Mayor closes home for three months (jurisprudence.co.uk)

January 27, 2021
Zeeland-West Brabant District Court

Process

The applicant filed an appeal against the mayor's September 28, 2020 decision (contested decision) on the administrative coercive order to close a residence and barn at [address] for a period of three months under Section 13b of the Opium Act (OW).

He asked the preliminary injunction judge to grant injunctive relief.

The hearing was held in Breda on November 12, 2020. The applicant was present with [name X] and his attorney. The mayor was represented by [name of representative] . The third party did not appear.

Considerations

1. Facts and circumstances

Plaintiff, together with his former spouse [third party name] , owns the parcel of land at [address] (the parcel). The parcel contains a dwelling and an adjacent barn.

On January 15, 2020, the plot was visited by a supervisor of the municipality and an employee of the Omgevingsdienst Midden- en West-Brabant for an inspection of a conversion (asbestos). They informed the Zeeland-West Brabant police unit that objects used in hemp nurseries were found in the shed on the plot. The police subsequently found the following:

2 timers set to 12 hours;
various drying nets;
1 submersible pump;
2 fixtures;
2 600-watt assimilation lamps;
2 transformers of 600 watts;
1 professional electronic cutting machine from the brand The Canna Cutter;
2 black grow tents;
2 flanges;
2 1 liter bottles of Bio Nova foods;
2 tube fans;
1 grip bag;
2 rolls of electrical cables;
2 flanges;
1 manual nebulizer.

In addition, police found that all the walls and ceiling of the barn were covered with light-colored insulating sheets. The ceiling contained several mounting hooks and remnants of polyurethane foam. There were also two large round holes in the ceiling. In the wall where the wicket door was present was a large round hole to the outside. According to police, the barn could soon be put back into use as a hemp farm.

By letter dated March 10, 2020, the mayor notified the applicant and his ex-wife of his intention to impose an administrative coercion order, pursuant to Section 13b OW, which will order them to close the house and barn for a period of three months.

The applicant expressed his views against this intention.

By decision dated April 9, 2020 (the primary decision), the mayor imposed an administrative coercion order on the applicant and his former spouse to close the residence and barn for a period of three months beginning at 10 a.m. on May 14, 2020.

The applicant objected to this. He also filed an application for injunctive relief (BRE 20/6419 OPIUMW VV). He withdrew this request, after the mayor indicated that he would suspend the closure until the measures surrounding the corona crisis would allow it again.

In the appeal, the applicant primarily argued that the mayor did not have the authority to order the closure of the residence because some of the goods present were old and already used hemp goods, no longer "destined to" commit hemp-related offenses.

On July 7, 2020, a hearing was held before the Objections Committee of the Municipality of Waalwijk (the Committee). On August 4, 2020, the committee advised the mayor to declare the applicant's objection founded on the primary ground for objection and to revoke the primary decision.

In the contested decision, the mayor did not adopt this committee's advice. The mayor declared the objection unfounded and upheld the order to close the home and barn. The closing date was set at 10 a.m. on Thursday, October 29, 2020.

The mayor promised that implementation of the decision will wait until one week after the ruling of the preliminary injunction judge.