Facts
The appellant is the owner of a undeveloped building land parcel in Opfikon. The parcel is located in the two-story residential zone W2L with loose development. Zurich-Kloten Airport causes aircraft noise in this area that exceeds the immission limit values. The Assessment Commission has assessed the appellant's claim for compensation for the suppression of his neighboring defensive rights against noise impacts.
The appellant's parcel was already acquired by his ancestors before 1961 and has been in family ownership since then. The Assessment Commission determined the aircraft noise-related depreciation of the parcel to be 17% of the market value. The appellant has reduced his claim for compensation to CHF 128,000.
Considerations
The Federal Court must examine whether the appellant is entitled to compensation for the suppression of his neighboring defensive rights against noise impacts. The Assessment Commission considered two of the three requirements for such a claim to be met: the unpredictability of the noise immissions and the specificity of the immissions.
However, the Federal Court has decided that the requirement of the severity of the damage is not met, as the loss in value of the building land measured against the future total value of the built-up property cannot be considered as severe damage. The appellant has argued, however,…