Land use plan is the future plan for Jena

The intensive discussion on the Jena Climate Action Plan in the city council also brought to light an amendment of the parliamentary group Citizens for Jena, which had to be classified by the city of Jena as irrelevant and contradictory to other planning. Specifically, it was about the blanket permanent preservation of allotment gardens on municipal land.

"Initially, the preservation of allotment gardens has no relevant connection to the carbon dioxide savings specifically targeted by the climate action plan. Nevertheless, the extensive green belt around Jena's urban area has an urban climatic function," says Mayor Thomas Nitzsche. These areas often contribute to supplying the city with cold air. In times when summer heat phases are the order of the day, the city can thus cool down overnight. "Of course, we want to maintain allotment gardens in line with demand, but in terms of further development of Jena, we cannot rely here on blanket solutions to preserve any allotment garden areas," adds Nitzsche.

"Of course, with the preliminary draft of the land use plan (FNP), we do not resort to allotment gardens without need. We must also recognize the tight situation on the housing market and find areas that enable a city of short distances. Even with stagnating population figures, our budget forecast assumes a significant additional demand for housing in Jena," adds Christian Gerlitz, mayor and head of the department for urban development and the environment.

Thus, the area in the Schweizerhöhe area offers excellent conditions for harmonious structural development. It is precisely this area, which is the only one owned by the municipality, where social housing construction, as envisaged by the so-called concept award, can be realized. The concept allocation has been confirmed by the city council several times in recent years.

A completely different case exists at Erich-Halbauer-Weg in Altlobeda: At this location, the volunteer fire departments of Altlobeda and Wöllnitz are to receive a new home in the future. Today, part of an allotment garden site is still located there. The federal allotment garden law provides a binding regulation for both sites that replacement land must be created.

"I am very confident that we will be able to provide this with the additional garden land in the Lobeda-Ost allotment garden park and, in addition, conclude a contract with the regional federation of allotment gardeners that provides for more intensive use of the leased land," said Christian Gerlitz.

"Fortunately, we continue to see new settlements of companies as well as scientific institutions in Jena and, of course, we need further living space for them," says Guntram Wohtly, Chairman of the Committee for Urban Development and Environment. And further: "The urban development committee has held the discussion on housing construction on individual allotment garden areas several times and intensively in recent years, important cases were looked at on site and also discussed with those affected. One thing is clear to me: a lack of housing supply must not stand in the way of our growth in the future."