The municipality has the right to refuse connections to water and electricity networks outside construction zones

Facts

The municipality of Celerina/Schlarigna adopted a territorial development plan and a construction regulation that prohibit connections to water and electricity networks outside construction zones. The Communal Council refused to grant approval to several construction projects due to this prohibition. The owners filed an appeal against this decision with the Grand Council of the canton of Grisons, which annulled Article 32, paragraph 2, of the construction regulation.

The municipality of Celerina/Schlarigna filed an appeal with the Federal Court, arguing that the Grand Council had violated its communal autonomy by annulling Article 32, paragraph 2, of the construction regulation.

Considerations

1. The jurisdiction of the Federal Court

The Federal Court is competent to examine the decision of the Grand Council, as it concerns the violation of the communal autonomy of the municipality of Celerina/Schlarigna.

2. Communal autonomy

Communal autonomy means that the municipality has the right to make decisions in areas assigned to it by the constitution or law. In this case, the municipality of Celerina/Schlarigna has the right to make decisions in matters of territorial development and construction.

3. The decision of the Grand Council

The Grand Council annulled Article 32, paragraph 2, of the construction regulation, as it considered that this provision violated the constitutional guarantee of property and Article 4 of the Grisons law on constructions and territorial development. However, the Federal Court considers that this decision is unfounded, as Article 32, paragraph 2, does not contain any restriction on property and does not violate Article 4 of the Grisons law.

4. The constitutional guarantee of property

The…