Leobersdorf mayor announces resignation after rezoning criticism

Leobersdorf Mayor Andreas Ramharter has announced that he will step down in the coming weeks after 14 years in office, ORF reported. The head of the Zukunft Leobersdorf citizens’ list has faced repeated criticism over questionable land-rezoning plans.

Ramharter made the announcement on Saturday at the opening of a new kindergarten with day care in Leobersdorf, in the Baden district. Lower Austria Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner and hundreds of residents attended the event.

His citizens’ list said on social media that Ramharter had served on the municipal council for 32 years and had helped transform Leobersdorf from a village dominated by roadside development into a modern residential, business and education location. Ramharter was not available for comment.

The resignation had been expected since the summer. A business park is currently being built on the grounds of what was formerly Austria’s second-largest women’s concentration camp. According to Falter and Wiener Zeitung, Ramharter is alleged to have benefited from the sale of the property.

Separately, the municipality had planned to rezone a nine-hectare area on the edge of the town. Rather than designating it for business use, the plans called for it to become core building land, which would have circumvented a state law intended to reduce land consumption.

Leobersdorf Jetzt, the other citizens’ list on the municipal council, had criticised the plans since spring. The rezoning of a meadow from which a political ally of Ramharter was expected to benefit was cancelled in July after coalition partners the FPÖ and ÖVP opposed it, according to media reports.

The ÖVP ended its cooperation with Ramharter’s citizens’ list earlier this week, citing a lack of transparency. Without the ÖVP’s council seat, Zukunft Leobersdorf and the FPÖ do not have a majority.

Zukunft Leobersdorf plans to nominate executive councillor Hermann Weiszbart as the next mayor. FPÖ Deputy Mayor Christian Pajer is also reportedly considering standing for the post. He told NÖN that he would very much like to take on the challenge.

The two citizens’ lists each hold 11 seats on the council. The FPÖ and SPÖ have three seats each, while the ÖVP holds one.