Grand Case Pontoon: The Shambala has won against the Collectivité

The company that operates the restaurant-lodge, The Shambala, located in Grand Case and which has had an AOT (temporary occupation permit) since December 2014 for a duration of five years, wishes to build a wooden pontoon.  On March 20, 2015, it filed an advance notification with the Collectivité.  The Collectivité afterwards requested further supporting documents. Then on July 27, 2015, the President of the Collectivité dismissed the construction request. The company therefore referred the matter to the Administrative Court of Saint-Martin to overturn it.

The examination of the case on June 1O revealed that the request for further supporting documents was sent too late by the Collectivité. Dated on April 20, 2015, the letter was sent on April 22 and received by the Shambala on April 27.  However, according to the Town Planning Code, such a request must be sent within a one-month period after the filing of the advanced notification.  The Administrative Court therefore concluded that "In the absence of a request for the production of additional supporting documents addressed within the aforementioned one-month time limit, the notification filed by the company [is] deemed complete".  Moreover, the Court argued that if it had wished to do so, the Collectivité should have sent its refusal before April 20; since it did not do so within this legal one-month time limit, this means that it was not opposed to the work.  Therefore, it could not dismiss the application on July 27.

This decision of July 27, 2015 was therefore canceled by the Administrative Court.  The Collectivité has appealed the ruling. The matter will be re-examined by the Administrative Court of Bordeaux.