The purpose of urban land-use planning is to prepare and guide the construction and other uses of land within the municipality in accordance with the Building Code.
Urban land-use plans consist of the land-use plan (preliminary urban land-use plan) and the zoning plan (binding urban land-use plan).
The zoning plan specifies how properties may be developed. For example, it sets forth provisions
- regarding the type and extent of building use,
- the permitted number of stories, and
- the permitted roof shape.
In particular, a statement of rationale must be attached to the development plan. It contains explanations of the planning objectives as well as the graphic and textual provisions.
Inthe land-use plan, municipalitiesoutlinethe general principles of their intended urban development.
It includes, for example, information on planned
- residential areas,
- commercial and industrial development areas,
- green spaces, or
- transportation areas.
The accompanying explanatory statement explains the planning objectives and the provisions set forth in the land-use plan.
Pursuant to Section 6(5), sentence 3, and Section 10(3), sentence 2, of the German Building Code (BauGB) , anyone may inspect the land-use plan or zoning plan and request information regarding its contents.