Problems with dedication

Political wrangling on the backs of house builders

The house builders have to wait because the zoning is a "construction site".

(Bild: P. Huber)

After a faulty zoning decision, the municipality of Ollersdorf is now blaming others. The victims are the landowners who are unable to start building.

House builders in Ollersdorf currently need a lot of patience. Eight months ago, at the end of 2023, the change to the zoning plan was approved by the local council. However, those affected have not yet been able to start building. On the contrary: they may have to postpone their plans until next year and therefore have to accept price increases from construction companies.

Accusations against the mayor
The reason for this is that the approved zoning plan has to be corrected. In itself, this is not a major problem. According to SPÖ Deputy Mayor Tanja Illedits, the corrections to be made have been known for a long time. However - according to her accusation - the ÖVP mayor Bernd Strobl, who is also the head of the office, has not yet done anything in this direction. Even at the urgent municipal council meeting on the subject - which took place at 7 a.m. this Sunday, mind you - Strobl had not prepared the necessary documents, according to Illedits. The meeting ended without a result in terms of zoning.

The clock is ticking
But time is pressing. In order for the house builders to be able to start this year, a decision is needed by mid-September at the latest so that everything is sent to the state in time, explains the deputy mayor. "But instead, the mayor is once again playing his political games of 'Strobl versus the state'." As reported, the mayor blames the state for the delays. Illedits disagrees: "He made the mistakes, nobody else is to blame."

Question of guilt
"The SPÖ is the perpetrator, but is playing the victim," replies Strobl. There had already been a screening of the zoning plans in the summer of 2023, after which the plans were available until November 2023. There were no objections from the state during this time. It was only after the municipal council had passed the resolution that requests for corrections suddenly arrived. "So who is to blame?" asks Strobl.

Request to the state
According to the mayor, the whole fuss could have been avoided. That's why he wanted to play it safe now. He has sent a request to the state to clarify "to the letter" what needs to be corrected. "We won't do anything until we have the answers, otherwise we'll do something wrong again," says Strobl. As soon as there is an answer, a decision can be made immediately in the municipal council, explains the mayor.