Retail decree
A retail decree is understood to be a written statement at government level on questions of building and regional planning and the permissibility of large-scale retail in particular . Many federal states have made such decrees publicly known in order to provide information about the applicable legal provisions, the existing case law and planning and approval procedures. They serve the purpose of ensuring uniform application of the law in the respective federal state. Some federal states (e.g. Brandenburg ) add working aids for planners and municipalities as well as assortment lists to distinguish between center-relevant and non-center-relevant assortments in their retail decrees.
The retail trade decrees themselves are not a legal norm , but rather, as an administrative regulation, merely reflect the opinion of the responsible authorities - here regularly the respective building ministries. They are generally binding for the authorities in the federal state. However, the legal situation resulting from the laws and ordinances remains decisive .
In North Rhine-Westphalia , the retail decree regulates the obligation of the building supervisory authorities to submit certain retail projects outside of core areas or special areas for large-scale retail to the district governments for review before granting a building permit or a preliminary building permit .