City council adopts bylaws to prevent gravel gardens
At its meeting today, Chemnitz City Council decided that gravelled gardens will not be permitted in future. This is regulated in the statutes on the design of the ground conditions and surfaces of undeveloped areas on built-up properties. Accordingly, open ground areas may not be covered with gravel or stones, nor may impermeable coverings of any kind be used unless they are technically necessary (e.g. eaves strips). This applies to the entire undeveloped plot area.
For the purposes of these bylaws, a gravel garden is an open space that is completely covered over a large area with coarse stone material, often with broken stones with sharp edges. The stones form the main and obvious design element. There are no plants or only a very small proportion of them. There is often no direct connection with the ground due to impermeable separating materials. Japanese rock gardens, which are used for meditative relaxation, and classic rock and gravel gardens, which form natural habitats for plant and animal species that like barren and nutrient-poor soils, are to be distinguished from this.
The aim of the bylaws is to ensure adequate greening and water permeability of the plots. This is intended to counteract any threat to people's health from the urban climate. The bylaws serve to secure the long-term climate protection goals of the city of Chemnitz and to improve water retention as a precaution against flooding.
The statutes are intended to define the same requirements for all properties. It applies to both the new design and redesign of properties, regardless of whether they do not require authorisation or whether a planning application must be submitted for them. Existing gravel gardens that are not prohibited by the provisions of a development plan do not have to be dismantled.