Overview
- Berlin’s administrative court ruled in an expedited case that the species-protection exemption was not sufficiently specific and resembled an unlawful blank authorization.
- Judges rejected Gesobau’s request to begin preparatory vegetation clearing before the objection process concluded.
- Gesobau had planned housing for about 420 refugees in two green inner courtyards on Kavalierstraße and Ossietzkystraße in Pankow.
- Three conservation groups challenged the permit over risks to protected nesting birds and bats, with local activists calling the site unsuitable.
- Gesobau is reviewing the decision and an appeal to the Higher Administrative Court is possible, as Berlin’s government has signaled no new refugee shelters for now.