Key legal question
Whether the Sonnbüel development plan was void for lack of cantonal approval under planning law.
Extracted holding
The plan was not void; the cantonal absence of formal approval did not make the plan invalid in this case.
Extracted reasoning
Under the cantonal system, gestaltungsplans need not always receive governmental approval; where they merely refine the basic zoning order and stay within its limits, municipal approval and judicial review suffice. The plan's density remained within the land-house zone's permissible range, and a prior cantonal review by the planning office had also occurred.