immo!nvest – Die Plattform für Standorte und Immobilien

Tag: Kanton Zürich

  • More clarity for building lines in the canton of Zurich

    More clarity for building lines in the canton of Zurich

    In the canton of Zurich, traffic construction lines secure the space for infrastructure. Buildings that protrude into this area are only permitted under certain conditions. However, due to legal amendments in the past, uncertainties have arisen, particularly in the case of projecting building parts such as balconies and bay windows.

    With the planned revision of the Planning and Building Act, the cantonal government wants to eliminate these uncertainties. “We only want to restrict balconies and bay windows to the extent necessary for land protection and urban design,” explains Carmen Walker Späh, Director of Economic Affairs.

    In addition, the construction of easily removable small buildings such as bicycle shelters, solar panels or container boxes is to be made easier. While such buildings can already be authorised in the building line area today, this should also be possible in the road clearance area in future.

    Simplified adjustment of building lines
    Another key element of the revised law concerns the adjustment of building lines that were established as part of a neighbourhood plan procedure. In future, these changes should be possible in the ordinary procedure, thereby avoiding time-consuming neighbourhood plan revisions.

    Positive consultation and next step
    The proposed changes met with broad approval in the consultation. The majority of the 70 or so participants supported the amendments, although some of the submissions led to the draft being made more precise.

    The revised bill has now been submitted to the Cantonal Council for further consultation and to the relevant committee for examination. The aim is to create greater planning and legal certainty through clear legal regulations.

  • Canton and city want to open up future development focal points

    Canton and city want to open up future development focal points

    In addition to short- and medium-term measures such as a new bus concept in Zurich North and the Affoltern tram, longer-term service expansions are also planned for public transport in the canton and city of Zurich. Part of this expansion is a project that was presented in more detail today by Zurich Cantonal Councillor and Director of Economic Affairs Carmen Walker Späh and Councillor Michael Baumer, Head of the Department of Industrial Operations: the North Tram Tangent from Zurich Affoltern via Oerlikon to Stettbach.

    Public transport ring system with new tangential connection

    The project is an integral part of the ZVV strategy 2025-2029 as well as the VBZ network development strategy based on the “Public Transport Vision 2050”, which among other things envisages a public transport ring system with a new tangential connection from Affoltern via Oerlikon to Stettbach. “Zurich North has enormous potential and radiates far beyond the city limits into the canton,” says Councillor and ZVV Transport Council President Carmen Walker Späh. “It therefore makes sense, after the Affoltern tram, to examine the northern tram tangent more closely”. This is all the more true as the Tramtangente Nord is also to use part of the tracks of the Affoltern tram, which is to be built from 2026.

    The role and task of public transport in the canton and city of Zurich are demanding: it should ensure large traffic flows on as climate-neutral a basis as possible and thus continue to be the backbone of modern, climate-friendly and efficient mobility in the future. Already today, a large part of transport is handled by public transport – in the canton one third, in the city about 40 %. With a view to climate protection measures and on the basis of the cantonal and urban strategies, these shares should be further increased.

    Councillor Michael Baumer sums up the strategy: “Only with short travel times, punctuality and a dense network can we remain attractive. The planned ring system with the tram tangent north as a first step brings public transport in the city decisively further”. In order to absorb the population growth in the neighbourhoods of Zurich North, a targeted expansion of the tram and bus network is necessary.

    The expansion of public transport is one of the foundations of the spatial development strategy of the city of Zurich to promote the centres in the north and west of the city. The project is now being tackled quickly with the aim of being able to submit the project to the federal government for co-financing as part of the 6th generation agglomeration programmes. The federal government requires a completed preliminary project for each of the major light rail projects. This summer, as part of the ZVV strategy 2025-2029, the cantonal government of Zurich decided to give the green light for initial clarifications and to create the basis for a corresponding project credit. The next steps in this project are now being taken by the city of Zurich with a potential and feasibility study.

  • Canton of Zurich initiates further promotion of mountain regions and wine-growing areas

    Canton of Zurich initiates further promotion of mountain regions and wine-growing areas

    The Canton of Zurich wants to further promote the Zurich mountain region and the wine country within the framework of the federal government’s New Regional Policy, informs the Cantonal Office for Landscape and Nature in a statement. A corresponding implementation programme focuses on sustainable tourism, the marketing of regional products and the promotion of innovation by SMEs. A total of 6.2 million Swiss francs are to be spent on this between 2024 and 2027.

    The Zurich cantonal government has already approved an amount of around 3.3 million Swiss francs. Further funding of CHF 2.4 million is being requested from the federal government. The remaining funds will be provided by the cantons of Thurgau and St.Gallen and the municipalities in the two regions. For the implementation of the projects, the Canton of Zurich is working together with the Zürioberland location promotion agency and ProWeinland. Corresponding service agreements are to be concluded “as soon as the federal government has approved the programme”, according to the statement.

    To promote sustainable tourism, the canton wants to position the mountain region and the wine country even more strongly as an excursion and local recreation area. In the marketing of regional products, it is also planned to explore “in the sense of the circular economy” “how material cycles can be closed in the regions”.

    SMEs in the Zurich mountain region already have access to innovation promotion, coaching and networking through a supracantonal programme. SMEs in Weinland should also be able to take advantage of these funding opportunities from 2028. The Office for Landscape and Nature explains that the Weinland is working on the corresponding basics.

  • Canton Zurich identifies untapped potential for solar power

    Canton Zurich identifies untapped potential for solar power

    Falling prices for solar installations have fuelled the construction of new photovoltaic systems in the canton of Zurich, as an analysis by the cantonal statistics office shows. According to this, there were at least 12,600 active photovoltaic systems in the canton at the end of 2021. Almost all of them were installed after 2010, according to the data. They produced about 0.3 terawatt hours of solar electricity per year, which is roughly equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden.

    Despite the increase in installations, the analysis finds that there is still a great deal of untapped potential for solar power. About half of all Zurich systems are installed on single-family homes. There is still a need to catch up with multi-family houses and buildings that are not used for residential purposes. The latter also offer space for larger systems with a higher installed capacity.

    The analysis identifies further potential in new buildings. When the new cantonal energy law comes into force in September 2022, all new buildings will have to contribute to covering their electricity demand. It can therefore be assumed that new systems will be installed in the coming years.

    The Canton of Zurich wants to achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040 – or by 2050 at the latest. Accordingly, according to its own information, it attaches great importance to the use of the existing potential for renewable electricity production. ce/ssp

  • Canton of Zurich initiates pilot project for innovation potential of SMEs

    Canton of Zurich initiates pilot project for innovation potential of SMEs

    In a press release , the canton of Zurich announced the pilot program for SMEs and innovation to strengthen innovative strength in SMEs. It was developed over a three-year period by the cantonal location promotion department on behalf of Economics Director Carmen Walker Späh and in conjunction with the Canton of Zurich Location Promotion Network and the Zürcher Kantonalbank , the Zurich Chamber of Commerce ( ZHK ) and the Canton of Zurich SME and Trade Association ( KGV ) . The location support program provides for SMEs to receive guidance and support from specialists, especially from the private sector, and from innovation specialists in the early stages of planned innovations, so that they can apply for national funding.

    The innovative strength in companies with fewer than 100 employees harbors potential for improvement and is showing a downward trend compared to large companies and start-ups that are showing innovative activities. A lack of access to knowledge and low resources for the implementation of planned projects are given as reasons for the backlog. Many SMEs are also reluctant to join forces with other companies and universities. According to a study by the economics department in the Office for Economics and Labor in the Economics Directorate, there is also room for improvement in “networking and collaboration between SMEs”. The Corona crisis has additionally weakened the innovative power.

    Economics director Carmen Walker Späh wants to ensure that SMEs make a step forward in their innovation activities and thus ensure the diversity of industries “especially in times of crisis”. “Switzerland is an SME country. It is all the more important that our SMEs continue to provide jobs and training positions,” she is quoted as saying in the media release. heg

  • Canton of Zurich launches new shop for geodata

    Canton of Zurich launches new shop for geodata

    The Office for Spatial Development of the Canton of Zurich has developed a shop for geodata . According to a press release , users receive free access to spatial data in the canton of Zurich and can order them at the touch of a button.

    With the new shop solution, use-restricted, i.e. non-open data is now also being added. Previously, cantonal geodata sets were available to users free of charge as open authority data via the GIS browser maps.zh.ch or a geoservice and could only be called up manually.

    A total of over 500 products from the geographic information system can be viewed and ordered in the geodata shop, including data on buildings, air, noise and climate. Later, data on buildings and land, so-called object data from the ObjektwesenZH platform, will also be added.

  • The Dübendorf Innovation Park should focus on mobility

    The Dübendorf Innovation Park should focus on mobility

    A project group set up by the government council of the canton of Zurich has been creating an overview of the Dübendorf airfield area since September 2020. The state chancellery of the Canton of Zurich informs in a statement that the members of the delegation of authorities have now signed the synthesis report. The airfield area is to be used as an innovation park, airfield and for military purposes.

    “For reasons of economy and sustainability” and “with consideration for the population”, “only what is needed will be built in stages,” explains the State Chancellery. According to her, the project should become “a beacon for innovative urban development, especially in the areas of environmental compatibility, sustainability and careful use of resources”.

    Specifically, the overall view provides for the area to be subdivided into four sub-areas. The innovation park with a focus on mobility, robotics, aviation, space travel as well as modern production technology and materials research is to be built in sub-area A. In sub-area B, the innovation park and a research and works airfield will combine to form an aviation cluster. Area C is reserved for uses with high security requirements. The aviation infrastructures are located in sub-area D, in which nature conservation will play a central role. A circular airfield path is intended to make the area usable for recreation and leisure for the population.

    In the next step, planning rights are to be created for all sub-areas, according to the communication. Specifically, a cantonal and a regional structure plan as well as the communal structure and land use planning are named there. The cantonal structure plan will be made public from September 6th to November 5th.

    The Zurich Chamber of Commerce ( ZHK ) welcomes the commitment to triple use as an innovation park, civil and military airfield. The vision of an internationally leading location for research and development on mobility solutions is worth supporting, she writes in a press release . However, she regrets the renunciation of business aviation. This is important for the attractiveness of the economic area. Therefore, the doors should not be permanently closed for them.

  • Canton sets design plan for ZHAW campus

    Canton sets design plan for ZHAW campus

    The Technikumstrasse campus of the ZHAW in Winterthur will be comprehensively renewed within 15 years, explains the building department of the Canton of Zurich in a message . New buildings and more open space are to be created in four stages. At the same time, the Eulach will be renatured in the area of the technical center. In the first phase, two new laboratory buildings are to be built and a public park is to be set up on the Eulach.

    The corresponding design plan was published from April 6 to June 8, 2020. 31 objections were received against him, mainly in questions of urban integration, the scope, development and nature conservation, informs the building management. Another 18 objections related to the renaturation of the Eulach and the definition of the water area.

    The design plan and the water area have been revised based on the objections and have now been set, the message continues. Both documents and the reports on the objections have been publicly available for 30 days since February 26 and can be viewed on the Internet . If no legal remedies are taken, they will come into force at the end of March this year. Then the city of Winterthur could issue the building permit for the first stage.