Due to a group of residents' complaints, the establishment of a livestock barn was not permitted... "Illegal disposition"

The court ruled that the decision to not allow the establishment of a livestock farm due to a group of residents' complaints was unfair.

According to the legal community on the 2nd, the first administrative department of Gwangju District Court ruled in favor of the plaintiff in the lawsuit filed by Mr. A, a man in his 50s, against Goheung-gun, Jeollanam-do on the 19th of last month to cancel the construction disallowance.

Mr. A submitted an application for a building permit to the military to build a livestock barn in 2023.

The County Planning Subcommittee, which was in charge of preliminary deliberation work related to this, conveyed its opinion to Mr. A that there were no special problems with the construction of the livestock farm.

However, the committee suddenly rejected the proposal, saying that an amicable solution was needed due to the series of complaints from nearby residents.

Afterwards, the county also issued a decision to disallow permission due to 'concerns about damage to local residents' residential and agricultural environments due to environmental pollution.'

Mr. A filed an objection, but it was dismissed, and he eventually filed an administrative lawsuit.

During the trial, Mr. A argued that it was illegal to restrict construction based solely on collective complaints, even though sufficient review of the environmental pollution prevention measures listed in the application had not been conducted.

The court ruled in Mr. A’s favor.

The court said, "The defendant first presented the fact that the subcommittee's deliberation result was a rejection, and then abstractly presented the objections of neighboring village residents to the construction of a new livestock shed and the reasons under the National Land Planning Act," and concluded, "Based on the results of the deliberation, the defendant appears to have taken the disposition mainly based on civil complaints for which there were no basis provisions in the law."

He continued, “The barn is far enough away from the village, and the access road does not pass through the village, so the risk of damage claimed by the defendant does not seem to be significant,” and “It does not appear that the defendant has sufficiently reviewed the feasibility of the preventive measures submitted by the plaintiff.”

Attorney Kim Jun-seong of Daeryun Law Firm, who represented Mr. A, explained, "According to the National Land Planning Act, even if there is a risk of environmental pollution due to development activities, development can be permitted if prevention is possible and attached as a condition for permission. While Mr. A explained in detail specific evidence and preventive measures to prevent environmental pollution, the county only vaguely repeated claims to the effect that there would be concerns about environmental pollution, so the court appears to have accepted Mr. A's request."
 

Jeong Eui-jin (jej88@ikbc.co.kr)

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The establishment of livestock farms is not permitted due to complaints from residents..Law "Illegal disposition" (Shortcut)