OVG Koblenz, 11.02.2011, Ref.: 8 A 11111/10.OVG
In addition to regulations to prevent disfigurement, municipalities can also make positive regulations on building design (e.g. conservation statutes or design statutes) in accordance with the German Building Code and the state building regulations.
In addition to hazard prevention, design statutes also concern issues of urban design and urban development and in this respect often coincide with designations under building planning law.
Both the state building regulations and the Building Code therefore logically stipulate that design statutes can be included in a development plan (Section 9 IV BauGB, cf. Section 86 BauO NW.
In the field of renewable energies, design statutes should permit solar installations in urban areas and show how these can be integrated as harmoniously as possible into the streetscape, townscape and landscape.
Solar systems should be integrated into roof and wall surfaces as organically as possible. A conceivable starting point for this is the grouping of individual solar installations or the utilisation of offset roof sections.
The requirements for the design statutes themselves and the compatibility of existing solar installations with these statutes then differ fundamentally depending on whether the urban area is a new development area or a historic district.
In the above-mentioned decision, the Koblenz Higher Administrative Court now had to decide whether the part of a solar installation projecting beyond the roof ridge is compatible with the design statutes of the city of Speyer and thus also with the historic townscape of the city.
FactsThe plaintiff was the owner of two residential properties in Speyer, which were within the scope of a design statute. The design statutes were issued by the city of Speyer in order to preserve the historic medieval appearance of the city.
The plaintiff installed solar panels on the houses, some of which protruded beyond the roof ridge. With reference to the design statutes, the defendant city then ordered the plaintiff to completely remove the solar installations.
The action brought by the plaintiff before the administrative court was largely successful in that the removal order was only confirmed to the extent that the owner was ordered to remove the solar installation projecting over the roof ridge.
OVGAccording to the Higher Administrative Court (OVG), the design of the roofs must blend in with the historic surroundings. The surroundings of the plaintiff's houses were characterised by an essentially uniform roof landscape of tiled saddle roofs with a clearly contoured roof ridge. As the solar installation did not comply with this framework, insofar as the upper row of solar installations protruded beyond the roof ridge, the city's order was justified to this extent.
Source: OVG Koblenz
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