"Residents are against" the refusal to allow the establishment of a facility avoided by the law... "unfair decision"

The court ruled that it was an unfair decision not to allow the establishment of a shelter facility solely due to opposition from residents.

According to the legal community on the 11th, the First Administrative Department of Cheongju District Court recently ruled that Chungju City will cancel the notice of disallowance of waste disposal business issued by Chungju City to Mr. A, a waste treatment plant operator, on August 22.

Mr. A submitted a waste disposal business plan to Chungju City in January 2023 and received a conditional notification of suitability.

Chungju City suggested 'thorough management of the workplace, including maintenance of prevention facilities to prevent odors', as a condition for compliance at the time.

Afterwards, Mr. A prepared facilities and equipment according to the contents of the business plan and submitted an application for a permit to the city, but the permit was rejected.

The reason was that opposition complaints were received from residents who raised odor issues.

Accordingly, Mr. A filed an administrative lawsuit, and the court ruled in Mr. A's favor, saying, "Opposition complaints from nearby residents cannot be considered a requirement for a waste disposal business permit."

He explained, "We took into account the fact that odor prevention facilities were scheduled to be installed, the odor measurement values ​​when the facility was in operation were below the emission standards, and there was no objective evidence to prove that serious odors were likely to occur."

He added, "After receiving notice of suitability for the business plan, the plaintiff invested a lot of time, money, and effort to install facilities, etc."

Lawyer Daeryun Lee Dong-eun of the law firm who represented Mr. A in the lawsuit emphasized, "According to the Waste Management Act, related facilities are prohibited from rejecting or giving inappropriate notices for reasons such as simple opposition to installation," and emphasized, "Dispositions in such cases should be considered illegal as an abuse of discretion or a measure that deviates from the scope."

He continued, “Waste disposal facilities are essential facilities for us, but at the same time, they are facilities that are not preferred,” and pointed out, “Because it is difficult to be completely free from the influence of the local community, administrative offices must make decisions based on objective and specific data.”

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