Vienna allotment garden deals: Babler promises clarification

2023-09-24 22:04:00

After the ÖVP, the SPÖ now also has a problem with controversial reallocations in an allotment garden area in Vienna. Several SP politicians are affected and the public prosecutor’s office received a complaint.

SP chairman Andreas Babler, together with SP club chairman Philip Kucher, called for quick clarification and consequences on Sunday. “All facts must be on the table as quickly as possible,” both said in a joint release.

If the SP boss, who himself as mayor of Traiskirchen is familiar with the problem of rezoning, has his way, then the issue should be solved in the long term. Babler called for a rezoning levy, which could generally solve the problem with profits.

“When land is converted into building land, the owners benefit from enormous increases in value through public decisions – without any personal contribution,” said Kucher. The revenue from such a rezoning levy could be used for affordable housing.

The SPÖ leadership couldn’t resist a swipe: The problem with the rezonings affects many communities, said Babler and referred to the allegations against community association boss Alfred Riedl (VP).

VP General Secretary Christian Stocker explained that positions in other parties in a similar situation had been put on hold. This must now also apply if the accused have a red party register. FP General Michael Schnedlitz went further and demanded the resignation of the politicians concerned.

Specifically, it concerns allotment gardens belonging to an allotment garden association in Breitenlee in Vienna, which were rededicated as building plots in 2021. The district leader of Vienna-Donaustadt Ernst Nevrivy (SP) acquired one of the properties in 2020 for 161,700 euros before the reallocation. It had been known since 2006 that the properties were to be repurposed, he said. SP National Council member Petra Bayr, an SP local councilor and a deputy also acquired properties. SP district leader. The Viennese SPÖ said that the optics were “not optimal”.