Planned protected area runs right through a Christmas tree plantation

It is planned to significantly expand the village heritage protection zone in the Gubel region of Menzingen, but this is causing uncertainty among the affected farmers. The municipality is maintaining its course, however
 

A twelve-metre-high fir tree has adorned the Rathausplatz (town hall square) in Menzingen since last Wednesday. In order to evoke a festive atmosphere among the villagers, it was felled a few days earlier below the Gubel hill, where it had grown among its fellow trees over the past few years. The land on which it stood belongs to Stefan Keiser, whose father, Richard Keiser, began planting Christmas trees there thirty years ago. Stefan Keiser has taken over and continued the business over the past four years.

But a red line is now causing uncertainty for the farmer. The line is marked on the revised zoning plan of the municipality of Menzingen, which is part of the currently ongoing local planning revision (Ortsplanungsrevision). The public consultation period for the relevant documents began on 30th October, and ends on the 30th November.

The red line runs along the Rotenbach and Brämen roads, cutting across Stefan Keiser's land – and thereby through his Christmas tree plantation. It is meant to mark the designated village heritage protection zone (Ortsbildschutzzone) in the revised zoning plan. This zone currently encompasses the nearby grounds of the Maria Hilf Monastery, the Gubel Restaurant, and the adjacent farm.

The revised zoning plan aims to significantly enlarge this village heritage protection zone, and Stefan Keiser fears this could lead to various restrictions. Together with four other parties whose farms are located nearby, he has filed an objection with the Menzingen municipal council (Gemeinderat) against the planned protection zone.

In the letter that has been shown to the Zuger Zeitung newspaper, the objectors explain their reservations with eight points. A personal conversation with Stefan Keiser clarifies which points carry particular weight.

One such point concerns the water supply. A water reservoir, which supplies water to five of the surrounding farms - namely, those belonging to the five objectors - is located within the planned protected area. The parties demand that the protected area be established at a minimum distance of 100 metres from the reservoir, thereby exempting it from the zone. This is to ensure that the water source can be re-established or replenished as needed in the future.

Stefan Keiser fears restrictions on his farm due to the planned protected area        Photo: Jakob Ineichen
The currently applicable village heritage protection zone in Menzingen is limited to the area surrounding the monastery                Screenshot: ZugMap
How the new village heritage protection zone is planned to run in the Gubel area             Screenshot: OPR documents
Stefan Keiser's Christmas tree plantation below the Gubel          Photo: Jakob Ineichen
Google map showing the location of the Christmas tree plantation and the Gubel     Google Maps
 

The farmer doesn't know what to expect
Furthermore, the buildings of the Rotenbach farm—owned by Stefan Keiser—and the Schwanden farm are situated directly adjacent to the municipal road. The two farmers fear that the planned protected area would impose additional restrictions on distances to the road, making structural modifications or expansions more difficult and impacting existing uses. In short: They would be "encircled."

And something else is troubling Stefan Keiser: what he sees as the vague interpretation of a protected townscape zone. What exactly is permitted there, and what isn't is indeed difficult to grasp. The relevant paragraph of the building code states that the protected zones serve "the preservation and maintenance of the respective townscape and neighbourhood character." Which uses are permitted within such a zone, particularly with regard to agricultural and construction activities, is not clearly defined and is assessed by the authorities on a case-by-case basis.

The Menzingen farmer is keen to emphasize that he is not generally opposed to the protected zone. "It's clear that historic buildings or even the Gubel pilgrimage route need to be protected," he says. But the area is already listed in the Federal Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites (ISOS: Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites), which guarantees federal legal protection. A look at the ISOS and the response of the Menzingen municipal council to the inquiry from the Zuger Zeitung newspaper confirm this.

The zone is not subject to any new restrictions.
According to the response from the municipality, the new village heritage protection zone on the Gubel hill includes the already defined federal inventory. This is intended to "clarify the importance of this area in connection with the protected monastery buildings on the Gubel." Furthermore, it states that the use of buildings within the heritage protection zone is "not subject to any new restrictions" and can continue to be handled as before.

"The restoration and new construction of buildings in the village heritage protection zone, as well as in the ISOS area, require careful local integration and design in cooperation with the cantonal Office for the Preservation of Historical Monuments and Archaeology (kantonalen Amt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie)," the municipality continued.

What exactly this means for Stefan Keiser's Christmas tree plantation, the water reservoir, and the two farms Rotenbach and Schwanden will likely only become clear once the first construction projects are on the table – provided the protected zone is actually implemented.