2024-03-06 00:06:38
This content was published on March 6, 2024 – 01:06
(Keystone-ATS) The Vaudois Grand Council tackled the thorny issue of the PAC Lavaux on Tuesday. He began examining the regulations of this cantonal allocation plan (PAC), without this causing lively debates.
The deputies had time to deal, in the first debate, with 41 articles out of the 56 of the PAC regulations, dealing over the course of the articles with the various oppositions which had been filed during the public inquiry.
If certain points had been hotly debated in committee, they were little, if at all, discussed in plenum. Compared to the initial text, drawn up by the General Directorate of Territory and Housing (DGTL), the PLR, UDC and Vert’liberaux have obtained relaxations in order to encourage the work of winegrowers.
This concerns in particular the capites, these cabins which are traditionally used to store equipment. With the PAC, these capites must also allow winegrowers to organize free tastings and sell their products directly.
The Grand Council also agreed to facilitate the demolition of certain perpendicular walls, when they are too restrictive for the exploitation of the vines. The (temporary) installation of lateral anti-hail nets or the (exceptional) waterproofing of certain access roads are also among the accepted amendments.
Compared to the initial text of the DGTL, the deputies also opted for more flexibility in terms of advertising. This must be possible for winegrowers, as long as it complies with federal law and cantonal law.
“Living” landscape
For the deputies who defended these relaxations, the Lavaux PAC must certainly make it possible to protect the characteristic landscape of Lavaux, but also human activities.
“Without winegrowers, no Unesco,” said PLR Florence Gross. According to her, this PAC must “simplify the work of winegrowers”, and not “complicate it even more with bans.” We must not put the site “under cover” and favor “local genius”, she stressed.
For the Vert’libéral Jean-François Chapuisat, the landscape of Lavaux must “remain alive” by letting the winegrowers do their work. “The goal is not to create a Ballenberg,” he added, referring to the famous open-air museum.
Historic gardens
On the left, some voices were concerned regarding the “weakening” of the protection of the landscape and the repercussions that this might have on the listing of the site as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. But overall, the left did not put up strong opposition to the right’s proposals.
The left also managed to achieve some success, this time with the help of the Green Liberals. This was the case with the historic gardens listed in the Icomos inventory. A reference to Icomos which will appear in the PAC, while certain right-wing deputies wanted to delete it on the grounds that it is too restrictive for the owners of these gardens (12 in all in Lavaux).
First and last
The treatment of this Lavaux PAC, which will continue over the coming weeks, is exceptional. Normally, it is the Council of State which adopts such a plan and lifts the objections filed during the public inquiry (160 in the case of PAC Lavaux). But in this specific case – and this is a historic first in the canton of Vaud – this task falls to the Grand Council.
These particular skills were attributed to it by the Lavaux law and are the result of a political compromise of the time. With the PAC Lavaux, it was agreed that the Grand Council would have the final say.
Like several deputies, State Councilor Christelle Luisier recognized that this procedure was “extremely complex”. She spoke of a “baroque institutional architecture” and affirmed that the Council of State did not wish to repeat the exercise in the future.
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