Legal conflicts keep many Ticino lake shores private

Many lake shores in Ticino remain privately owned despite laws intended to secure public access, SRF reports. Conflicting rules on public land and private property have left the boundaries unclear.

A Ticino regulation says the shores of Lake Maggiore below 194.5 metres above sea level are public property. But land registry records show private plots extending into that area, including substantial stretches of shoreline and beaches.

The cantonal law on public property says its boundaries, and those set by federal law, take precedence over the boundaries recorded in the land register. But administrative law expert Filippo Gianoni told RSI, the Italian-language radio and television service, that the provision is not straightforward to interpret because property rights are governed by federal law.

The dispute is visible along a two-kilometre lakeside path between Tenero and Minusio. The route includes two public beaches, private plots, the National Youth Sports Centre and six large lakeside campsites. Some residents want it open to everyone throughout the year, but during the summer season it is reserved for private operators and their guests.

“Laws are passed and then not implemented,” said Bruno Storni, a Social Democratic Party member of the National Council who supports free access to the path. The public property law gives public-law rules precedence, he said, but private-law provisions must also be applied, creating the potential for conflict.

Federal spatial planning law says lake shores should be kept clear and public access facilitated. The Swiss Civil Code and Ticino’s law on public property also state that public waters, including lakebeds and shores, cannot be privately owned unless evidence proves otherwise. At the same time, private property is constitutionally protected, and cantonal rules allow agreements granting private operators exclusive use of public land.

According to Ticino’s Department of Territory, 44 percent of Lake Lugano’s shores are privately owned, the highest share in Switzerland. On Lake Maggiore, around 30 percent of the shoreline is used exclusively for private purposes.

“The situation is quite sad,” said Daniele Polli, coordinator of the Public Shores of Italian Switzerland association. He said the canton would have an important role in the coming years in trying to recover as much shoreline as possible.

Ivo Durisch, coordinator of the Citizens for the Territory association, said lakeside plots were sold to German-speaking Swiss and foreign families as tourism grew in the 1960s, taking them out of public use. “Today the situation is completely deadlocked,” he said.