Unusual case in Bad Godesberg Bonn family not permitted to remove tree from the driveway

Schweinheim · A young family in Schweinheim wants to buy a car, but if they had one, they would hardly be able to get it in the garage. Local politicians denied their request for permission to cut down a tree.

A tree in front of their home is making life difficult for the Niecknig family. They have only moved in recently at the house on Horionstraße and want to purchase a car for the first time. Although there is a garage, it can only be used for storage. There is a tree right in the middle of the driveway, and politicians from the district council of Bad Godesberg have decided it can not be cut down.

Originally, the Italian-style house belonged to a relative of the maritime radio pioneer Guglielmo Marconi. She worked at the Waldkrankenhaus (Wald Hospital) and lived there with her two children. In 1983 she had applied for permission to build the garage as an extension, and this was approved. The tree was already there at that time, but it was much smaller.

Tree error attributed to architect

For the Schweinheim resident, it was not a problem because she had a small Smart car and it fit fine in the driveway. "The mistake that the tree was not taken away at that time was probably due to the architect," suspected Ralf Niecknig, who together with his wife bought the house for his son and daughter-in-law. They spent a lot of money on renovations.

The new owners thought that they would receive permission to cut down the tree. The city had given them hope, especially since a few meters further, there was an empty tree pit where a possible replacement tree could be planted. So the young couple moved with their one-year-old daughter from the fifth floor of a building in the Altstadt to Bad Godesberg. "We plan to buy a family station wagon," said Franz Niecknig. "We just need a car." But he doesn’t think it will fit on his driveway. Even with maneuvering, it is all quite dangerous because Horionstraße is busy and also steep. In addition, the curve to the right of the entrance is difficult to see.

In the statement from the local officials, they recommended that the Linden tree, with a diameter of 1.11 meters, not be cut down because trees have an important function on roads (binding of carbon dioxide and fine dust particles, oxygen production and cooling).

"The people who live there now knew that the tree was there," said Monika Heinzel from the Green party. Ralf Jochen Ehresmann said that one only had to drive skillfully. Marcel Schmitt (Bürger Bund Bonn) said that the driveway had just been renovated, it could be made wider. The Niecknigs contradict this, saying that only the fence and wall had been painted.

“Borderline case”

"The case is borderline," said Philipp Lerch of the CDU party. Although the tree is a problem, his faction did not want to create precedents. As long as the driveway is passable and the tree is not in too bad of shape, "let it stay as it is".

So the family will now buy a car and then see if they find a place to park it on the street. That will not be easy, since many of the parking spaces are used by the Finance Administration employees, according to Franz Niecknig. "We will have to see how we get along."

Orig. text: Richard Bongartz

Translation: ck

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