Building application Bavaria - Approval by the municipality

Hello everyone,

next week our municipal council will meet and according to the agenda will also discuss our building application.

The property is located within the scope of a development plan from 1970. The house itself complies with the regulations.
For the garage, we have applied for 2 exemptions from the requirements of the development plan.
1x exemption for the roof shape (flat roof instead of a shed roof with a pitch of 1-10°....)
1x exemption for the construction of the garage outside the building boundary (corner plot, more favorable for us regarding the garden)

Now I have read through the minutes of the municipal council meetings a bit and also spoken with a colleague who is a municipal councilor in another community.

It seems to me that "exemptions from the building boundary" are also relatively strictly rejected for garages in order not to create precedents. Such an exemption would basically become part of the development plan because every subsequent builder could refer to it and the municipality would then hardly be able to refuse it.
Our architect has also justified the exception by citing that within the scope of the development plan and one street over, at least two garages with flat roofs and outside the building boundary were recently constructed.

Therefore, I am quite positive about attending the municipal council meeting as an observer next week.

However, I wonder if I can still contribute something to our concern:
Should I try to send a friendly email to the members of the construction committee with a brief explanation and mention of the already constructed garages including the parcel number?

Should I send such an email to the responsible person in the municipal building administration?

Or should I rather rely on the matter proceeding in our favor?

I would be very grateful for a brief response.

Next week our municipal council will meet and according to the agenda will also discuss our building application.

Same here.

Our architect also justified the exception, among other things, because it is within the scope of the development plan and one street over, at least two flat-roof garages were recently built outside the building boundary.

Our architect did too. We want a waiver of the height level. Two neighbors got approval, we have not (yet). The renewed consultation is next week.

Or should I rather rely on it going in our favor?

No, don’t count on it. We also thought if two get approval, we would too. No chance.

I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you and would be happy if you report back whether it worked.

Should I send such an email to the person responsible in the municipal building administration?

Have you or your architect already had contact with the persons responsible in the building authority?
If so, a phone call would be sufficient to get an assessment.

As a rule, the building authority presents the matter at the building committee / city council meeting or provides it to the respective city council members in advance and is available for questions during the respective meeting.

I would rather find an email referring to approved deviations from the development plan presumptuous. After all, the deviation has already been justified by this.
Normally, no one likes being told repeatedly how he/she should do his/her job.

Regardless of the above statements, municipalities in Bavaria have not much to say formally in building permit procedures. Unfortunately, most forget this regularly.
The district office is responsible.

The statements, which are nothing more than that, therefore have purely informative character for the district office. The actual approval authority is the district office. It can also be sued in case of rejection and may be liable for damages if applicable.

Now the problem is that people generally take the path of least resistance and the district office does not want to overly strain relations with the municipalities for personal/political reasons, which is why they often follow the "recommendations" of the municipalities.
Legally, however, this regularly represents nonsense.

What does this mean for you?
If you have had no contact with the building authority so far, ask your architect if he has already made contact. Normally, reasonable architects call there beforehand when applying for deviations to sound things out.
If it turned out there that the building authority is strictly against the deviation, then I would contact the district office. In my opinion, this seems more promising than contacting all committee / city council members. Otherwise, it could backfire.

Alternatively, one could possibly contact the faction leader of the majority coalition of the municipal council. Naturally, best through the mediation of a person who knows this person.

Brief explanation and mention of the garages already constructed along with the parcel number?

As a rule, the applicant justifies this in the application for exception and exemption exactly like that. What does your architect apply for in writing and, more importantly, how is it justified?

Thank you already for your answers.

Unfortunately, our architect did not communicate with the building authority. I was the one who had to chase most things. Our architect basically said from the beginning, "Yes, it’s fine, let’s do it that way, you won’t have any problems." He submitted it under the exemption procedure, which actually does not apply at all.

: He justified it by saying that our project fits well into the surroundings and referred to comparable buildings within the scope of the development plan, however without naming a specific parcel number.

Exactly one street away, there are also three such garages corresponding to our exemption request. But you can’t look into the minds of the council members.

I will call the building authority today and, if necessary, try to get in touch with a personally known council member.

Same here with us.

Our architect as well. We want an exemption from the height limit. Two neighbors were approved, we (not yet). The next consultation is next week.

No, don’t count on it. We also thought that if two get approved, we would too. Not a chance.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you and would be happy if you report back whether it worked out.

Hello Chloe,
sorry for the late response.
It worked, we have received the building permit.

I didn’t do anything. But it was good that I was present in the audience at the municipal council meeting. A comment from a council member could be resolved easily that way.