The neighbor is annoyed by the railway model - now the pensioner has to stop it
A pensioner in the Weinland region of Zurich has to tear down a model railway that he kept in his garden for 30 years.
It was the decision of the administrative court in December 2022 that pulled the rug from under the feet of a retired couple in the Zurich Weinland region: the lovingly built model railway in the garden, which had stood there for 30 years, must be dismantled - as well as the thuja hedge.
The pensioner says to "Landbote": "My hobby is ruined." The man set his course in the early 1990s. The couple then bought the property because the slope in the garden is perfect for recreating a model mountain railway. There are two paths in the garden - one 80 meters long and the other 55 meters long. Scale of the locomotive, passenger and freight cars: 1:45. "It's part of my life," says the man who has worked his entire career in the railroad industry.
It's over now. It's still a shock to the couple. Because the lower court, the building appeals court, still found the demolition, ordered by the local municipal council, to be disproportionate. The path and the hedge were therefore to remain. However, the neighbor objected to this verdict, appealed and was right. The couple told "Landbot" that they do not have the strength to go further to the federal court.
The couple should have been informed
The problem: when the couple bought the property in the nineties, part of the garden was in an agricultural zone. The couple knew nothing about it. Because 30 years ago, the municipality gave different information about zones. When the building's management informed the couple about the agricultural zone two years ago, they were stunned. "It has always been said that there is a free zone," says the pensioner. According to the couple, this was also communicated by management, but was never recorded in writing.
It was the decision of the administrative court in December 2022 that pulled the rug from under the feet of a retired couple in the Zurich Weinland region: the lovingly built model railway in the garden, which had stood there for 30 years, must be dismantled - as well as the thuja hedge.
The pensioner says to "Landbote": "My hobby is ruined." The man set his course in the early 1990s. The couple then bought the property because the slope in the garden is perfect for recreating a model mountain railway. There are two paths in the garden - one 80 meters long and the other 55 meters long. Scale of the locomotive, passenger and freight cars: 1:45. "It's part of my life," says the man who has worked his entire career in the railroad industry.
https://www.20min.ch/story/nachb...t-abbrechen-147471731823It's over now. It's still a shock to the couple. Because the lower court, the building appeals court, still found the demolition, ordered by the local municipal council, to be disproportionate. The path and the hedge were therefore to remain. However, the neighbor objected to this verdict, appealed and was right. The couple told "Landbot" that they do not have the strength to go further to the federal court.
The couple should have been informed
The problem: when the couple bought the property in the nineties, part of the garden was in an agricultural zone. The couple knew nothing about it. Because 30 years ago, the municipality gave different information about zones. When the building's management informed the couple about the agricultural zone two years ago, they were stunned. "It has always been said that there is a free zone," says the pensioner. According to the couple, this was also communicated by management, but was never recorded in writing.
An appeals court in the building admitted to the couple that they assumed in "good faith" that there was a clear zone. However, the Administrative Court saw it differently. Since 1984, part of the property has been part of the agricultural zone. Informing about the zoning of a property before buying or building is part of "reasonable care and concern".
Neighbor fee
In other words: the administrative court assumes that the married couple - unlike the construction appeals court - built the railway model "in bad faith". Because of the defeat before the administrative court, the couple is also being asked to pay. They must pay the neighbor 4,500 francs in compensation for his expenses. And the couple will be charged court costs of almost 8,000 francs.
