Key legal question
Whether a retail building of about 500 m2 sales area qualifies as a shopping center requiring a development plan under § 46 lit. b BauG.
Extracted holding
No. A building of this size is not a shopping center within the meaning of § 46 lit. b BauG; the objection was rejected.
Extracted reasoning
The court relied on the cantonal practice described by the building department, which treats shopping centers under the provision only from about 2,000 m2 sales area onward. A 500 m2 store is merely a medium-sized retail business, and such buildings are not generally subject to mandatory development-plan requirements.