is the right way “must be checked carefully”. The two city councilors of the Free Voters, with which the CSU forms a parliamentary group, are among the supporters of the citizens’ initiative, as is their city association. The left also “fundamentally” shares his goals, said parliamentary group leader Stefan Jagel. However, he is convinced that the text is “not differentiated enough”. The FDP insists on an examination of the individual case for construction projects. “We are always against blanket bans,” said parliamentary group leader Jörg Hoffmann. This blocks oneself “against any urban development”.