Facts
X. is the owner of a property bordering Lake Morat, where a house is located. In 1971, a previous owner obtained a personal and revocable authorization to use the public domain of the lake through an embarkation gangway and a glacis. Without first requesting a new authorization, X. has expanded the gangway, increasing its length to 19.40 m and creating a 3 m by 3 m platform at its end. The Department of Security and Environment refused to maintain the jetty in its expanded state and demanded its demolition. X. appealed this decision to the Administrative Court of the Canton of Vaud, which annulled the refusal and referred the file back to the competent cantonal departments to issue the required authorizations. The Federal Office for Spatial Development then appealed against this decision of the Administrative Court.Considerations
The Federal Tribunal partially upheld the appeal. It considered that the disputed jetty, as a small nautical structure intended to provide access to the lake from the riparian property, can be considered as conforming to the "lake zone" designation within the meaning of Art. 22 para. 2 let. a of the Federal Act on Spatial Planning (LAT). Therefore, the question of granting an exception under Art. 24 et seq. of the LAT no longer arises.
However, for the authorization to expand the jetty to be issued, the need must still be…