German court bans unauthorized flower planters on public sidewalks

The Higher Administrative Court of North Rhine-Westphalia in Münster has ruled that residents are prohibited from placing flower planters on public sidewalks without an official special use permit from the local municipality.

The court upheld a previous decision involving a resident who had maintained plant decorations on a sidewalk for approximately two decades. The judges determined that long-term tolerance by the city does not grant a legal right to permanent placement.

In this specific case, the planters and overhanging plants occupied nearly one-third of a 1.5-meter-wide sidewalk, leaving only about one meter of space. The court noted that such obstructions can impede pedestrians, parents with strollers, wheelchair users, and children on bicycles.