By taking over the management of the site, the Municipality has succeeded in ensuring better compliance with the regulations. Thirteen caravans were evacuated, but the nuisances still inconvenience the residents.
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A group of regulars at the Penthalaz campsite at the time of the sacrosanct aperitif.
Jean-Guy Python
Take back the reins of the campsite, without pointing the campers. The challenge seemed insurmountable for the Municipality of Penthalaz. After forty years of a very tolerant regime, the attempt to regain control and apply the regulations in spring 2017 had also aroused an outcry (see here). However, three years later, real progress has been made: thirteen old caravans have been evacuated and a local resident testifies to a clear reduction in pollution. “Even if the situation is still not admissible,” he hastens to add, however.
Acquired right
But let’s go back to 2017. Following the Municipality’s request to evacuate all the caravans at the end of the season, a group of users of the campsite bordering the Venoge created the Penthalaz Campers Association. They then went to court, where they obtained confirmation of an acquired right. In other words, after so many years of tolerance, the Municipality could not ask for a sudden return to the initial situation.
At the same time, at the end of 2017, the Penthalaz swimming pool and camping association, which managed the site, was dissolved for lack of vital forces. Management was therefore taken over by the municipal executive, and more precisely by the municipal Didier Chapuis, assisted by his colleague Pierre-André Ischi, former member of the committee of the dissolved association.
–With its swimming pool, the Penthalaz campsite offers a holiday setting for many families who cannot afford to leave. Cohabitation with local residents is however difficult.
Jean-Guy Python
From there, the dialogue between the authorities and the campers could resume. “We were happy to have asserted our rights, but we also wanted to reach an agreement with the Municipality”, explains José Munoz, who took over the presidency of the association of campers two years ago. As for Didier Chapuis, he reviewed all the camping pitches, one by one, and even offered himself a night there to get an idea of the situation. The final boost was given by the establishment by the Municipality of a fixed price of 500 fr. intended for evacuating end-of-life caravans. an opportunity seized by several campers. In the end, thirteen wrecks were able to be removed.
“I dream that everyone lives in perfect harmony, but it is not possible”
The most difficult remained: pacifying everyday life at the campsite. To achieve this, the Municipality is now financing rounds of security agents. It also hired a new manager and restricted to fifteen days the maximum duration accepted at the temporary campsite, where some people previously settled for the whole summer season. The situation has therefore improved, even if Didier Chapuis admits that it is far from ideal: “I dream that everyone lives in perfect harmony, but it is not possible. How do you want to enforce the limit of 10 pm, when certain communities sit down to table at 9:30 pm? ”
“It’s a question of priorities”
Local residents – and, let us not forget, campers who love peace and quiet – will say that this is an understatement. “It is true that there has been a marked improvement, but we were starting from afar,” sighs a tenant whose balcony overlooks the campsite. When I arrived in Penthalaz a few years ago it was horrible: partying every night until 3-4 in the morning! Now we have at least a few quiet evenings every now and then. ” Another local resident is more upset: “It hasn’t changed the root of the problem. It is a question of priorities. Last night (editor’s note: Tuesday), there was still music until 2:30 a.m. And with the holidays, it is not likely to improve. ”
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