The struggle for the rededication of a building plot in the Scharnstein district “In der Lahn” has one facet richer, and this time Mayor Rudolf Raffelsberger (ÖVP) has prevailed. The supervisory authority (state government) rejected a complaint against him. The SPÖ Scharnstein had accused Raffelsberger of abuse of office.
The background: Last year, after years of heated discussions with the voices of the ÖVP and FPÖ, a hillside meadow “In der Lahn” was rededicated from green land to building land. A settlement was to be built on the 13 parcels. It wasn’t just residents who objected. Critics objected that Scharnstein was continuing its urban sprawl in this way. The opponents of the project called for the area to be reassigned to grassland. Mayor Raffelsberger again warned of this. His argument: the dedicator (a company managed by an ÖVP municipal council) could sue the municipality for damages because of investments already made.
A corresponding majority for the rededication was found in February this year in the municipal council. It was made possible by the changeover of the FPÖ parliamentary group. But Mayor Raffelsberger did not implement the decision after the vote. He had located a formal error in the vote in the local parliament: the planning documents had not been enclosed with the mandataries.
SPÖ chairwoman Bernadette Lang finally filed a supervisory complaint against Raffelsberger with the state’s municipal supervisory authority in May. But the Directorate of Internal and Municipal Affairs (IKD) now agreed with the mayor. Because no planning documents were included in the vote in the municipal council, no decision in principle could be recognized, but only a “declaration of intent”, according to the state lawyers. The mayor therefore acted in accordance with the law. “From the point of view of Upper Austria. State government as the supervisory authority, there is no further need for action.”
It’s quite possible that it’s just a Pyrrhic victory for Raffelsberger. Because the vote will now be repeated in July, and it can neither be assumed that planning documents will be missing again this time, nor that the parliamentary groups have changed their opinion about the “In der Lahn” settlement project. From today’s perspective, everything indicates that the rededication will be decided again. Nevertheless, Raffelsberger warns: “If we decide to rededicate the property, the community may be faced with claims for compensation. And then we have to discuss who is liable for it.”
Source: Nachrichten
