Deviation procedure

The regional plans deepen and substantiate the stipulations of the Hesse State Development Plan for the respective planning region. Like the State Development Plan, the Regional Plan also sets binding targets and principles to be weighed. The objectives and principles must be observed or taken into account in municipal land-use planning and specialist planning.

The objectives of spatial planning may conflict with planning projects of spatial significance, such as planned larger commercial or residential areas, which are to be realised outside the areas envisaged for this use in the regional plan; then the implementation of a deviation procedure must be examined.

A deviation procedure is a procedure to allow a deviation from an objective of the regional plan or, if applicable, the state development plan in individual cases, if the deviation is justifiable from the point of view of spatial planning due to changed facts or findings and the main features of the regional plan are not affected.

An application for the initiation of a deviation procedure may be submitted, in particular, by public authorities and local authorities as well as by certain private planning bodies which must comply with the relevant objective of regional planning.

• The Hessian Ministry of Economic Affairs, Energy, Transport and Regional Development as the highest state planning authority decides on deviations from the state development plan.
• Deviations from the regional plan are decided by the locally responsible regional council as the higher regional planning authority.

The application documents are to be coordinated with the higher state planning authority.

The Regional Assembly decides on the request for deviation from the target within 3 months (§ 8 HLPG).

The fee is charged in accordance with the administrative costs regulations for the business area of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Energy, Transport and Regional Development and can range from 300.00 euros to a maximum of 20,000.00 euros. Whether and to what exact extent the fee is charged depends on various factors. Information can be obtained in individual cases from the competent regional planning authority.

If a planning approval procedure is required for the implementation of a project, the planning approval authority responsible in this procedure also decides on the necessary deviation.