The case concerned a shore protection area in Årjäng municipality. There was a building close to the shore and the owner wanted to convert it from a reception building to a holiday home. In order to change the use of a building in a shore protection area, the owner has to apply for an exemption from the County Administrative Board.

After an appeal to the Land and Environment Court, an exemption was given. The case was however appealed to the Land and Environment Court of Appeal.

The court stated that there must be special reasons for granting an exemption to the prohibition of constructions in the protected area. A weighting of interests should be made and the principle of proportionality, as stipulated in chapter 7 section 25 of the Environmental Code should be applied. This does, however, not mean that an exemption can be granted with a reference to other special circumstances than those mentioned in chapter 7 sections 18 c-d of the Environmental Code.

The Land and Environment Court of Appeal thus found that there were no special reasons justifying granting an exemption from the shore protection area legislation.