Development plan; preparation

Under the Building Code (BauGB), local authorities are both entitled and obliged to draw up local development plans. There are two types of local development plan:

• The land-use plan, which covers the entire municipal area but does not yet impose any binding provisions on residents (see also the entry ‘Land-use plan’).
• The local development plan, which is derived from the land-use plan and is limited to parts of the municipal area. It contains provisions that are binding on residents and the planning authorities, and sets out how plots of land may be developed.

Local development plans must, as a general rule, be drawn up on the basis of the land-use plan; this means that there must be no significant contradiction in content between the local development plan and the land-use plan. A local development plan may specify, for example, the type and extent of the intended building use, the areas of land available for development, the positioning of buildings, as well as, for example, public and private green spaces and transport areas. In addition, provisions may also be made, for example, regarding the planting of trees, shrubs and other vegetation.
A distinction is made between a qualified, a project-specific and a simple local development plan:

a qualified local development plan is one that contains, as a minimum, provisions regarding the nature and extent of building use, the areas of land available for development and the local traffic areas. If a building plot lies within the area covered by a qualified development plan, a building project is permissible under town planning law provided it does not conflict with the provisions of the development plan and the provision of services is secured.

Project-specific development plans may be drawn up by local authorities on the basis of a project and development plan agreed between a (private) project developer and the local authority. A prerequisite is that the project developer is willing and able to carry out the project and the development measures, and undertakes to implement the measures in an implementation agreement. Even within the scope of a project-specific development plan, projects are permissible under planning law provided they do not conflict with the development plan and the provision of services is secured.

Simple local development plans are those that do not meet the requirements of either a qualified or a project-related local development plan. They do not, in principle, conclusively regulate the admissibility of building projects under town and country planning law. Local development

plans are municipal by-laws, i.e. legal provisions. They are drawn up in accordance with a procedure set out in detail in the BauGB (German Building Code), which provides, amongst other things, for public participation.

For local development plans relating to inner-city regeneration – such as the redevelopment of land, infill development or other inner-city regeneration measures – Section 13a of the BauGB provides for optional procedural simplifications under certain conditions.

The provision in Section 13b of the BauGB concerning the application of the fast-track procedure in outlying areas was repealed with effect from 1 January 2024 following the Federal Administrative Court’s ruling (judgement of 18 July 2023 – Ref. 4 CN 3.22) was found to be incompatible with EU law and was repealed with effect from 1 January 2024. The ‘remedial provision’ of Section 215a of the BauGB was also introduced on 1 January 2024. Under Section 215(3) of the BauGB, the application of the procedural simplifications is subject to the corresponding application of Section 13a(2)(1) of the BauGB (waiver of early notification and consultation) in conjunction with Section 13(3), first sentence, of the BauGB (waiver of the environmental assessment) and Section 13a(2)(4) of the BauGB (waiver of nature conservation compensation) that the local authority, on the basis of a preliminary assessment of the individual case in accordance with Section 13a(1), second sentence, point 2 of the BauGB, concludes that the development plan is not likely to have any significant environmental impacts which, pursuant to Section 2(4), fourth sentence, of the BauGB would have to be taken into account in the balancing exercise, or which would have to be compensated for as impairments to the landscape or to the performance and functionality of the natural environment in accordance with Section 1a(3) of the BauGB.

Zoning plan procedures under Section 13b of the BauGB which were formally initiated before 31 January 22022 could be concluded in accordance with Section 215(3) of the BauGB, by way of analogous application of Section 13a of the BauGB, provided that the resolution to adopt the development plan pursuant to Section 10(1) of the BauGB was passed by 31 December 2024.

Development plans which had already been drawn up in accordance with Section 13b of the BauGB and were to be brought into force retrospectively through a supplementary procedure pursuant to Section 214(4) of the BauGB could apply Section 13a of the BauGB mutatis mutandis in accordance with Section 215(3) of the BauGB. The resolution to adopt the development plan pursuant to Section 10(1) of the BauGB had to be passed by 31 December 2024.