Facts
X. is the owner of a property in the Kriens Hochwald, which is partially located in a "forest without management" zone and partially in a "mowing" zone. On the property, there are various structures that were erected without a building permit or expanded over time. These include a holiday home, an extension, a shelter for a forestry tractor, a wood shelter, an archway, and ground reinforcements.
The competent authorities (Municipality of Kriens and the Department of Spatial Development, Economic Promotion and Geoinformation of the Canton of Lucerne) refused to grant subsequent approval for these buildings and ordered the demolition of most of the structures. X. filed an appeal against this order, which was partially upheld by the Administrative Court of Lucerne. The Federal Office for Spatial Development (ARE) then filed an appeal in public law matters with the Federal Supreme Court.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court upholds the appeal of the ARE and orders the complete demolition of all construction measures on the property. It justifies this as follows:
The right of appeal of the federal authorities under Art. 89 para. 2 lit. a BGG is of an abstract and autonomous nature. The federal authorities can therefore also make new requests that were not the subject of the cantonal proceedings and even request a reformatio in peius.
In principle, formally unlawful buildings that cannot be legalized retrospectively must be removed. Exceptions are only possible if there are reasons of protection of…