the disappointment in the young Green, relief in almost all The urban sprawl initiative with a Yes-share of 37.4 percent in yesterday’s referendum, a weaker than initial surveys had expected. The Swiss building zones are therefore not capped – but the political dispute them it is nearly complete in the next round.
at the Latest, in March, an Alliance of environmental organizations is to come up with two new national initiatives for the protection of the landscape. The texts of the two request are currently being reviewed by the Federal Chancellery formally and are not yet open to the public. The initiators known to give on request, but their direction:
No Build outside of the building zones: , Almost 600’000 buildings are now outside of the construction area and the trend is rising. Raimund Rodewald, managing Director of the Swiss Foundation for landscape protection, consider this development to be fatal. “The separation of construction and non-building has been weakened in the last few decades.” The first of the two new popular initiatives trying to establish this limit. “We demand that the number and the area consumption of the building are not allowed to grow outside of the construction zones,” says Rodewald. Much less modifications : As a main driver of urban sprawl, the conservationists see the Trend, stables in the farming zone to residential buildings changing their use. “Devastating is especially when an old building is demolished and a bigger one will be replaced,” says Rodewald. The Initiative against the Building outside building zones will allow cases of conversion only in the exception. the protection of natural monuments and Townscapes : The second new Initiative is to protect the biodiversity, valuable landscapes, monuments and heritage sites better. This is to be done, among other things, a strengthening of the relevant Federal inventories. Details of the initiators did not give up. It is obvious, however, that this refers to the repeated attacks to be parried on these inventories in the last few years. In January, the environmental Commission of the national Council was called for two advances well, to allow more “compression” in the protected village cores.
And it is also clear why the initiatives are being launched now. 19. February will bow to the environmental Commission, a highly controversial law project: the second part of the spatial planning act, the so-called RPG II. New rules to Build outside the building zone form the most important part of the Revision – but what is up to now, estimates of the nature and cultural heritage protection associations, as “completely unsuitable”, as Rodewald says. In his view, the current draft would open the cantons in many ways, the construction machinery in the culture of the country in addition to drive.
Rodewald openly admits that he hopes the two initiatives, a “strong engagement” in the debate around the RPG II. He also lets slip that the associations would be a retreat, should be improved in the law.
A “Zwängerei”
The clear ” no ” to urban sprawl initiative could, for the time being, of course, have strengthened the promoters rather liberal construction rules – for example, the Swiss trade Association. Its Director Hans-Ulrich Bigler wants to derive from the result, although no direct free letter for your own wishes in RPG II. He sees the people’s verdict but as a confirmation “that the competence of spatial planning is to remain with the cantons and municipalities”. Bigler sees, therefore, that federalism is strengthened, the environmentalists want the RPG II necessarily restrict. The associations are launching as a means of pressure, two new initiatives, called Bigler as “Zwängerei”.
The associations give meanwhile, confident that they had a vote a better chance than now for the young Green. Your Confidence you can draw, not least from the spirit of the times, the evolve for the benefit of the environment. “I was at the climate change demo in Luzern. I’ve seen some Demos, but hardly ever with 2000 people,” says Adrian Schmid, Director of the Swiss homeland protection and the driving force behind the new initiatives. “Time works for us.”
Classic city-country divide
In the case of a below-average turnout of 37.4 per cent, the urban sprawl initiative was rejected by 63.7 percent. The cantons of Geneva and Valais, differ most of all in the approval for the Initiative. While in Geneva, nearly 48 percent said Yes, it was in the Valais, only about 21 percent. When it comes to space planning, the Valais’t like three speeches. In the case of the second home initiative, for example, the Wallis refused, with nearly three-quarters no this. Also in 2012, the Valais was the only Canton, who rejected the revised spatial planning act (RPG).
political scientist Lukas Golder speaks of digging to SRF of a classic town-and-country -. New, however, is that even in the French speaking part of Switzerland, environmental concerns large approval enjoy. (sda)
(editing Tamedia)
Created: 11.02.2019, 07:13 PM
