"Catastrophic": Large asylum accommodation on a million-dollar property on Lake Starnberg is causing criticism

Merkur "Catastrophic": Large asylum accommodation on a million-dollar property on Lake Starnberg is causing criticism Article by Veronika Mahnkopf • 4 hours • 3 minutes reading time Accommodation for 99 asylum seekers Mixed accommodation: Locals and asylum seekers are to live together in the planned residential buildings. "Enthusiasm looks different": This is how Seeshaupt's local council member Maximilian Amon commented on the district administration's plans for an asylum seekers' accommodation on Sankt-Heinricher-Straße. The committee was unusually unanimous: the project is too big - and in the wrong place. Seeshaupt - Helmut Hartl and Bernhard Pössinger were not to be envied on Tuesday evening. The two employees of the “Asylum Benefits and Integration” department at the district office came to the meeting of the Seeshaupt municipal council to present a project that is likely to cause a stir: an asylum seekers’ accommodation on Sankt-Heinricher-Straße, on a prime piece of land in the middle of town and close to the lake, worth millions. And not exactly small. The number of visitors to this meeting showed just how delicate the plans are. Spontaneously moved to the Leonhard-Sterff-Saal, around 50 interested people came. Hartl addressed the municipal council right at the start of his presentation: “The municipal representatives can’t do anything about it.” Then he and Pössinger gave a brief presentation on what the district office has in mind. Asylum home with photovoltaic system, heat pump and designed outdoor facilities The first step is to remove the legacy waste on the property at Sankt-Heinricher-Straße 56b – it was once a landfill and is owned by the Free State of Bavaria. According to Hartl, the cost is around 1.7 million euros, paid for by the state. A four-part development will then be built, sustainably in solid wood construction, with a gable roof, photovoltaic system, heat pump technology, and designed outdoor facilities. Up to 99 asylum seekers will live there in a so-called mixed accommodation, which the district will be assigned and must accommodate. According to Pössinger, men, women and children will move in, "not just male individuals". A "low-threshold childcare" will also be set up in the buildings by a childminder. In addition, apartments for up to 53 additional people are planned, which will be rented to the municipality at the usual local price and which can then be rented out to anyone. The Weilheim-Schongau district is the operator of the whole thing, and the Free State of Bavaria is the financier. It will then also own the buildings. If the small and large apartments are no longer needed as asylum accommodation, they could also be used for other purposes, according to Hartl. Worth millions: The plot of land on which the new asylum seekers' accommodation is to be built is in a prime location not far from the lake. "The local council can of course have a say, the building should fit into the townscape," said Pössinger. However, two points must be clear: "We have been given this plot of land by the Free State. We have to carry it out, and the decision is made by politicians. And if we don't do it there, the government of Upper Bavaria will. And then it might be a shared accommodation for 500 people like in Warngau." In the district office, however, there is agreement that decentralized, smaller accommodation is preferred. Like the one now planned. Will it really stay at 99 asylum seekers? The plans, however, seemed huge rather than small to the local council members who spoke up and were unusually unanimous on the matter. Dorothee von Jungenfeld (CSU) spoke of a "jumbo" and "did not believe that the community could handle it." After all, the children arriving would have to go to kindergarten and school. Maximilian Amon (PFB) expected that there would not be just 99 asylum seekers, but that all 152 residential spaces would be occupied by refugees. "That worries me." Several people on the committee expressed these concerns, but district office employee Hartl confirmed: "There are 99 asylum seekers." Armin Mell (FDP) was particularly bothered by the location. "This is prime property, and it is not free. It is part of the wealth of all Bavarians. I hope that we will not be affected by this." Reinhard Weber (SPD) described the plan as "catastrophic." He sees the area being occupied by refugees "for the next 40 years" and asks himself "who will move into the remaining apartments?" In the end, there would be 150 additional citizens "who would have to be provided with all the services." Community in talks with lawyers Weber called for an immediate vote on the plans - which was not on the agenda and was therefore impossible. "Today we were only informed by the district office," concluded Mayor Fritz Egold. Now it is time to explore all the options available to the community. "We are already in talks with lawyers." However, no agreement has been reached yet.