Advice, information, early public participation

(1) The authority should encourage the making of declarations, the filing of applications, or the correction of declarations or applications, where these have evidently been omitted or incorrectly made or filed merely by oversight or through lack of knowledge. It provides, insofar as necessary, information on the rights vesting in, and the duties incumbent on, the parties in the administrative procedure.
(2) The authority discusses with the future applicant, insofar as necessary, already before an application is filed, what evidence and documents are to be furnished by the applicant and in what way the procedure can be expedited. Insofar as this serves to expedite the procedure, it should, without delay after receipt of the application, give the applicant information on the expected duration of the procedure and on the completeness of the application documents.
(3) The authority works towards ensuring that the developer, in planning projects that may have more than insignificant effects on the interests of a larger number of third parties, informs the public concerned at an early stage about the aims of the project, the means of realising it, and the expected effects of the project (early public participation). Early public participation should, where possible, already take place before an application is filed. The public concerned should be given the opportunity to comment and to discuss. The result of the early public participation conducted before the application is filed should be communicated to the public concerned and to the authority at the latest when the application is filed, and otherwise without delay. The first sentence does not apply insofar as the public concerned is already to be involved before the application is filed under other legal provisions. Participation rights under other legal provisions remain unaffected.