Revocation of the building permit for a residential and guest house due to inadequate access

Facts

The case concerns the construction of a new residential and guest house in Adelboden, against which the appellant [X.] had filed an objection. The district governor of Frutigen-Niedersimmental granted the opposing party [Y.] the building permit, including an exceptional permit under the cantonal Forestry Act. [X.] appealed against this decision, which was dismissed by the Construction, Transport and Energy Directorate of the Canton of Bern. The Administrative Court of the Canton of Bern also dismissed [X.]'s appeal.

[X.] now appeals in public law matters to the Federal Supreme Court, requesting that the judgment of the Administrative Court be set aside and the matter be remanded to the lower instance for a new decision.

Considerations

The Federal Supreme Court upholds the appeal and sets aside the judgment of the Administrative Court. It justifies this as follows:

According to the principles of the right to appeal under Art. 89 para. 1 BGG, the appellant [X.] as a neighbor of the construction project is particularly affected and has a legitimate interest in the revocation of the building permit. The spatial proximity of his property to the construction site constitutes a special impact, even if the exact distance is disputed.

The Federal Supreme Court considers it inadmissible to assess the right to appeal specifically to the complaint. If…