The McDonald's on the Limmatquai Isn't Happening
A court has sided with local residents. Now everyone's waiting to see if anyone appeals.
It's not often that a residents' campaign against a fast food restaurant ends in a courtroom win. But that's exactly what happened this week on the Limmatquai, where a group of organised locals learned that the Baurekursgericht had upheld their appeal against the planned McDonald's — throwing the project into serious doubt.
The technical detail at the heart of the ruling? Chimneys. Specifically, the exhaust and ventilation pipes that the restaurant would have required, which the court found to be visible from public space and inconsistent with the design standards that apply in this part of the old town. The building in question is heritage-protected, and the court made clear that aesthetic requirements don't disappear just because a sightline is narrow or the view is from an unusual angle.
For the neighbourhood, this felt like common sense finally catching up with the paperwork. The permit had been granted by the city — a decision that baffled many locals given the scale of the modifications planned for the building's exterior. A dedicated residents' association had been fighting the project for months, backed by the Quartierverein Zürich 1 rechts der Limmat, and Tuesday's ruling vindicated their core argument.
McDonald's and the City of Zürich — both losers in this ruling — now have 30 days to appeal to the Verwaltungsgericht. The residents' lawyer doesn't rate the chances of a reversal particularly highly: administrative courts tend to be even more deferential on questions of design and urban fit than the Baurekursgericht, making it hard to unwind a decision like this one. Hard, but not impossible.
The CHF 6,200 court fee lands with McDonald's and the city. The appellants get CHF 2,000 each in compensation.
Whether this is the end of the Limmatquai McDonald's saga or just a pause, Zürich's old town has — for now — held the line.
