Facts
Surer Kipper Transport AG has been operating a transshipment and recycling site for construction waste and demolition asphalt in Lausen since 1994. The property is located in an industrial zone adjacent to a residential area. In 1995, Surer Kipper Transport AG submitted a building permit application for its own crushing plant, which went all the way to the Federal Supreme Court after objections and appeals.
The Administrative Court concluded that the existing road access to the industrial zone through the Langmatt residential area no longer meets the spatial planning requirements. In particular, it was found that the actual conditions have changed significantly since the zoning plan was issued in 1968, as the level crossing was closed and traffic was diverted into the residential area.
The municipality of Lausen had failed to adapt its old-law zoning order from 1968 to the changed circumstances and the Spatial Planning Act, although it was legally obliged to do so.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court confirmed the decision of the Administrative Court. It stated that the access to the industrial zone with significant heavy traffic through the residential area is not sustainable from a spatial planning perspective, as each construction area must essentially bear its own emissions.
The old-law…