Bill to establish a permanent Land Use Commission
CDS Citizens.
Because there are a number of laws which need to be updated, as well as some that have been proposed in the past, which might be appropriate substitutions or additions to them, I am moving on from the dialog surrounding the formation of a Building Approval Committee in 2008.
In fact, when a governing group chooses not to sit, en masse, as a commission, it follows that a separate commission would be appointed to oversee the planning or administration of one or more administrative areas. In CDS,a few of these areas are either so small, activities so intermittent, or procedures so obvious, that a permanent commission would be burdensome. In the past this may have applied to land-use, however if private occupancy of land and ongoing maintenance/upgrading of public land, is added to prim manipulation and sim planning, the area is probably large enough to warrant the attention of a permanent group -- a process which could, as well, relieve the RA of many pressures..
As a brief CV: I have had half a century’s experience dealing directly with RL land use agencies in California, Colorado, and Virginia, as well being a member of civic commissions and councils in both San Diego and Mendocino Counties --,so I know the dance.
Please peruse the following draft, and help me make it a workable and beneficial part of our “noble experiment.”
Confederation of Democratic Simulators: 21st Representative Assembly
Principal Author: Leslie Allandale
Title of Bill: Permanent Land-Use Bureau
BE IT ENACTED BY THE 21ST REPRESENTATIVE ASSEMBLY
Whereas, any democratic group, in which individuals have the power to change the group environment, must have the power to regulate that change;
And, since an expectation that such regulation of the change or use in the graphical environment will require persistent expertise, continuity of vision and consistent adherence to applicable laws;
And, since Individuals responsible for such regulation must: 1. Have expertise in how change is made; 2. Be accountable to the group for their actions, and; 3. Provide a measure of continuity to the regulation process:
SECTION I: FORMATION OF A STANDING LAND-USE COMMISSION
It is proposed that the Representative Assembly, in accord with its Constitutionally mandated service role to “perform long term planning,” establish a permanent commission, called the CDS Land-Use Commission (hereinafter called the Commission), to assume the regulation of such use in the Confederation of Democratic Simulators,(hereinafter called CDS). Which Land-Use shall be hereafter defined as; Any manipulation of, or activity within, the three-dimensional Second Life grid including, but not limited to, sim purchase and placement, terraforming, object placement, textures. as well as the type of activities which said environment shall be used. Said authority shall be vested with the Commission, within the CDS estate in the present Second Life Grid, its territories in an SL2, or another grid upon which CDS establishes a presence..
SECTION II: POWERS
The purpose of this commission is to form a group of experts to advise the RA in the mandate of the parent body to make laws and control finances. It shall have access to, and permissions for, all the assets of the CDS, both in its 3D-grid environment(s) and all CDS controlled media in the performance of its work which shall be enumerated in section VI – including, but not limited to, access to public venues, exterior of structures on private parcels, permissions to rez and manipulate objects for Commission business, scheduling meetings, conducting surveys, publishing results. Nothing in this document, however shall allow the commission to make law or fund projects. Such powers shall be explicitly reserved for the Representative Assembly.
SECTION III: MEMBERS
To be composed of six members whose aggregate expertise is composed of, but not limited to: terraforming, landscaping, building, texture creation and application. Such members are to be nominated: 1. Two citizens, by the CDS Artisans Guild, or by subsequent, approved, NGOs; 2. One citizen by the RA from its membership, each term and not subject to the rotation. 3. One citizen from the Chancellor’s office, and; 4. Two citizens by RA members from the Citizenry-at-large. Those nominated shall be confirmed by the Representative Assembly and become Members of the Commission. Such Membership shall be, after the initial seating, on a rotational basis, according to a plan formulated by the initial members and approved by the RA. A member may resign or be removed from office at the discretion of the RA upon the recommendation of their nominator. This resulting vacancy, or the vacancies due to end-of-term, shall be filled according to the legislated process, the new member(s) assuming the term of the member(s) replaced.
SECTION IV: STRUCTURE
The commission shall select a chairperson and an alternate, who shall preside over meetings, without a vote, unless to decide a split decision, a secretary who shall keep minutes of the proceedings and inspectors who may be hired from the Commission or Citizenry-at-large, who will determine the conformity of all builds and uses, including complete sims, within the jurisdiction of CDS, either in Second Life, or other grids, as CDS establishes presence on them.
SECTION V: MEETINGS
Meetings of the Commission shall be held at published times, at a frequency dependant on the demands of its mandate, but not less than once per Month. Procedures shall be adopted to encourage speedy and measured discussions and votes. A quorum shall be 1 member more than half of the appointed members. All decisions shall be considered passed by either a majority of the quorum or by the chairperson if the vote is split. Unless otherwise published, all meetings shall be open to Citizens, who shall be afforded a brief time at the end of the session to ask questions. All in attendance shall be notified that the entire transcript will be recorded and published. The Secretary shall post the transcript of the meeting, within 24 hours of adjournment, in a medium accessible to all Citizens. Minutes of all meetings shall be accepted at the following regular meeting, and be published with the transcript of that regular meeting.
SECTION VI: AUTHORITY
VI-A. NEW SIM PLANNING
The Land Use Commission shall, upon a request from the RA, investigate the viability of new sim purchase and present recommendations to the RA. This will include, But is not limited to:
1. Consideration of type of region (full region, homestead, void);
2. Consideration of placement of region;
3. Consideration of region theme;
4. A survey of Citizens;
5. Appropriate In-world meetings for discussion and public comments;.
6. Compilation and summarization of ideas and comments from citizens from survey and official meetings, or future channels as they may be useful.
7. A consideration of finances, balance of public and private prims and any specific public spaces appropriate to the theme.
8. A draft of legislation for the acquisition of a new region or regions, including covenants and/or codes for said Sim, which shall regulate the manipulation or use of CDS’ three-dimensional, graphical environment, whether on Public or Private parcels,
VI-B: PUBLIC WORKS
Upon a request from the RA, the Land Use Commission shall call for bids for either the planning and/or the construction of Public works, either new, or for maintenance, to be awarded on a competitive basis. Such bids shall be from citizens of the CDS, or, under special circumstances, from foreign contractors, and shall include methods, timeline and payment schedules, as well as design elements. The Commission shall forward the winning bid(s) and alternates, if required, to the RA for approval. Once approved, the Commission shall, through its inspection team, work with the Contractor(s) to facilitate the timely and coherent completion of the project. If the RA determines that any project is sufficiently complex, it shall direct the Commission to add a method of continuing the project, in the event that the RA, upon advisement of the Commission, would decide that the initial contractor cannot fulfill its obligation. Nothing in this section shall limit the ability of a commissioner, engaged in the activities of a contractor, to continue activities within the Commission, except in the role of an inspector on any project where there might be any conflict of interest, or when the Commission is discussing or voting on issues related to a project in which the Commissioner is, or will be, involved. In addition, should a Commissioner participate in discussions, or vote, on an issue involving any given project, such Commissioner shall be prohibited from participating in that project.
VI-C: PRIVATE LAND USE
The Land Use Commission shall:
A. Monitor, through its inspectors, the changes in the CDS environment and work with landowners to resolve any differences between such changes or uses and the covenants and codes. In the event that the land owner is unavailable, or ignores the Commission, the Commission shall have the power to issue notices of non-compliance, “stop work,” and/or abatement orders, for any non-conforming elements(s) or use(s), until such differences shall be resolved. Such notices shall be posted on the associated parcel and forwarded to the owner of record by note card. Should these notices be further ignored, the matter shall be forwarded to the Chancellor’s Office for resolution, including removal of offending objects, and such other measures as might be included in the codes.
B. Accept, in a prescribed format (including public input, if appropriate), and approve, petitions for variances from the existing covenants and codes, under the condition that: 1. The substance of such variance shall be considered in compliance with the intent, if not the letter, of the law, and; 2. The application of such variance might contribute to the overall aesthetics or usefulness of the CDS environment.
SECTION VII: RECOURSE
Decisions made by the Commission and/or its inspectors, plus any subsequent action(s) by the Chancellor’s Office may be challenged: a. By a petition of the affected party; b. In a format approved by the commission, including a requirement of personal attendance; c. To the Land-Use Commission; d. At its next scheduled meeting, or sooner, if a quorum of the Commission agrees to expedite the process. The Representative Assembly may, at its discretion, hear an appeal to overturn any Commission ruling.
SECTION VIII: CONTINUITY
With the exception of existing sim placement, topography, infrastructure, landscaping, theme, and covenants, plus existing public and approved private structures along with their existing uses, all existing laws pertaining to the land use described in the preceding sections shall be immediately superseded. If a conflict arises between existing laws and the duties, responsibilities and authorities specified in this law, this law shall prevail. Covenants, codes and procedures which fall under the purview of this bill but are not explicitly described in it, shall continue according to present use until the Commission shall recommend new codes and procedures to the Representative Assembly, and such codes and procedures shall be adopted by it.
DEFINITIONS
A. CDS: Confederation of Democratic Sims.
B. RA: The sitting, Representative Assembly of the CDS.
C. Land: Virtual property defined as the area bound by discrete horizontal coordinates in the SL, or other similar grid, and including a vertical axis with an associated volume.
D. Citizen: An avatar within the LL CDS group who has voting rights.
E. Public Works: Change to the 3 dimensional environment on any CDS land.
F. Private Land: Land whose ownership pays tier to CDS.
G. Covenant: Regulations attached to a specific parcel of land.
H. Code: Regulation with general application.
I. Procedure: Authorized an/or prescribed activities carried out by an entity, acting within the scope of this bill.
J. NGO: Any self governed group, approved for one or more particular purposes by the RA.