Leipzig City Council met: 32 minutes of discussion on the ‘Radefelder Allee-West’ land-use plan amendment were a waste of time + Video

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It could have been so simple if all the parties represented on Leipzig City Council, as well as the city administration, were to work and debate in a proper manner. Often, however, this does not happen; pointless discussions take place simply to put forward views that have nothing to do with the issue at hand.

The motion referred to in the headline was discussed on 3 September during the second session of the September council meeting. To put the whole matter into context, one must begin with an urgent question raised by the Die Linke parliamentary group, which was addressed by the Lord Mayor in his report to the city council. This very detailed question was entitled ‘Is there a threat of arms production in Leipzig?’.

The parliamentary group explains the background as follows: “According to media reports, at least one US defence contractor intends to produce military equipment in or near Leipzig. This is said to involve sites in north-west Leipzig which are linked to the land-use plan amendment VIII-DS-02925 – Land-use Plan Amendment for the Radefelder Allee West area; city district: North-West, neighbourhood: Lützschena-Stahmeln; Decision on the Finalisation of the Land-Use Plan Amendment – are under consideration.”

The response is equally detailed; every point of the enquiry is addressed, and when Burkhard Jung offered to answer questions from the councillors at the end, a heated discussion ensued, which need not be addressed here. To quote just one part of the Mayor’s reply: “In its active outreach to businesses, the city is focusing on Leipzig’s economic clusters. This does not include the defence industry. To make this absolutely clear once again, we are not currently actively promoting the defence industry in the broader sense.”

He learnt of the allegedly planned establishment from the *Handelsblatt* and stated: “I have made it clear from the outset that the Leipzig city administration is not currently negotiating the sale, lease or similar arrangements concerning municipal land or land owned by municipal companies with firms in the security and defence industry. Nor are we negotiating regarding the Radefelder Allee site.”

So much for the first session of the council meeting; on the second day, the proposal ‘Amendment to the Land Use Plan for the “Radefelder Allee-West” area’ was put forward for discussion and a vote. There were three amendments; the first was dealt with swiftly. In this, the Lützschena-Stahmeln local council requested that the green belt in the southern part of the area be explicitly designated in the land-use plan. This is understandable; if it is not shown on the plan, it might be overlooked.

The BSW had tabled two amendments; the first was withdrawn. A lengthy discussion ensued regarding the second. With this amendment, the BSW called for: “The Lord Mayor is instructed, within the framework of the business development scheme, to ensure that companies producing weapons, ammunition and weapon components intended for military use are excluded from the scheme and to amend the development plan accordingly.”

The presentation by City Councillor Thomas Kachel then featured a number of ‘highlights’. It began with: “We stand by our intention, ladies and gentlemen, to adopt a provision amending the development plan to prevent the establishment of defence companies in this sense, because we do not wish to see a general development trajectory in our city that makes us in Leipzig dependent on the defence industry.” In the attached video, from the 6-minute mark onwards, there is mention of “declarations of allegiance to the Mayor during yesterday’s discussion”, and of how the Mayor’s actions are increasing the likelihood of a hybrid attack on Leipzig; this ultimately culminated in a call for Burkhard Jung to withdraw from the Mayors for Peace network. With regard to the Mayor, there was also talk of mental and political incapacity to resist the logic of the military escalation spiral and to act accordingly. Naturally, Russian involvement in the attacks was also called into question: “After all, the incident at the airport does highlight one thing, whether it was a Russian attack or a false-flag operation à la Nord Stream.”

Councillor Bütow of the AfD then tabled his party’s amendment. This calls for the City Council to appeal to the Lord Mayor to ensure that Leipzig does not become a location for companies belonging to the military-industrial complex in future. Councillor Bütow emphasised at this stage that his group would have supported the BSW motion had it not been for technical errors, as a legally binding resolution cannot be enforced by the City Council in its current form.

This is where the actual discussion began; the Greens announced they would abstain on the motion. Their call for commercial and industrial areas to be developed in a space-efficient, climate-adapted, circular and renewable manner had already failed to secure a majority in the run-up to the vote.

What followed was a discussion that was largely unobjective. Sven Morlok (FDP/Independent Group) highlighted the responsibilities regarding the production, export and use of military equipment. Councillor Kriegel (AfD) dismissed these remarks as nonsense, whilst Thomas Kachel spoke of bombs being dropped on Leipzig. It ended with Mayor Kachel cutting him off. Prior to this, he had repeatedly urged him to speak on the actual topic at hand, namely the land-use plan.

At the 23-minute mark, the following statement was made: “Mr Kachel, I am now cutting you off. The motion is to make amendments and stipulations regarding the type of production in the land-use plan. To state this up front, that is unlawful. In a land-use plan or a development plan, one cannot submit a motion concerning the nature of production. I am pointing this out, and I do not wish to discuss any further who in this country makes decisions regarding weapons or arms deliveries.”

Mayor Dienberg confirmed this when asked: “Under Section 5 of the Building Code, provisions relating to the arms industry or similar sectors are not permitted. Not in a land-use plan, nor in a development plan.”

A vote was taken; the BSW’s amendment was rejected by 18 votes to 29, with 7 abstentions.

The AfD’s motion for an appeal was also rejected by 13 votes to 39, with 2 abstentions.

The bill as a whole was approved by 40 votes to 0, with 11 abstentions.

Sven Morlok subsequently highlighted the real sticking point. This unlawful amendment proposed by the BSW had to be discussed and voted on in the council meeting because it was on the agenda. Sven Morlok called on the Lord Mayor to find a procedure within the administrative process to ensure that amendments are checked for compliance with the law before they are approved.

“That is your duty, because you must not allow unlawful motions here. So you must find a procedure, within the administration, to check this.”

Mayor Jung could only reply: “We can certainly discuss this again at another time. It is extremely difficult to ensure this at short notice.”

Conclusion: A discussion in the City Council lasted over half an hour, focusing mainly on an amendment that was not on the agenda. Burkhard Jung will probably no longer be able to rectify this – that is, to find the procedure demanded by Morlok. The mayoral candidates can already add this to their to-do list.