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Standard under building planning law in the outside area
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Under building planning law, the outside area is subject to enhanced protection. In particular, the legislature pursues the aim of preventing urban sprawl into the landscape and preserving the distinctive character as well as the recreational function of open spaces. Against this background, projects outside built-up parts of settlements are generally approved only under narrow conditions.
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Decision of the Administrative Court (VG) Mainz on advertising installations outside the settlement area
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Starting point of the proceedings
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The Administrative Court (VG) Mainz had to address the question of whether an advertising installation in the outside area under building planning law is capable of being approved. The subject of the court’s review was whether the requirements are met under which a project in the outside area may exceptionally be permissible.
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Core statement: Fundamental inadmissibility
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Under the constellation addressed by the VG Mainz, advertising installations in the outside area are, as a matter of principle, not permissible. Decisive in this regard is that the outside area is reserved for privileged uses and that other projects are considered only if public interests are not adversely affected. In this context, an advertising installation is typically classified as an “other project,” for which the statutory hurdles are particularly high.
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Public interests as the decisive criterion
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Within the scope of its examination, the court focuses on whether public interests are affected by the advertising installation. Protection of the outside area includes, in particular, its landscape character and the avoidance of a prior burden that could entail further, similar projects. Within this regulatory system, even the impact of a single advertising medium can be regarded as a relevant impairment.
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Classification within the framework of Section 35 of the German Federal Building Code (BauGB)
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Privileged and other projects
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Under building planning law, a distinction is made in the outside area between whether a project is privileged or is treated as an other project. Privileged status is linked to certain purposes of use that are typically dependent on the outside area. By contrast, advertising installations generally do not serve such a purpose, so that, as a matter of principle, they do not fall within the group of privileged projects.
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Protective effects of the outside area
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The statutory concept aims to keep the outside area free from uses that could trigger an undesirable urban development or diminish the landscape and recreational function. In this context, advertising installations are often perceived as alien elements because they primarily pursue communicative and commercial purposes without being tied to any use of the outside area.
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Significance for approval and prohibition proceedings
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Capability of being approved and administrative oversight
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The decision of the VG Mainz makes clear that advertising installations in the outside area regularly encounter substantial obstacles under planning law. For administrative proceedings, it is decisive whether the project, as an other project, adversely affects public interests. Where this is affirmed, approval is, as a matter of principle, ruled out.
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Relevance of the specific local situation
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The assessment is carried out on the basis of the individual case, but takes into account the statutory rule-and-exception character of protection of the outside area. Location, surroundings, and the effect on the landscape can be included in the assessment, without thereby relativizing protection of the outside area.
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Conclusion: Context for real-estate-related issues
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If structures or uses are planned or challenged outside contiguous development, such constellations often affect fundamental questions of building planning law and building regulations law. If, in this regard, there is a need for clarification in connection with location, permissibility, or procedure, legal advice in real estate law from MTR Legal attorneys may be considered as a point of reference for a structured legal classification.
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