There appears to be some difference of opinion concerning how the land on a new sim located between NFS and CN should be used. I should like to offer a proposal which is different than any proposed so far.
From the very first beginnings of the concept of a sim between NFS and CN (when it first became clear that CN and NFS could not be adjoined because of elevation differences), that sim was conceived of as a "connecting" space. Not a destination at all... not an energy and cultural center at all, like NFS and CN both surely are, but rather a space which would add value to our little continent by joining the sims, making a single community more "one", and making a single visual experience for resident and visitor.
That is certainly what I read when I saw the proposed Alpine Meadows sim. The theme was a steep alpine environment... a stream, roads connecting the two sims, places for relaxation, sports, entertainment. Quite honestly, the appearance of houses seemed an after thought, almost, because, of course, we have to collect tier for the sim in some manner. And, of course, it is this concept which was selected as the guiding theme by the community.
Now, of course, the community must itself shape that image into a real thing. It seems to me that what we see as we try to shape the image into a real thing is a proliferation of buildings, since, almost without exception in Second Life, people equate owning land with being able to build a building which makes full use of every last resource of that land. The result is becoming a hillside of buildings.
I submit that this is utterly contrary to the proposal which was presented and aproved by the community. Now... of course, this is *entirely* within the community's right to decide. There is no question at all that while a single individual may have proposed a vision for our new sim, the community itself, as a whole must shape and form and create that new space, whether or not it conforms to the original vision.
But let me say this. Even with Moon's "Plan#10", which was approved *in principle* at the last Guild meeting, with its 7 parcels, each with a build which, if I foresee correctly, will be a huge building using every last resource available to it, the hillside will contain a density of buildings easily rivalling the main valley of NFS. And I have heard proposals increasing that number of parcels from 7 to 12 to 15 to 20 and more.
In RL I live in New York City, and I frequently travel outside the city to nearby towns. I submit that the north valley of NFS has a build density very similiar to the towns immediately surrounding New York City, and an "Alpine Meadows" sim as proposed will clearly have a density equal to this or higher.
I would like to propose an alternative. On the assumption that the Alpine Meadows sim is a sim not for a select group of people who might live there, but rather a sim which connects our existing communities and increases the value of our towns and private land, I propose that *none* of the land on Alpine Meadows be sold. I propose that the sim be purchased by the community, for the greater good of the community. And I propose that it be used for the purposes for which it was proposed and intended even before proposals were submitted.
What does this mean?
Those who are interested have been able to read every month the financial picture of our community on the "Finance" page of the website. http://neufreistadt.info/id13.html Those who do can see that we can, indeed, with our current cash, buy a sim. If we were planning this sim as a 'destination" sim, like NFS and CN, this sum of money would probably be insufficient, since we would need to project several months of tier shortfall as land is slowly sold and begins to generate income. Even without this need for cash for tier, an outright cash purchase of a sim right now would leave us with a very slim cash margin... but we could do it.
So, we could buy it. How would we support it?
In explaining my proposal, let me be very clear. This sim benefits the entire CDS community... *not* simply the potential residents of it. This proposal is a radical acknowledgement that the benefit here to be gained is to the whole community... and therefore the enitre community should support it.
We already know that our existing tier (monthly taxes) will go up as a result of purchasing this sim. We pay now approximately US$400/month tier. With the addition of this sim, the total bill will be approx US$700. With the current proposals, unless we plan to have the new residents pay a huge premium to live on this much more expensive sim, we will have to equalize the tier payments across all three sims, meaning that everyone's tier will rise.
My support system has two parts.
Part One is to suggest that we simply raise every person's tier a bit more, with the assumption that since no private property will exist on the new sim, existing private property owners monthly payments will need to cover much of the cost. For those who balk at an increase in tier, please remember that tier will increase anyway, by a certain percent, and many of our citizens pay US$1.50/month and less. As it is, our tier rates are very low compared to much of SL. Remember, too, that before too long, LL will in their infinite wisdom raise the tier on NFS and CN to US$300/month, so our tier rates will have to rise in any case.
Part Two is to propose that, while not offering land to sale to individual citizens, we do make land available to bonafide, RA approved NGOs, on a very limited basis. I would presume that "the Monastery Project" intends to gain a charter from the RA, and so would be an example of a suitable use of the sim. The land would not be "sold" to the Monastery, or to any other NGO, just like the land now used by the MoCA and by the School is not owned by them, but rather owned by the CDS. And, like the MoCA, the School (and I hope soon the Kirche), these institutions would pay their share of the monthly tier.
So, a suitably constructed monastery might be a consistent use of the sim as proposed here. Another use might be as an extension of the MoCA... not a building per se, but rather an outdoor location for artworks. Other suitable uses might be those small (emphasize *SMALL*) buildings which might be associated with the recreational activities that the sim provides... perhaps a ski lift, or a quiet meditation area.
All land in the sim would by owned by the CDS. No "double primming" would be necessary. Much like the "prim bank" now used in NFS to allocate prims between and among the needs of the various NGO's and GO's, the prims on Alpine meadows would be allocated among those activities which are located there... organizations which serve the entire community of CDS.
I offer this proposal as an option which achieves two things:
1) It conforms to the original vision of the new sim as a transitional sim, a vision in place long before the approval of the Alpine Meadows concept (and probably the reason that the Alpine Meadows concept was so universally welcomed), and
2) It structures the new sim as a resource truly functioning as a resource for the whole community, and not just for those who live on it.
Sudane....................
But i think it is legitimate to make an economical plan, so that everyone knows what is the increase on their tier. Also, and very important, any final proposal will have to be presented to the RA and voted, accompanied by the respective financial plan.