Facts
The appellant X. has been the owner of a property in the municipality of Flums, which is located in the agricultural zone, since 2006. The plot is built up with a residential building, an ancillary building, a shed, and a barn. In 2007, X. submitted an application for the renovation of the residential building and the demolition of the shed. The competent authorities granted the permit, but also ordered the entry in the land register "Restriction on the expansion of building use".
Subsequently, X. carried out modifications to the barn and the residential building without a permit. The authorities then issued stop-work orders and rejected the subsequent building permit applications. They ordered the demolition of the residential building and the barn, as they were in violation of the zoning regulations.
X. unsuccessfully appealed these decisions up to the Administrative Court of the Canton of St. Gallen. The court confirmed the demolition of the residential building, as a reconstruction was not possible under the law at the time.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court overturns the decision of the Administrative Court and remands the case for re-examination to the lower instance. This is due to the revision of Art. 24c of the Spatial Planning Act (RPG) that entered into force on December 23, 2011.
The new regulation provides that the reconstruction of lawfully constructed agricultural residential buildings that have become non-compliant with the zoning due to their inclusion in the non-construction zone may now be possible. The Federal Supreme Court considers it disproportionate to order the demolition of the residential building without examining…