The State Council annulled the previous decision of the Liguria TAR which had declared the appeal of the inhabitants inadmissible Old Bussana. The ruling cancels the Valorization Program of the Municipality of Sanremo in the part in which it excluded the inhabitants from the property assignment procedure if they had not paid ten years of compensation for illegal occupation.
The Council of State established that the clauses of the program were harmful and disproportionate, violating the principles of horizontal subsidiarity and loyal collaboration between public administration and private individuals. It was recognized that the community of artists of Bussana Vecchia played a fundamental role in the recovery of the village, creating the conditions for the current valorization program.
The Council underlined that the clause is not merely programmatic, but harmful to the occupiers, confirming the concrete interest in challenging it without the need to wait for further implementing measures. He also highlighted that the administration cannot request compensation without considering the inhabitants’ contributions to the reconstruction of the village.
In conclusion, the appeal was accepted, declaring the first instance appeal admissible and partially accepted, canceling the clause of the program which made participation in the tenders subject to the payment of compensation. The Municipality, in future tenders for the valorization program, will have to carefully consider the contribution of the inhabitants of Bussana Vecchia, not being able to exclude those who will not pay.
The inhabitants of Bussana Vecchia welcomed the sentence as an important recognition of their role in the future of the village.
