Illegal building permit for agricultural farm (Swiss Press Text 2013, by Michel Wenzler) - Swiss Press Award

Zürichsee-Zeitung

Michel Wenzler

The articles deal with something seemingly simple and mundane: a building permit for a farm. The focus is on Zollikon farmer and SVP municipal councilor Daniel Weber, who demolished his farm to build apartments on the property. He wanted to relocate the farm, which turned into a gauntlet of legal proceedings for him. Residents also intervened. Other media outlets (Tages-Anzeiger, Zolliker Bote) also reported on the matter. In contrast, the Zürichsee-Zeitung took a closer look at the matter and uncovered how the story actually unfolded. Several things went wrong during the search for the new location: the canton exceeded its authority and misread the zoning plan, and the Zollikon building authority unlawfully issued a building permit. This led to regulatory proceedings. The building permit was ultimately revoked by the courts (as of December 2012). There is no end in sight to the story.