Facts
The Federal Court decided on an administrative appeal and a constitutional appeal against the decision of the Court of Appeal of the Canton of Basel-City as the administrative court dated 5 December 2003. The appellant [A.] had first operated the cultural raft "S'isch im Fluss" on the small Basel bank of the Rhine in the summer of 2001, which was connected to a bar and hosted concerts on 40 days. This led to numerous complaints from the local residents. For the operation of the music raft in the summer of 2002, [A.] applied for a new permit, against which over twenty objections were filed.
By decision of 13 May 2002, the Civil Engineering Office/Public Land Administration granted the application with conditions and dismissed the objections. Against this decision, the appellants [X.] , [Y.] and [Z.] filed an appeal, which was rejected by the Department of Construction and finally by the Administrative Court.
Considerations
The Federal Court qualified the cultural raft as a stationary facility within the meaning of the Environmental Protection Act and the Noise Abatement Ordinance, as it is firmly moored at a point on the Rhine for three weeks to hold concerts on it. Therefore, the provisions on noise emissions from stationary facilities apply.
In the balancing of interests between the need for rest of the residents and the public interest in the events of the cultural raft, the Federal Court took into account in particular the time…