Exemption order rejected - without reason?

Hm, really?! I hope he knows that.... We have an existing OK and a planned OK in the plan/application. According to the existing site, it is apparently not a problem at all and the basement floor is clearly basement floor. According to the planned site, after excavation and filling and placing the house as desired, it is probably tight, but according to his statement, there is still enough leeway when it comes to that. I think if he plans it that way, then he should know whether it will work or not, right?! The architectural office has been around for 15 years or so and he himself has a good reputation here in the city. He also works as a developer and so on, but by now mostly only for larger projects. Oh man.... He now wants to drive to the district himself and explain everything exactly to the relevant clerk and calculate it for them. He takes it with humor and says we shouldn’t worry. I’m curious.

You cannot judge without plans, wait and see what the AR achieves at the building authority - it is his job, you pay him for that.

Best regards
Dirk Grafe

Brief note on embankments or excavations. These require mandatory approval (within the framework of house construction); a change in ground level is not allowed under the exemption procedure. This is the current statement from our building authority, so that approval will also be required for house construction, as both measures are connected. Our neighbors were therefore denied the exemption procedure last week (the building plot is about 80 cm below street level and must be filled).

Wuahhhh.... don't say something like that... And probably even in [NRW], right?! Oh man, I'm curious. And somehow I already expect the worst... I mean, why should it go so smoothly. Thank you for the experiences and hints. I will then report what we or the architect have achieved.

For reassurance: the whole matter depends on what is regulated in the development plan. It is not unusual for an elevation/reduction of the entire original site within a height window of 1m to be exempt from approval. Local embankments or excavations, which do not affect the entire property, are to be viewed differently.

A big advantage is often that the municipalities remain elegantly silent on the topic of height because they want to avoid the problem when drawing up the development plan. This can usually be exploited to the advantage of the builder.

It is therefore just as likely that you have no problem at all and can build under the exemption procedure.

Best regards Dirk Grafe

Thank you Dirk. ops:
I am heavily pregnant and definitely did not want to let myself be stressed, but now my fingers are tingling and I am totally nervous.
I will now simply try to stay calm and wait. Our architect wanted to speak with the responsible clerk at the district office this afternoon and arrange an appointment with him or something like that. He will surely get back to us this evening or tomorrow morning; he is usually reliable. Then I will definitely know more.