Intermunicipal industrial park

The term intermunicipal industrial area refers to the cooperation of several municipalities in the planning, realization and marketing of industrial areas . The concept is part of the sustainability strategies at various political levels. Intermunicipal industrial areas represent a building block of regional development through the development of a community and administrative border strategy.

Various combinations of legal and administrative instruments are possible when designing the cooperation. A link to existing experience in other areas of local politics is often possible (e.g. sewage associations , public transport , libraries , schools , urban planning ).

motivation

Due to competitive thinking, the fear of losing businesses and residents as well as fears of tax power, the cooperation of several municipalities was an exception until the 1990s. Such fears played a particularly important role in the relationships between cities in metropolitan areas and their surrounding communities . In individual cases, these are also evidenced by targeted attempts at poaching .

The economic tendencies of globalization and particularly of Europeanization have meant that the location quality of a single municipality is no longer decisive, but that of the entire region . The previously existing intra-regional competition between the municipalities has been expanded by competition between the regions. While cooperation is inevitable in the metropolitan areas to maintain or restore the functionality of the settlement area , the municipalities can only hold their own against competition from other regions together. However, this economic perspective is rarely reflected in the local approaches to cooperation. Examples that point in this direction are the Aachener Raum e. V. (ZAR) and the Karlsruhe Technology Region as well as the regional conferences in North Rhine-Westphalia.

The following three aspects have prevailed as reasons for intermunicipal cooperation in commercial space policy:

Municipalities that will bring in their own space for the development of the industrial park will - at least partially - be relieved of the costs for the development (purchase, development , interest, etc.).
Conflicts over new industrial areas in other participating municipalities can be avoided, costs for the development of such areas no longer necessary are no longer incurred in the original amount and the municipality nevertheless takes part in successful area development through tax revenue and job development.
By expanding the search area for the best location for a new business park to include all participating municipalities, it is possible to optimize the use of funds and to take account of ecological concerns in the best way possible. In addition, the competitive situation within the region itself is defused and the communities' ability to blackmail them is reduced.

Accordingly, there are also the reasons that prompt municipalities to strive for cooperation:

Shortage of space in the municipality that can only be remedied with disproportionate effort or not at all;
existing concentration within the communal neighborhood on a central commercial location;
Restrictions that only allow commercial building space at certain locations;
the search for common benefits ( synergy effects );
in individual cases the size of the task - determined by the wishes of the investors or based on political calculations - which cannot be mastered by the initiating community alone.

Framework

Often the search for cooperation is taken up by individual municipalities due to a forced situation (space bottlenecks, large-scale projects). Experience has shown that this compulsion is not sufficient for a successful cooperation.

Decisive factors are

the history of the cooperation, which includes the historically grown relationship between the municipalities involved in terms of competitive relationships (trade, large-scale retail trade , residents);
external influences, e.g. B. by higher-level authorities. Such an influence can have a promoting as well as an inhibiting effect;
mental or personal barriers between the actors involved. The main thing here is the equal treatment of cooperation partners of different sizes (avoidance of dominance behavior ). Often the “chemistry” between those involved is also wrong;
Another stumbling block is the process of cooperation itself. This must proceed appropriately to the expectations of those involved. Problems arise when the objectives are set too high and require a particularly high level of effort.

Practical problems

The point in time and by whom the initiative is taken can be decisive for the success of municipal cooperation. For example, a municipality that has a particular interest in cooperation will find it difficult to generate a positive response from its neighbors if they only benefit to a small extent from this cooperation. In such cases it is advantageous if the initiative comes from outside (e.g. district government ).

The selection of the areas for the industrial area to be jointly developed is often determined by the existing land owned by the municipalities or the areas shown in the outline plans. However, other constellations are also conceivable:

the larger area of the area to be planned is fixed, but not the exact limits and size. In such a case, a general consensus is possible, which can be verified with the help of expert reports .

the planned commercial area of a municipality is rejected in the regional planning and is only granted on condition that the contingents of neighboring municipalities are counted towards this. In such a case, the size and boundaries of the area are already determined.

A key question is the selection of the municipalities or private investors to be involved . Participation in a cooperation is not tied to whether the participants bring in their own space. Resilient criteria are therefore required that speak in favor of the selection. This can e.g. B. be labor market and commuter links . The involvement of private actors can also be useful if, for example, E.g. owners of large areas in the development area or owners who do not sell their areas (e.g. churches).

The legal forms for intermunicipal industrial areas are:

Working groups , all that is required for this is a contract under public law ;

Agreements on purpose , a contract under public law is required, private individuals cannot participate here;

Zweckverband , a new corporation under public law with very far-reaching design options is created through statutes ;

Joint municipal company , a new public corporation is created by statute.

In addition to these specifically communal economic forms, there is the possibility of founding a GmbH by means of a articles of association ( private administrative law ).

The legal form to be chosen for the cooperation depends on the purpose of the cooperation. A distinction must be made between the following cases:

just planning and coordination
Planning, coordination and joint development
Planning, coordination, joint development and marketing.

One question that collaborations can easily fail is the distribution of expenses and income from the joint project. Income from property sales, property tax and trade tax are incurred .

The area shares brought in by the municipalities, the number of inhabitants or employees in the municipalities and the relationships between the municipalities' trade tax income can be used as distribution criteria. In addition, even divisions and special agreements are conceivable.

Problems can arise in commercial areas that extend over several municipal areas and different business tax rates apply in the municipalities . Similar problems arise with different rates of charge for infrastructure services .

Political classification

The “ Europe of the Regions ” concept, which is being discussed at the political level, is intended to initiate and support changes which circumvent national borders and restrictions in the coexistence of European peoples. The concept of the nation that has been implemented over the past three centuries is often viewed as a construction of the past: “ Small states are the true home of all Germans! Incidentally, this does not only apply to Germany. Basically, it is a European phenomenon, apart from the French, who still swear by centralism . The Europeans proceed according to the old motto: Divide, but do not rule. ” (Hans Magnus Enzensberger: Oh Europe! Perceptions from seven countries).

Buzzwords such as home and derived terms such as down-to-earth or connected to home have been widely used in linguistic usage since around 1970 and seem to indicate a widespread need for collective identities . They are seen as a counterbalance to globalizing and individualizing tendencies. The meaning patterns of the terms move between province and landscape . They arouse associations with unspoiled or agricultural character, including blood and soil . Due to the more pragmatic acceptance of the term by science and bureaucracy , the understanding of these terms has changed to a more unemotional way of dealing with them.

In this perspective, the nation-state as a territorial unit is replaced by the region. The region is now given political functions to implement territorial decentralization . Public tasks are to be shifted to lower levels in order to enable citizen-friendly democracy and efficiency increases . Conflicts of interest, some of which have deep historical roots, also play a role in the planning of the cabinets , state chancelleries and ministries . In some cases, regionalism also satisfies unfulfilled or suppressed nationalisms .

In the context of European regional policy, the creation of communal and regional cooperation has also become a state political goal that can be found in the coalition agreements of various federal states (e.g. Baden-Württemberg , North Rhine-Westphalia ). In practice, it is less the political goals of European integration than the ecological, economic and location-planning advantages of cooperation that are emphasized.

The political aim of European regional policy is to eliminate regional disparities . To address these imbalances, the EU has set up three structural funds ( ERDF , ESF , EAGGF ). These funds can be used to support area-specific projects that meet the objectives of EU funding policy. In most cases, however, it is not the European Commission that selects the projects to be funded; this task falls to the national or regional authorities responsible for implementing the programs. In practical terms, this means that project organizers seeking funding must contact the relevant national or regional authorities.

Criticism of intermunicipal industrial areas

It is objected by skeptics that a success for communal cooperation requires win-win situations, so that this is no solution in competitive situations for scarce resources . This handicap can only be countered by strengthening regional competencies and responsibilities within the planning system - for example by upgrading the land use plan .

The results of municipal cooperation often came about without factual considerations and only represented the lowest common denominator.

As practice shows, long-term perspectives could hardly be opened up in voluntary cooperation.

The cross-community cooperation could be counterproductive , especially under the aspect of land consumption . So z. B. intermunicipal industrial areas are often realized on locations that are in the border area of two municipalities, i.e. in the outer area . This argument is reinforced by the location of the industrial estate on a motorway, which is seen as a prerequisite - according to the motto: "The industrial estate needs a good address."

Web links