Urban land-use planning is the most important planning instrument for guiding and organizing the urban development of a municipality. It is divided into

• preparatory urban land-use planning (§§ 5 - 7 BauGB):
  Preparation of the land use plan for the entire municipal area and

• binding urban land-use planning (§§ 8 - 10a, 12 BauGB):
  Preparation of development plans for spatial sub-areas of the municipal area.

Land use plan:
The land use plan is a preparatory land-use plan drawn up by the municipality. It outlines the intended urban development of the municipality. However, no legal claims to the granting of planning permission can be derived from it. The rejection of a building permit for a project in an outdoor area can be justified by a deviation from the land use plan.

Development plan:
As a statute, the development plan is binding local law. It is drawn up by the municipality. The development plan bindingly regulates the structural and other use of land within its area. Planning permission is granted if the planned construction project does not conflict with the development plan.