The de-zoning of building land has been in full swing in the canton of Vaud for months. In total, 169 municipalities have an oversized building area according to the demographic criteria ratified by the Grand Council in 2017. And 160 have started the long legal process that must get them nailed down. Among them, Tévénon, whose new “Communal land use plan” is under investigation until Tuesday. With a wet finger, more than fifty landowners see their right to build disappear, and the value of their land fall. Like everywhere else, it is a blow because the conditions for obtaining compensation are very strict.
The result of a merger of four villages ten years ago, Tévenon is a textbook case. Like its counterparts in the Vaud Alps, this Jura-side municipality has one of the most excessive building areas in the canton. In 1984, the local authorities had seen very broad in establishing the general allocation plan. The municipality of 900 souls still has reserves of building land that can theoretically accommodate an additional 804 inhabitants. It’s 708 more than she’s allowed to shoot.
90,000 m2 to downgrade
Seeing the blow coming, the Municipality had put all the territory in “reserve zone” at the end of 2015, to freeze the issuance of new building permits. Time to start the analysis. Verdict: almost 90,000 m2 must return to agricultural or green areas, just as unconstructable, but with the hope of going backwards during future planning.
It got hot during the public information session in late January. Trustee Thomas Zürcher remains stoic. “The room for maneuver we had is mainly in the building regulations: the color of the facades, the height of the cornice, etc. Everything that was buildable had to be de-zoned, with the exception of eight plots, in the center of Villars-Burquin. “
The Municipality followed the directives of the Canton to designate the survivors, who have seven years to build their funds. “We did not meet with the owners to find out who had a project or not. We did this on plan, with the help of the office of surveyor mandated “, specifies the trustee, who established himself in Villars-Burquin only ten years ago. “I don’t know the family stories here. And I consider that an advantage because I don’t think it should be taken into account. “
The owners are bitter, scandalized or fatalistic. All are aware that their authorities are bound hand and foot. “It is not our fault if we live in a village with an oversized building area!” a resident, whose companion bought a bare plot “at a high price” shortly before the reserve area was decreed. The value of the square meter of building land could exceed 200 francs in this locality of Vaud. In agricultural areas, it is hardly worth more than 2 francs. “It is theft in disguise, legally!”
“These lands, on which we have paid taxes, are unsuitable for agricultural use”
Pierre Krummenacher, owner
Project blocked
Several residents also see the large plot where their house is virtually cut out so that parts are dezoned. This is the case of Martine Barraud, whose land is 6000 m2. She and her partner Fredy Holenstein, both retired, planned to divide it into four. “We had a buyer, a real estate agent, it was signed at the notary. We were counting on this money to redo the roof, the insulation. But everything was blocked by the reserve area. ” Today, the clearance around their house is downgraded.
Ditto for three plots belonging to Pierre Krummenacher: “You can’t even cultivate a vegetable garden in an agricultural area. The worst part is that this land, which we have maintained and on which we have paid taxes, is unsuitable for farming and never will be. It’s just intellectual satisfaction to give them that vocation. ”
In fact, there is no rotation surface on the territory of Tévenon, these best arable lands, a quota of which must be protected. Over the decades, houses have been built on the outskirts of village centers, in a distended manner. “Sprawling is a reality here. Instead of freezing the situation, we should let all the existing “holes” be built, ”sighs Thomas Zürcher.
Municipalities with an oversized building area have until 2022 to submit their new planning to the Canton. A dozen of them, who had anticipated the reform, have already finished this work, which stems from the acceptance by the people of the LAT in 2013. Its aim is to ensure a measured use of the land, in favoring the densification of areas already built.
The compensation will remain exceptional
Owners of decommissioned land see the value of their heritage plummet. The chances of being compensated are very slim. “There will be many called, few chosen,” said lawyer and PLR MP Marc-Olivier Buffat.
Without going into all the details, a real construction project must have been hindered, for which money has already been spent. “That we have funded studies for a neighborhood plan, drawn from pipes, etc.” The owner has one year to launch this procedure before a civil court and argue of a “material expropriation”. The case law is restrictive.
Marc-Olivier Buffat and the Vert’libéral Régis Courdesse have tabled a motion in the Grand Council so that an administrative authority, more experienced in the exercise, decides at first instance. “It would be faster and more consistent,” says the PLR.
As a reminder, a 20% capital gain tax was introduced, hitting the lucky ones whose property gains in value at the time of new planning. “The first plans to tax beneficiaries have been notified,” says the Service du développement territorial. But the collection of the tax will depend on when the owner sells or builds his fund. To date, no compensation following a downgrade has been paid. “
At the federal level, a motion – still pending – from the PLR Valaisan national councilor Philippe Nantermod calls for “full compensation for the owners who counted in good faith on the constructibility of their land”. The Federal Council does not welcome this motion and proposes to reject the idea.
Created: 17.02.2020, 08h03
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