Massive criticism

Red alert continues for green zone

As early as 2018, demonstrations were held in the Oberland region against the removal of areas from the provincial green zone.

(Bild: Verein für Bodenschutz)

In 2022, the Constitutional Court ruled that special zoning was unlawful. However, the members of the Alliance for Soil Protection are anything but happy with the solution envisaged by the provincial government.  

The planned rezoning of land in Ludesch and Bludesch is causing anger among the members of the Alliance for Soil Protection. As was recently announced, the areas that have already been designated and built on as industrial areas are to be removed from the provincial green zone and designated as "building land - industrial area". To date, there are no plans to compensate for the lost area.

"By making it possible to dedicate special areas in open land without any technical restrictions, the state has made a mistake and enabled the development of areas through the back door, so to speak, which should serve agriculture, nature conservation and local recreation according to the state green zone ordinance," the members of the Alliance for Soil Protection express their outrage in a letter.

A curiosity
What annoys them even more, however, is the reason why no compensation areas are included in the provincial green zone, as is customary elsewhere. Curiously, this is not possible in Vorarlberg because the areas are already built on and therefore do not meet the green zone objectives. "First, special zoning is used to allow development and now the special zoning serves as an excuse for why no land compensation should be made," the members of the Alliance for Soil Protection are annoyed.

In the interests of a good solution, they are calling on the responsible Provincial Councillor Marco Tittler to suspend the current and planned rezoning procedures. In order to ensure a more responsible approach to special zoning areas in the future, this issue should be discussed more broadly. The upcoming evaluation of the Spatial Vision 2030, which will involve representatives from politics, business, science and society, would provide a suitable framework.

Alliance for soil protection

Consisting of a large number of organizations, initiatives and experts from Vorarlberg and supported by Hagelversicherung Österreich, the Alliance for Soil Protection has been campaigning for the protection and preservation of the provincial green zone since 2019.

With a keen interest in constructive solutions, the members of the Alliance are proposing the temporary dedication of areas. If these were used as a parking lot, for example, the area could be unsealed and returned. In other cases, dedication as a business park could also be the right strategy, but the owners should make a contribution. "In this case, the landowners receive a significant increase in value through dedication as building land. Unsealing and other soil improvement measures could be financed by means of a value levy, as exists in Switzerland, for example," suggest the members of the Alliance for Soil Protection.

As early as 2018, there were demonstrations in the Oberland region against the removal of land from the national green zone. In 2022, the Constitutional Court ruled that special designations were unlawful. There is renewed criticism of the current solution.