General information on social preservation areas
Social preservation areas, so-called milieu protection areas, are intended to protect the established residential population from displacement. Milieu protection areas are firmly defined areas within a district/municipality. They are defined by a social preservation ordinance or preservation statute. They can also be defined as part of a development plan.
Procedure for the establishment of social preservation areas
In Berlin, a motion is first submitted to the district council to investigate potential milieu protection areas in the district. If this application is approved, a so-called rough screening is carried out. If the rough screening shows that individual areas in the district could meet the requirements for a social preservation ordinance, a decision is made to establish the area and subsequent in-depth investigations are carried out. During the period between the announcement of the decision to establish the area and the final enactment of the social preservation ordinance, the district can postpone construction measures for a maximum of 12 months and, if necessary, issue a construction stop if there is a risk that the measures will undermine the subsequent protection of the environment. If the in-depth investigations prove that the conditions for issuing a social preservation ordinance are met, the social preservation ordinance is finally issued. The social preservation ordinance does not necessarily have to have a time limit. However, due to the constant change in the residential population, the districts are required to review the existence of the prerequisites at regular intervals and to adjust the protection accordingly or to revoke the areas.
Currently, there are 58 social preservation ordinances in Berlin (as of November 2019)
Site layout decisions in Berlin (as of November 2019)
- Charlottenburg / Wilmersdorf district: "Klausener Platz" area
- Spandau district: "Altstadt/Neustadt" and "Wilhelmstadt" areas
- Neukölln district: "Germaniapromenade", "Britz-Nord" and "Britz-Süd" areas
Abolition of milieu protection areas
The abolition of existing milieu protection areas is also possible and, under certain circumstances, also indicated.
After its own intensive investigations, the Mitte district has lifted the "Oranienburger Vorstadt" milieu protection ordinance. A large proportion of the apartments are condominiums, and the trend is upward. The same applies to the number of high-income households. The pressure to upgrade and the necessary displacement potential required by the Milieuschutzverordnung therefore no longer existed. For the same reasons, the district of Mitte revoked the milieu protection in the Stephankiez district of Moabit in 2007 and in Friedrich-Wilhelm-Stadt in 2008. This was preceded by two decisions of the Berlin Administrative Court, which recommended that the Mitte district review and, if necessary, repeal the milieu protection ordinances. The district of Pankow also repealed the milieu protection ordinance Belforter Straße 5 - 8, Straßburger Straße 33 - 36, Metzer Straße 35 - 37 in the district of Prenzlauer Berg with an ordinance dated June 11, 2013, after massive pressure from public liability suits before the Berlin Regional Court and norm control suits before the Berlin-Brandenburg Higher Administrative Court. As a result, the district was able to avoid substantial damage compensation payments due to unjustly not granted permits.
