A Proposal for Locus Amoenus

[Tor Karlsvalt]

For several years our community has recognized that we must develop a new plan for Locus Amoenus. Hard economic times in the world and SL in particular result in Locus Amoenus being our worst performing sim with occupancy consistently under 50 percent.

Last winter our community held meetings and struggled to arrive at some consensus over Locus Amoenus. Most want to keep the sim, but improve it and make it a strong and attractive member of the Confederation. I believe that the the following recommendation is close to views expressed during those meetings last winter and in conversations I have had with many of our current residents.

I request that the Representative Assembly charge the Guild to plan the redevelopment of Locus Amoenus with the following guidelines.

• • The theme should retain the Mediterranean flavor but be representative of the modern era while spanning the ancient up to the mid 20th Century.
  • The theme should retain aspects of a Greek or Southern Italian fishing village and Riviera.
  • The water area should be increased. This could be done several ways. One way could be the addition of a large interior lake or bay. Another would involve pushing the beach back at to allow for more sea.
  • Consideration that the area above a larger beach and sea could permit a sky platform for use as a festival area or sandbox.
  • The harbor or beach area should include some suitable outdoor event space.
  • The three clusters of four 512 sqm parcels should be redrawn into generally square parcels without the shared inner court.
  • The North border of the sim could be redeveloped to include cliffs and a small beach accessed by stairs. This would provide a more natural sim border.
  • Although it is important to have a mix of parcels in order to attract a variety of people to our community, the sim should have fewer parcels of only 512 sqm.
  • A reduction in the number of parcels must consider the impact on tier. In other words, fully sold, the sim should sustain itself and contribute to the vital expenditures of a thriving community.

The Guild can work with these as guidelines for redevelopment of the sim. I am sure there will be many ideas arising as plans are considered. Also, care should be taken to include as many voices as can be reasonably heard in the planning stages. I note that Alexia has a plan put forth some time ago.

I am uncertain of how long this would take. I would welcome expert thoughts with regard to a timeframe. However I would hope that we can begin work on a new Locus Amoenus before the end of this term.

Views from others on plans for Locus Amoenus are welcome. However, I urge all to not cause argument at this stage prevent the planning stage from going forward. I am sure we will have ample time for comment and review.

It is my hope that we can offer Locus Amoenus a new start. Where it might indeed become the preferred residence in CDS.

[Callipygian]

Tor, thank you for putting a concrete proposal on the table.

Just a couple of things for consideration.

I request that the Representative Assembly charge the Guild to plan the redevelopment of Locus Amoenus with the following guidelines.

• • The theme should retain the Mediterranean flavor but be representative of the modern era while spanning the ancient up to the mid 20th Century.
  • The theme should retain aspects of a Greek or Southern Italian fishing village and Riviera.

This description sounds quite vague, and therefore likely a very challenging theme to provide simple covenants for. If we want a cohesive, attractive sim that fits in between CN and Monastery I think it would be better to be more specific. Elsewhere I've suggested Tuscany, and a number of others have expressed a 'yes' to Tuscany as a theme. Tuscan landscape has both pastoral land, towns and oceanfront villages, leading to a range of building styles - but it is fairly easy to identify what 'Tuscan' looks and feels like, making covenants easier to create, understand and enforce.

I'd also suggest specifying post-Roman to the end of the 19th century (or pre-WWI since that was the turning point of a lot of architecture and design); mid 20th includes everything, from neo-classical, neo-byzantine, art deco, art nouveau right on through the Futurists and Le Courbousier. I think within that scope you could build just about anything and 'prove' it was within covenant.

• • Although it is important to have a mix of parcels in order to attract a variety of people to our community, the sim should have fewer parcels of only 512 sqm.
  • A reduction in the number of parcels must consider the impact on tier. In other words, fully sold, the sim should sustain itself and contribute to the vital expenditures of a thriving community.

I believe that currently LA is a double primmed sim, making a 512 already equivalent in prims and cost to a 1024 elsewhere. I am not sure what the balance of smaller to larger lots should be, just suggesting it is a consideration. It would also be easy enough to revert to single prim parcels, but that would result in far less public land (or water) in a sustainable sim.

I too hope that action on this happens soon Tor

Calli

[alexia]

I gave to Tor / to make available for guild - an old proposal of mine on LA. It is a full perm scale model that can be transfered to anybody interested. The concept is based on an "inner lake" and a sort of fishermen village facing the inner lake. Just a small brick for the discussion. My personal opinion is that CDS should strongly protect the environmental and architectural quality of the sim. I therefore propose either an entirely built sim (as eg. Al Andalus was) - or 2nd option a "catalogue" of houses to rez - or (3rd option at worst) a redefinition of covenants with a strict control - which up to now we largely demonstrate we are not able to manage or guarantee.