Legal dispute in Zumikon: Are butterflies an obstacle to luxury apartment construction?

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The paradise on the Wassbergholzweg in Zumikon above Zurich attracts many hikers and walkers, especially on weekends. But good location is also attractive to resourceful developers. For example, real estate mogul Thomas Prajer is planning a project consisting of luxury apartments on the site of a decrepit villa.

Zolliker real estate company Meili Unternehmungen also wants to build three apartment buildings with underground parking in a previously undeveloped adjacent meadow on Monument Trail. This is what the “Zürichsee-Zeitung” writes. Although the Zumik local council has given the green light to both projects, the planned project on Monument Trail suddenly faces unexpected obstacles.

It may be a biotope worth protecting

The reason for this is the objection of local residents. He argued in the Zurich Building Court of Appeal that the meadow where the apartments would be built was a biotope worth protecting. At the end of 2022, the construction appeals court ruled in his favor, and the real estate company then took the case to the administrative court.

The client also had no luck in the administrative court: The court found the neighbors’ objections to the construction project justified and requested that the meadow be evaluated for protection purposes and therefore the construction license be cancelled.

In the decision of the administrative court, it is stated that the building appeal court conducted an on-site inspection in the presence of both parties. Concrete evidence of a biotope has been discovered. The court rejected the developer’s objection that they had conducted an inspection and could not identify the biotope.

“Mosaic of trees and species-rich meadows”

Instead, the court argues, the property in question contains a “mosaic of trees and species-rich grasslands,” with dry stone walls and piles of branches representing a habitat worthy of protection for a variety of native animals and plants. For example, many birds and insects, especially butterflies, could be observed. In addition, numerous well-known nature reserves are already located in the immediate vicinity.

Federal law on nature and heritage protection requires cantons to take measures against the extinction of native animal and plant species by protecting biotopes. The fact that the habitat in the meadow in question has not been registered as a biotope is irrelevant: According to the court, incomplete registration does not mean that the biotope is missing.

After the decision, it was the community’s turn. It needs to decide whether the meadow is truly a biotope and therefore needs to be protected. Until then, the meadow will be closed to construction projects. (No)

Source : Blick