How to obtain an exemption from the development plan?

Hello everyone,

I need a bit of support with our project. Since some of you have probably already gone through this, I thought I might get some good tips here.

Starting point:
Plot available
A single-family house (possibly with a granny flat) is to be built.
Currently 2 adults with 2 children (2 and 4 years old). The house will be used by us. The plan is to put a small granny flat upstairs, which will be rented out later when the children have left the house.
The following (relevant) specifications from the development plan of 1974:
- Roof ridge direction East-West
- Mandatory single storey
- Knee wall max. 50 cm
- Roof pitch between 22° and 28°
Attached is an excerpt from the development plan. The plot outlined in purple is the relevant one. The houses marked in red do not exist, they were only inserted for planning purposes.

We would like to rotate the roof ridge direction and raise the knee wall to 1 m, or better 1.25 m, because otherwise the house will be too small.

I first went to the building authority and talked to the responsible lady there.
She looked at it and said it is not a problem from her side at first, but I have to talk to the district office (LRA), they have to approve it. She gave me the contact.

Then I called the gentleman from the LRA. He said it will be difficult. I should send the whole thing as a written preliminary building inquiry. I then sent an email to the gentleman from the LRA as well as the lady from the building authority.

After a relatively short time, the answer came from the LRA.
Quote:
"the development plan “XXX” of the city of XXX is certainly somewhat outdated and nowadays the specified house types would certainly look different. However, the development plan still represents the legal basis for the granting of building permits – a planned construction project must therefore comply with the provisions made there.

The requirement for the roof ridge direction at the planned location is more of an aesthetic regulation than an urban development overriding objective – subject to the approval of the city of Buchloe, a (to be applied for) dispensation can therefore be promised for the rotation of the roof ridge direction.

It is different with the requirement for the knee wall. This is a regulation with urban planning and structural planning background. So far, no exemptions have apparently been granted in this regard, so your planning must be based on the existing regulations. An exemption can not be granted by the district office of Ostallgäu after consultation with our building lawyer. To achieve a corresponding knee wall increase or possibly the creation of a second full storey, the development plan would have to be changed in this area."

After that, I first gave up and sent another email asking whether at least the roof pitch could be changed. This was done a week ago, no answer yet.

The day before yesterday I met someone else from the building authority of the city. He was working behind our plot on the road that is supposed to go there.
I chatted a bit with him. He said he understands that we want to deviate from the development plan. He himself has no influence on this topic because he is not responsible for it. I am already with the right gentleman from the LRA and the right lady from the municipality. I just have to talk to the gentleman from the LRA again. Possibly get approval from the neighbors or the people in the same building area (marked in blue on the plan) for my deviation.
He said it will not be easy, because of equality and because otherwise everyone would want to deviate.
A change of the development plan would be unrealistic and would take up to two years. I can forget about that, especially since there are only three free building plots left in that area.

So this is the situation.
We definitely want to raise the knee wall a bit.
We do not want to build a bungalow, as too much garden space would be lost.
And with 50 cm knee wall you really do not get decent rooms upstairs.

I am grateful for any tips or suggestions on how we could still achieve our goal.

Thank you very much in advance!

Best regards
Specki

I am grateful for any tip/suggestion on how we could still achieve our goal

Look for a different development area!

This is no joke, but why should an exemption from a BINDING development plan be granted specifically for you? That is exactly what it is for, so that not everyone builds as they please.

The specification of the ridge direction at the planned location is more of a design-related requirement than an urban planning overarching goal – subject to the approval of the city of Buchloe, an (application-required) exemption for the rotation of the ridge direction can therefore be anticipated.

It is different with the specification of the knee wall height. This is a requirement with urban planning and design background. So far, no exemptions have apparently been granted for this, so your planning must conform to the existing regulations. An exemption for this cannot be anticipated by the Ostallgäu district office after consultation with our building lawyer. To achieve a corresponding increase of the knee wall or possibly the creation of a second full storey, the development plan in this area would have to be changed.

That’s how it will remain...

Sorry for you.

I then sent an email to the gentleman from the LRA as well as the lady from the building authority.

This is not a written preliminary building inquiry. I am surprised that you even received such a detailed response. It is not the LRA's task to explore the building possibilities on the property, but rather to examine a finished plan.

So far, no exemptions have apparently been granted in this regard

Not even for house number 2a? This obviously concerns a relatively new house, which turned the ridge. The attic also appears to be developed and that on a significantly smaller plot than yours.

whether at least the roof pitch can be changed.

The information available online is very sparse. Your plan excerpt does not come from the legally binding original plan either, but from a conglomerate of all six previous changes. The usual and in my humble opinion only promising way would be for an experienced planner to study the development plan with its entire history including justifications, work out the main features of the planning and the urban development goals, carry out a precise environmental analysis, and with these results formulate a convincing argumentation for the necessary exemptions. The more unofficial individual questions you ask, the more ill-considered answers you receive, which makes it harder for the professional.

I will probably be stepping on toes, but the development plan was known before the purchase of the property, right? So why buy a property if you are not satisfied with the regulations and want to change such significant things? We also had to wait longer because the first properties all would have had - too little to no remaining garden - no complete brick cladding allowed - only flat roofs etc.... if I can't come to terms with that, I ask before buying...

What does the property look like? Is there possibly a slope so that you can build with a basement? I think circumventing or even changing the development plan is a stupid idea.

Look for another development area!

This is no joke, but why should an exemption from a BINDING development plan be granted specifically for you? That’s exactly what it is for, so that not everyone builds according to their own wishes.

Well, I have already read from many that they were allowed to deviate from the development plan. So I would also like to try.

This is not a written building enquiry. I’m surprised you even got such a detailed answer.

The lady from the city told me that this is exactly how I should do it.

Not even for house number 2a? This is obviously a fairly new house that changed the ridge direction.

The first house is not even shown on the plan. It is also not entirely within the building area. It changed the ridge direction so that it fits the cross street. But thanks for the hint, maybe I can approach that again.

The usual and in my opinion the only promising way would be that an experienced planner studies the development plan with its entire history including justifications, works out the main features of the planning and the urban development goals, carries out a precise environmental analysis and formulates a convincing argumentation for the necessary exemptions with these results. The more unofficial individual questions you ask, the more thoughtless answers you get, which makes it harder for the professional.

Thanks for this advice. So far, a friend who is a realtor and the lady from the municipality have advised me to first inquire privately like this. They say this is more promising.

I’m probably putting my foot in it, but the development plan was known before the property purchase, wasn’t it? Why buy a property if you are not satisfied with the regulations and want to change such serious things?

Yes, I am putting my foot in it.
The property below belongs to me. The one at the back has so far been used as a garden and was never really intended for anything else. Now it is being accessed by a street. Yes, the street north of the property does not exist yet, it is only being built now. And now we thought we would just build a house there.
So at the time of purchase, this was not even up for discussion.

What does the property look like? Is there perhaps a slope so that you can build with a basement?

I think circumventing or even changing the development plan is a stupid idea.

The property is basically completely flat. We do not want a basement.
Why is it a stupid idea?