City examines citizens' petition on housing

The question of the petition is: "Are you in favor of the city of Erlangen using all permissible means within its own sphere of influence to secure and strengthen the existing residential development in the area bounded by Bismarckstraße, Hindenburgstraße, Universitätsstraße and eastern Stadtmauerstraße by allowing only residential use in the future where only residential use has been approved to date?"

Legal requirements

The municipal code stipulates that the city council must decide on the admissibility of the citizens' petition within one month at the latest. In this specific case, the decision will be made at the city council meeting on March 27. The admissibility check is limited to legal and formal questions. Above all: Are there enough signatures? Is the issue within the decision-making powers of the municipality? If the citizens' petition is admissible, a referendum must be held on a Sunday within three months of the determination of admissibility. However, the city council can extend the deadline by a maximum of three months in agreement with the persons authorized to represent the petition. According to the municipal code, a referendum is not required if the municipal council decides to implement the measure demanded by the petition.

Talks with the initiative

The city has already held talks with the initiative, in which it pointed out the complex building and planning law situation in the area in question and the city's limited options for action, as well as the development needs of the university hospital. According to the University Hospital master plan, facilities directly related to patient care are to be located primarily in the city center, while residential space is to be created in the wider urban area.

What exactly is at stake?

The former nurses' residence at Hindenburgstrasse 5/7 has been a particular focus of discussion from the outset. The city granted planning permission in September 2023. The University Hospital is renovating the six-storey building, which has not been occupied since 2016 due to renovation work, to improve its energy efficiency and to create the necessary offices, seminar rooms and technical workshops. The legality of the planning permission granted by the city for the change of use of the former nurses' residence in Hindenburgstrasse was to be reviewed by means of a submission to both the government of Middle Franconia and the Bavarian State Ministry for Housing, Construction and Transport. As the government of Middle Franconia informed the complainants at the time, there were no grounds for the supervisory authority to intervene. The city, as the lower building supervisory authority, had comprehensibly justified its decision in the building permit granted in accordance with the existing building regulations for the area.