Facts
The Federal Office for Spatial Development (ARE) filed a complaint against the decision of the Administrative Court of the Canton of Solothurn, which partially allowed the respondent [A.] to retain the unauthorized construction modifications made to a chicken coop. The chicken coop is located outside the building zone in the agricultural zone and was approved in 2001 for use as a storage building, subject to the condition that no construction modifications be made. However, [A.] had made unauthorized modifications to the windows, doors, floors, and ceilings to use the building as office space. The Federal Supreme Court largely upheld the complaint of the ARE. It obligated [A.] to restore the lawful condition, with the exception of measures that only served to preserve the substance of the building. The Federal Supreme Court also referred the matter back to the cantonal Department of Construction and Justice to examine the details of the restoration and, if necessary, to further specify the use as a "silent storage" permitted since 2001.Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court states that the obligation to restore the lawful condition for illegally constructed buildings outside the building zone generally exists in order to maintain the principle of separation between building and non-building areas. Only exceptionally can this be waived if the deviation from the permitted use is insignificant or not in the public interest. In the present case, however, the respondent acted in bad faith by disregarding the express…