immo!nvest – Die Plattform für Standorte und Immobilien

Tag: Richtplan

  • Basel-Landschaft awards licences for hydropower

    Basel-Landschaft awards licences for hydropower

    The canton of Basel-Landschaft has included six locations for new small hydropower plants on the Birs and Ergolz rivers in the cantonal structure plan, the Basel-Landschaft Department of Construction and Environmental Protection announced in a press release. The designation was made in accordance with a corresponding requirement of the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications. In Switzerland, small hydropower plants are defined as plants with an output of up to 10 megawatts that use the energy of small rivers for decentralised electricity generation.

    The Cantonal Office for Environmental Protection and Energy(AUE) is responsible for awarding licences. The exact locations of the planned hydropower plants can be found in the press release. Interested companies are invited to submit a request for information online. The AUE will then determine the award procedures for the individual sites.

    The canton of Basel-Landschaft has set itself the goal of covering 70 per cent of its energy consumption, excluding mobility, from renewable sources by 2030. The planned six small hydropower plants should contribute to the realisation of this goal.

  • Lucerne presents structure plan to the public

    Lucerne presents structure plan to the public

    According to forecasts, the population of Lucerne will increase by around 120,000 people by the middle of the century and reach the 560,000 mark. In order to manage this growth in an orderly manner, the spatial development strategy sets out clear objectives in the structure plan. Priority should be given to compact, efficient settlement structures based on public transport.

    The plan ensures the economical use of land and coordinates the canton’s development plans with those of the federal government and the municipalities. It is intended to create the basis for spatially harmonizing living, working and mobility.

    Focus on inner development and affordable living space
    The central element of the revision is the creation of living space without endangering valuable cultivated land. The structure plan focuses on inward densification, for example through minimum densities and higher building densities in locations with good transport links, and allows selective extensions to building zones where they make sense for affordable housing construction.

    The so-called center areas create planning instruments for the targeted development of central locations with high densities. In future, municipalities will be able to make their housing supply binding. In addition, measures are needed in other policy areas, such as land policy or support programs for non-profit housing construction.

    Work zones and economic development
    The structure plan strengthens the local scope for action for economic areas. Municipalities are given the opportunity to expand their own work zones in order to promote new settlements with a regional connection and to link living and working more closely.

    The canton assumes a coordinating role with the program for development priorities. In addition, the structure plan creates the basis for an active land policy in order to develop areas in the canton’s interest. Such as strategic employment areas or infrastructure projects.

    Integration of overarching sustainability goals
    The structure plan revision links spatially relevant topics with overarching strategies. Aspects relating to climate protection, energy production and mobility development from cantonal projects such as “Future Mobility Canton of Lucerne” or the Climate and Energy Planning Report are anchored spatially. In this way, planning integrates ecological, economic and social developments.

    Procedure and political responsibility
    Since the revision of the Planning and Building Act in 2018, the Cantonal Council has been more closely involved in structure planning. It defines the strategic objectives in the spatial development strategy, while the cantonal government is responsible for operational coordination and the concrete spatial definition in the structure plan maps.

    The current revision is based on feedback from the 2023 consultation and the preliminary federal review in 2024. After the public consultation, all submissions will be evaluated before the revised version is forwarded to the Cantonal Council, probably in summer 2026, and then submitted to the Federal Council for approval.

  • Canton Glarus defines settlement and extraction areas in the structure plan

    Canton Glarus defines settlement and extraction areas in the structure plan

    As part of the communal land use planning of Glarus North, the Department of Building and Environment of the Canton of Glarus has officially defined the settlement area of the municipality in the cantonal structure plan. This follows an in-depth review of the utilisation of the residential, mixed and core zones, which now comply with the strict federal and cantonal requirements for building zone dimensioning. This stipulation supports the aim of preventing urban sprawl and preserving the landscape, while at the same time offering landowners in Glarus North long-term planning and legal certainty, which is of considerable importance for the economic development of the canton.

    Expansion of the Haltengut mining area in Mollis
    In addition to the designation of the settlement area, the Haltengut mining area in the district of Mollis was expanded in the cantonal structure plan. This measure is the result of careful coordination of land-use planning by the municipality of Glarus Nord, which has demonstrated the environmental compatibility of the project. The expansion of the extraction area contributes to the needs-based supply and disposal and represents an important spatial planning co-operation between the canton and the municipality.

    Approval procedure at federal level
    The updates to the 2018 cantonal structure plan were submitted to the Federal Office for Spatial Development for approval following consultation with neighbouring cantons. With the determination of the settlement and extraction areas, the canton of Glarus has completed a significant step in the approval process for the communal utilisation planning of Glarus North. The decisions are binding with immediate effect and create a clear framework for the future development of the region.

  • New design guidelines for Zurich Lengg: a step into the future

    New design guidelines for Zurich Lengg: a step into the future

    In an endeavour to shape the structural development in the eastern outskirts of Zurich in a harmonious and future-oriented manner, the city council has decided on a partial revision of the building and zoning regulations (BZO) for the Lengg area. This step follows a careful examination and aims to implement the development principles laid down in the “Lengg Masterplan” and the cantonal structure plan in a binding manner. The design plan obligation aims to ensure that new construction projects and outdoor spaces are not only aesthetically pleasing, but also take into account environmental aspects and the local transport infrastructure.

    The Lengg area, embedded in the Hirslanden and Riesbach neighbourhoods and adjacent to Zollikon, is home to important institutions in the healthcare and research sector. The imminent opening of the new University Children’s Hospital Zurich (Kispi) will further strengthen the importance of Lengg as a medical and scientific cluster. This location is also characterised as a popular recreational area and as a showcase for pioneering medical innovations.

    The strategic development of Lengg, coordinated by the area management, aims to ensure a harmonious interplay of diverse uses and to strengthen the area as a whole. The Department of Health and Education, under the direction of the Office for Spatial Development of the Zurich Building Department, has drawn up a master plan that sets out a long-term perspective up to 2040 and serves as a basis for the future planning and realisation of construction projects.

    By implementing the Lengg design plan requirement, the City of Zurich is confirming its commitment to well thought-out and integrated urban development that meets the requirements of a growing metropolis and at the same time improves the quality of life of its residents.

  • Federal government wants faster expansion of renewables

    Federal government wants faster expansion of renewables

    The Federal Council wants to accelerate the expansion of renewable energy production. To this end, the procedures for planning and building large-scale power plants are to be shortened, the Federal Council informs in a press release. At its meeting on 21 June, it passed a corresponding amendment to the Energy Act for the attention of parliament.

    According to the amendment, the cantons alone will now be responsible for a concentrated planning approval procedure for solar and wind energy plants of national interest. The Federal Council explains that this prevents a project from being divided into several stages that can be challenged individually. For hydroelectric power plants, the current tried and tested procedure is to be retained.

    The cantons are instructed to designate suitability areas for solar and wind energy plants in the structure plan. Such facilities of national interest will then no longer need a project-related basis in the cantonal structure plan. The protection of landscape, biotopes, forest, cultivated land and crop rotation areas is to be taken into account when designating the areas.

    In addition, the Federal Council wants to shorten the appeal process in connection with the planning and construction of solar, wind and hydropower plants. In future, only one appeal to the highest cantonal court will be possible at cantonal level. The group of persons entitled to appeal will be limited to the cantons and municipalities where the plants are located and to organisations active throughout Switzerland, such as WWF or Pro Natura.

    With regard to the expansion of the electricity grid, the Federal Council’s plans foresee a waiver of the definition of a planning area. Instead, the planning corridor is to be defined directly in the sectoral planning.