Strengthening public housing control law: what developers need to know
To address the pressure on the housing market, there is the proposal for an Act to strengthen the direction of public housing. Today, the Second Memorandum of Amendment for this bill was published.
Pretty tricky this division of powers in the Private Law Obstacles Act.
It will happen to you: as a landowner, you are required by the Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management to allow work to be carried out on your land for the construction of, say, a high-voltage connection or an electricity network. Or worse, you are forced to allow a wind turbine, a high-voltage pylon or […]
Questions on Council of State ruling on nitrogen model
The Council of State’s April 5, 2023 ruling on the ViA15 case was eagerly awaited. An important part of the case is the mathematical model used for nitrogen calculations. This model, AERIUS Calculator, was modified following an earlier ruling by the Council of State in the same case. Until that ruling(Jan. 20, 2021), nitrogen precipitation […]
Legalization of PAS reporters imminent
The Netherlands was in an uproar when the Council of State ruled on May 29, 2019, that the Program Approach to Nitrogen (PAS) violated European law. The PAS provided that activities leading to a limited increase in nitrogen deposition in areas where the critical deposition value (KDW) was exceeded could be carried out without a […]
Governments should provide equal opportunities in land allocation
Equal opportunity When a public body sells immovable property (such as land) where no tendering obligation applies, a mandatory, public selection procedure will henceforth apply. The Supreme Court made this ruling on 26 November 2021 in the Didam judgment. The judgment constitutes an important ruling on the principle of equality that a public body must […]
Nature permit farmers can’t just revoke
In the nitrogen crisis it is still unclear what the nitrogen emissions of various sectors, such as industry, are. As long as this is not clear, nature permits granted to farmers for nitrogen emissions should not be revoked just like that. The current nitrogen problem is the result of commitments made by the Netherlands at […]
Pigs in Distress ruling: important milestone
The Pigs in Distress ruling by the European Court of Justice (CJEU Jan. 14, 2021, ECLI:EU:C:2021:7) has opened the door to wider participation in proceedings where the environment and the surrounding area are at stake. This new line is rapidly leading to new rulings that further expand access to justice. For example, those who have […]
End of the ‘opinion trap’ in environmental law
The Council of State has abolished the so-called ‘opinion trap’ in environmental law . This is due to a ruling by the Court of Justice of the EU. The Court of Justice ruled in the Varkens in Nood ruling, discussed earlier in this blog, on the possibilities of appealing to the courts. That ruling concerned […]
Spray zones and zoning: complex issue
On December 16, 2020, the Administrative Law Division of the Council of State issued an important ruling on spraying zones in zoning plans. This concerned a procedure against the adoption of a zoning plan in the municipality of Neder-Betuwe. It is established case law that a target distance must be maintained between agricultural activities with […]
Zoning ordinance voids management order – or does it?
In January 2020, the Council of State issued an important ruling on the relationship between a management regulation and so-called “umbrella zoning plans. A management ordinance is in fact a zoning plan, but without an appeal to the administrative court. Such an administrative order may not substantially expand the building and use rules in the […]