Architect's suggestions disappointing - What next?

Can you explain your concerns to me? I know quite a few tenants I would rather have as neighbors than other owners. With tenants, there is less of the "My land, so I do what I want" type.

I agree with you there, but I would still see a difference regarding the view into / onto one’s own property. For example, in our case, the new development area consists exclusively of single-family houses, and the development plan was created accordingly, only the planner forgot to specify the maximum number of dwelling units. This loophole was used by an "investor" to place a multifamily house on the plot. Now a multifamily house is (being) built on a property among single-family homes, which fully exploits the building boundaries. Of course, it is permitted, no question, and also okay. Nevertheless, it feels different when one originally assumed that at most one family would live there, using only part of the buildable area (like on the other properties) and thus resulting in certain distances. A single-family house would probably try to preserve as much garden space as possible to the south – so the distance would likely be larger. The multifamily house, on the other hand, is built just so that the required distances are met. The building comes significantly closer to the own property, the now planned 4 balconies face southward and offer unobstructed views of the own property, which probably would not have been the case with a single-family house. With potentially 4 families sitting on the terraces / balconies, the likelihood increases that someone will always be there who could take a look if they wanted to. Even if it probably hardly plays a role in everyday life, it can make a difference in perception. Additionally, two parking spaces must be provided for each apartment, meaning that one can also expect four times the vehicle traffic in that area, which can simply be a difference for the neighbors. As I said, everything is lawful and also okay, no accusation against the builder of the multifamily house. Nevertheless, one can have "concerns" in this regard and, if one is fortunate and knows in advance, respond to it in construction. It's annoying when all the surroundings (about 25 single-family houses) are already there and suddenly such an eyesore is built. I can understand some displeasure, although it affects us least because the property is at our northwest corner – so at our back.

With a 4-family house, I completely agree with you.
The neighbor of the OP might possibly build a 2-family house..... a world of difference, no 4 balconies, no 6 parking spaces, etc,

Didn’t want to cause a big discussion about tenants, etc. You can see it however you want. Everyone probably has different experiences.

Only 2 residential units per property are allowed, but there are still 2 neighbors instead of 1. In addition, the person owns both properties above us, so the situation doubles again.

Yes, we are No. 6, correct. I made a typo in the previous post, I meant No. 5.