Endless proceedings

First million-euro lawsuit filed against Graz

Hannes Schreiner (left) is pressing ahead with the expansion of the Techno Park Raaba; in Graz, he needs a lot of patience.(Bild: Sepp Pail)

Because the city of Graz let deadlines for the creation of a development plan slip by for years, the first property developer is claiming damages - up to ten million euros are at stake! The Chamber of Commerce now wants the law to be changed.

Now patience has run out. It was 2017 when Hannes Schreiner (Techno Park Raaba) applied for a development plan for his property on the Bahnhofgürtel. More than seven years later, he still does not have it on the table - even though the plan must be issued within 18 months according to the law. As reported, the Constitutional Court ruled in his favor and the development plan requirement was lifted.

Now he is taking the city to court again: "We are finalizing the claim for damages and will submit it in the autumn," the entrepreneur clarifies. According to Schreiner, the damages amount to between 7.5 and ten million euros. "I can only hope that the City Councillor for Finance has already built up the necessary reserves." The development plan deadline has also already been exceeded for five other projects of his.

At least 80 proceedings pending
And Schreiner is not alone in this. "As far as I know, at least 80 procedures for development plans are currently pending at the city planning office," says WKO specialist group chairman Gerald Gollenz. "And if you consider that two plans are dealt with per municipal council meeting, you can work out how long it will take to process this amount."

"Graz's politicians have found an enemy in the construction industry - this is simply not worthy of a provincial capital."

Josef Herk

Präsident WKO Steiermark

In order to get a grip on the overlong construction procedures, the Chamber of Commerce is now calling for an amendment to the Spatial Planning Act - on the one hand, it is a matter of defining the exact start of the deadline, as well as a legal automatism, according to which the expiry of the deadline causes the development plan obligation to expire. "And laws also apply to the city of Graz. The current political approach seems to be to prevent jobs," says WKO President Josef Herk, shaking his head.

"Not every construction crane is bad. After all, this is about living space and, not least, thousands of jobs."

Gerald Gollenz

WKO-Fachgruppenobmann

Housing construction in Graz in sharp decline
Regional office chairman Bernhard Bauer also refers to the total of around 18,000 people employed in the construction industry in Graz alone - "and we must not forget that Graz is the fastest growing city in Austria and will continue to grow." Therefore, more living space will be needed. "However, only 500 apartments will be built in Graz in the next two years," says Gollenz.

Developing the city "with high quality"
In order to speed up the process, the WKO suggests using external experts. This was rejected by the city. The responsible Deputy Mayor Judith Schwentner (Greens) even pleaded with the state to extend the legal deadline. "We want to continue to develop the city to a high standard."