How expensive can resident parking be? In the case of Freiburg, this question was disputed before the Federal Administrative Court. After the verdict, changes are now needed.
For a year and a half, a resident’s parking permit for an average car in Freiburg has cost 360 euros. Around one euro per day – that doesn’t sound like much. But because only 30 euros were due for resident parking until 2021, an FDP city councilor had complained about the sharp increase. Before the Federal Administrative Court, he prevailed on Tuesday.
The court in Leipzig declared the Freiburg fee statute invalid. The verdict serves as a signal for other municipalities that are dealing with the issue of resident parking.
The Federal Administrative Court saw three reasons for the invalidity: First, the city should have issued a statutory ordinance instead of a statute. The Federal Road Traffic Act only authorizes this. Second, the court classified various reductions contained in the rules as inadmissible for social reasons. Thirdly, the fee jumps that were provided for vehicles of different lengths were too large. “In extreme cases, a difference in length of 50 centimeters can lead to the fees being doubled,” said presiding judge Ulrike Bick. This is a violation of the principle of equality.
No concerns about the height
However, the federal administrative judges had no concerns about the basic amount of the fees of 360 euros per year. They are not entirely disproportionate to the purposes for which the fees are charged. In addition to covering administrative costs, this also includes offsetting the advantage that the owner of a resident parking permit has. Residents can park their cars on the street without having to buy a significantly more expensive parking ticket or pay for a parking space in a multi-storey car park.
The plaintiff Sascha Fiek said he was pleased with the verdict “for the moment”. It is an important signal to the municipalities, which now have legal certainty. At the same time, however, it is clear that the process will continue. In Freiburg, it is now necessary to negotiate what a new ordinance on resident parking fees can look like.
Three years ago there was a decisive reorientation in resident parking. The Bundestag and Bundesrat overturned a nationwide upper limit of 30.70 euros per year that had been in force up to that point. Since then, states and municipalities have been able to regulate the fees for urban districts with a significant lack of parking space. The Federal Administrative Court has now provided clarity as to the form in which this must take place.
Modest increase in fees
According to the German Environmental Aid (DUH), the municipalities have so far been rather reluctant to increase the fees for resident parking. At the end of last year, the DUH published an overview according to which only 13 of the 104 cities surveyed had increased the fees for resident parking permits.
The automobile club ADAC calls on the municipalities to make moderate increases. “The amount of parking fees should be based primarily on the prevailing parking pressure. Fee increases – if necessary – should be moderate and socially acceptable,” said the ADAC.
Source: Stern
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