Two common and over 100-year-old ash trees are living up to their name in the town of Andernach. Because of them, an owner may not build a single-family house on his adjacent property. This was recently decided by the Administrative Court of Koblenz (1 K 1047/21.KO). The reason for this is that the common ash trees are protected as natural monuments.
From the Koblenz Administrative Court it says: "The designation of a plot of land as a private green area in the development plan of the city of Andernach is effective and precludes the granting of a development permit for the construction of a single-family dwelling." The planned single-family house was to be accessed via the pedestrian and bicycle path where the two common ash trees are located.
The fact that the Andernach city council gave priority to the protection of the natural monument over the plaintiff's private property right was not legally objectionable. The high weighting of this environmental protection concern is in accordance with the requirements of nature conservation law. However, the owner does not want to be satisfied with this decision. The case therefore ends up before the Higher Administrative Court of Rhineland-Palatinate.
Source: vgko.justiz.rlp.de/1 K 1047/21.KO
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