Transparent Region Development Guidelines

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Lyubov
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Transparent Region Development Guidelines

Post by Lyubov »

NL 5-7 Civil Service Act, https://cdsdemocracy.org/faqs/nl-5-7-civil-service-act/ contains a section, "D. Transparent Region Development Guidelines".

I would like to create a new Transparent Region Development Act to contain this information in a more logical stand-alone act and I would also like to more clearly detail who is responsible for each area and how much public notice is required in advance of any action.

I created a draft Google Sheet that contains a list of development areas, "Change Item". I would appreciate your thoughts on this list as well as the responsible parties and notification durations; please consider this as only a starting point for this conversation. The live sheet is embedded below.

Definitions:

  • Seasonal Ground/Tree Texture: Simple changing of the existing textures to fit the current season

  • Moveable Furniture: Any item that would be considered "moveable" in the real world, such as tables, chairs, cafe umbrellas, food cart, etc.

  • Permanent Decor: Decorative items that are not easily moveable in the real world, such as street lamps, a fountain, road signs, large tree planters, bollards.

  • Region Environment: "Windlight" or "EEP" settings for day cycle, color, cloud cover, etc.

  • Add/Remove/Change Trees, Rocks, Water, Roads: Changes beyond the routine seasonal texture change

  • Parcel number, shape, size: Adding or removing parcels, and any change to the size or shape of a parcel

  • Add/Change CDS-Owned structures: Any addition, removal, or change to a structure (for example, a building, quay, forum, plaza) on "public land", which includes "anchored" buildings such as those found inside the walls of NFS, Stella Marina, the LA Fishing Village and other structures not under the control of the parcel's owner.

  • Terraforming: Small adjustments to correct imperfections such as ground showing through a sidewalk would not require a notification or approval

  • Chancellor Discretion: Items solely within the Chancellor's discretion to affect, although public notice may still be required.

  • LUC Advisory: While not Required, it may be considered "best practice" for "significant" changes to seek the LUC's advice.

  • RA Approval: Does the change require approval by the RA?

  • Notice Required: Public notification period (via Forum post) required before change may be made or before the RA may vote to approve proposed change.

Notes:

Seasonal Ground and Tree Textures are listed as items within the Chancellor's Discretion, but also requiring 7 days notice. This notice is currently served through Delia's wonderful Weather Reports for example.

Change items such as trees and rocks may be covered through a blanket proposal such as "Replace Brand X trees in Region 1 with Brand Y trees".

A Temporary Event Venue is within the Chancellor's Discretion to erect for that purpose, but a minimal public notice may be advisable especially if it is a large build and may be in place for several days or weeks.

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Re: Transparent Region Development Guidelines

Post by Kyoko »

It's nice to try for clarity, but I am wondering why most of the below need RA approval.

Many of them have been, historically LUC/Chancellor discretion. And I know both Rosie and I have done several of these items if not all with discussion by LUC.

I'm going to be blunt. I see this as a power grab by the RA. No, I'm not running for Chancellor again. I'm too old and cranky.

I think at least 2/3 of the list should be Chancellor/LUC. I would also like someone with more wattage than I have to check this list against the Chancellor's responsibilities as laid out in The Constitution.

Add/Remove/Change Trees
Add/Remove/Change Rocks
Add/Remove/Change Water
Add/Remove/Change Roads
Parcel Number, Shape, Size
Add/Change CDS-owned structures
Terraforming

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Re: Transparent Region Development Guidelines

Post by Kyoko »

Missed this one.

Permanent Decor (fountain, bollard)

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Re: Transparent Region Development Guidelines

Post by Tanoujin Milestone »

General note: I am very lenient regarding RA approval, I would reserve that for region development plans of larger scope. Sometimes a tree or rock on public land disturbs a citizen (intruding home, blocking tierbox etc). For the sake of quick help and the mental health of the chancellor and estate Managers I would not force them to seek RA approval in this cases. This would apply to minor terraforming as well. It needs a bit of sense of what is appropriate.

On the other hand it could be good practice of the Chancellor to bring permanent changes to furniture, decor, trees, rocks and water up to discussion at the LUC meetings - why not? I doubt this would hurt much.

With the public notification I have an general issue. As long as we discuss transparency, my main point is that I wish the persons in charge publish their work. I would like to know what happened and who did it. In my opinion it is wrong modesty to work in the shadow for the public good if one is holding an office. Work on public property needs publicity.

So I do not ask the officials to plan, publish and hold it until approval unless it is about big changes to the region layout like adding or removing larger water structures and roads, along with adding, removing or changing parcels, public or anchored buildings and significant changes to the landscape.

What is on my mind instead, is publishing on the forums after the fact and put it up for discussion in an open and unbiased way with the ordinary citzen who might feel affected. Lets say you change 15 trees to low prim and better look. Do it and post it. Maybe there is applause (most likely). Maybe there is silence - then lets say after 7 days of no rreaction your change is approved. Maybe someone complains - in this case you can try to find a solution, and if this is not possible you or your opponent can bring this to the RA for decision.

I miss this option of notification in the current analysis.

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Re: Transparent Region Development Guidelines

Post by Lilith Ivory »

I agree with Tan :)

Lets not forget the original intention of the Transparent Region Development act is to keep our citizens informed about changes in our region and give them a chance to voice complaints, not to add more bureaucracy to our community and make the work of the executive team unnecessarily difficult.

The section with Trees, Rocks, Water and Roads need to be more nuanced.
We have to distinguish between minor and major changes in our environment and define it so there are no misunderstandings.

For example:
The chancellor and the EM team need to have the power to add, remove or change single trees without having to wait 7 days and for RA approval
Only if a whole forest would have to be added or removed 7 day notice and RA approval is necessary as this is a major change in our landscape.
Same with adding, removing and changing rocks as it makes a difference if we are talking about a single boulder or a huge wall of rocks.

While it is important to have more than one person decide about major changes in our Estate the RA is our legislative body and should´t be distracted by micromanaging the work of the executive. Our most experienced builders and landscape designers are in the LUC and I think we can trust them to find the best new creations of trees, rocks, water and whatever and present them to the chancellor.

@Kyoko: the constitution is not hammered in stone and can be amended if the RA decides to do so. In my personal opinion the section about powers of the chancellor is a bit foggy and never worked very well. So it might be a good idea to clarify what a chancellor can and can not do :)

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Re: Transparent Region Development Guidelines

Post by Almut Brunswick »

First of all a big thank you for Lyubov's work to set up this table.

I agree with Kyoko that the advising (!) role of the LUC should be extended and covering the topics

  • Add/Remove/Change Trees

  • Add/Remove/Change Rocks

  • Add/Remove/Change Water

  • Add/Remove/Change Roads

  • Parcel Number, Shape, Size

  • Add/Change CDS-owned structures

  • Terraforming

The acting bodies can still ignore the advice, but in the LUC are the most experienced builders and gardeners. There is no need to limit the LUC to the really big projects at all.

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Re: Transparent Region Development Guidelines

Post by Rosie Gray »

I agree with Tan's comments, in particular; "Lets not forget the original intention of the Transparent Region Development act is to keep our citizens informed about changes in our region and give them a chance to voice complaints, not to add more bureaucracy to our community and make the work of the executive team unnecessarily difficult." Tan is referring to NL 5-7 Civil Service Act and item D - the Transparent Region Development Guidelines that are a part of it.

What we need to find is a reasonable balance between getting things done in a timely manner, quality assurance, and a sharing of responsibilities. Historically, the Chancellor has had the authority to basically do whatever they want as long as it didn't change the theme of the regions. Most Chancellor's have not taken this authority to the extreme, but it has happened, and we must prevent that from ever happening again. However, most Chancellor's have done their best to strike a balance between getting things done and discussing with the community beforehand, and including others in the decision making. My point here being that we don't need to make things so tied up in detail that nobody wants to bother doing anything. I can tell you that if I in the role of Chancellor have to get approval to replace/upgrade/place a tree, a rock, etc., then not only will I never bother updating and improving anything, but I would never want to be Chancellor again. It is one of the very few 'fun' things that the job allows.

Here's my suggestion for clarification:

1) The Chancellor has the discretion to replace/upgrade/place individual trees, rocks, street-lights, and other environmental decor as they see fit without consultation, providing that they fit the theme and ambience of the area and don't interfere with any citizen's enjoyment of their land.

2) Important structural elements to be changed: including public buildings, roads and pathways, forests and parks, large dramatic or important land formations must be posted to the forum for a period of no less than 10 days for public discussion. If there are objections to the plans then the work must be kept on hold until and if a concensus is found.

3) The Land Use Commission (LUC) reviews the regions on a regular basis and finds areas that need attention for upgrades or changes. If changes are small they may recommend them to the Chancellor directly. If important changes are being recommended (see item 2 above), then the LUC creates a proposal and presents it to the Chancellor and the Representative Assembly (RA) and posts to the forum for a minimum of 10 days for public comment. If the Chancellor agrees to the changes, the Chancellor assigns the work to a CDS Artisan Guild member, or a member of the Executive team. The RA's role is to ensure that the process is followed properly and to make comment on behalf of RA and citizen members.

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Re: Transparent Region Development Guidelines

Post by Kyoko »

Thanks Rosie.

It's what I wish I had written. (Apologies for my earlier snark.)

You make the important points concerning free-flow vs logjam and I think you place the relationship of the RA and chancellor in proper perspective.

If I had a vote it would be a big YES for Rosie's analysis.

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Re: Transparent Region Development Guidelines

Post by Delia Lake »

All these are good clarifications I think. I'd like to add one more very minor thing that I think EMs with terraforming permissions should be able to do without posting for comment first. This is that there are a few, a very few spots in our regions where SL technology in the past has made it impossible to smooth out very small spots. This has shown as holes that could not be filed. Sometimes we, primarily Sudane, Rosie and I, have covered those spots with rocks because there was no other fix. Recently I have noticed that it is possible too smooth out some of those tiny spots. I would suggest that we be permitted to do that on the spot as the only thing it would ever affect is to make it possible for a parcel owner if it is on a sold plot to be able to do attractive landscaping without having to resort to covering the hole. As I said there are very few of these spots but I don't think we have found and fixed all of them yet.

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Re: Transparent Region Development Guidelines

Post by Rosie Gray »

Delia Lake wrote: Fri Oct 02, 2020 4:56 pm

All these are good clarifications I think. I'd like to add one more very minor thing that I think EMs with terraforming permissions should be able to do without posting for comment first. This is that there are a few, a very few spots in our regions where SL technology in the past has made it impossible to smooth out very small spots. This has shown as holes that could not be filed. Sometimes we, primarily Sudane, Rosie and I, have covered those spots with rocks because there was no other fix. Recently I have noticed that it is possible too smooth out some of those tiny spots. I would suggest that we be permitted to do that on the spot as the only thing it would ever affect is to make it possible for a parcel owner if it is on a sold plot to be able to do attractive landscaping without having to resort to covering the hole. As I said there are very few of these spots but I don't think we have found and fixed all of them yet.

I would consider that as part of point 1 I made about minor changes. It would be silly to have to request permission to fix a small error.

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Re: Transparent Region Development Guidelines

Post by Tanoujin Milestone »

This is a complex topic for sure, but we need to move it forward because we have to solve this first to get to clean up the Public Servant Act and keep the issue of public notification out of the LUC Act. Much later we can return to the constitutional issues with the Powers of the Chancellor in a sense of clarifying and describing what happens in reality. We have the luck to enjoy best practice at the moment, so do not forget that is no burning problem now. To get the transparency Act done *is* a burning problem. We are stuck, and the term comes to an end.

The good news are, if we get this done, the Public Servant Act is fine, we just strike the passage with the public notification, and we have a very nice draft for the LUC Act from Almut that needs just a bit of tweaking in the last passage.

I promise to write a summary of this fruitful discussion as soon as possible with focus on what we already agree upon. But right now I need to take care of RL, so I ask for a little patience. Please do not let this post stop you from sharing your thoughts.

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Re: Transparent Region Development Guidelines

Post by Tanoujin Milestone »

Discussion Summary

NL 5-7 Civil Service Act, https://cdsdemocracy.org/faqs/nl-5-7-civil-service-act/
section, "D. Transparent Region Development Guidelines"

Permanent changes to public land, outside of the seasonal tree and ground texture changes and official CDS temporary structures for events, have to be announced in the forums and allow a comment period of 10 days, to make sure the interests of neighboring parcel owners are taken into account. Public spaces have to be developed in accordance with policy and changes need to be subject to public comment and review

Lyuba: create a new Transparent Region Development Act to contain this information in a more logical stand-alone act

Items: Seasonal Tree and Ground Textures, Temporary Event Venue, Environment Settings, Moveable Furniture, Permanent Decor, Add/Remove/Change Trees, Rocks, Water, Roads, Other CDS-owned Structures, Terraforming, Parcel (Number/ Shape/ Size)

Rights and Duties:
Chancellor Discretion, optional LUC Advisory, RA Approval (required or not), Public Notice (after/before the fact, timeframe)

Kyoko: Trees, Rocks, Water, Roads, Parcels, Permanent Decor, CDS-owned Structures, Terraforming traditionally at Chancellors discretion with input by LUC.

Tanoujin: Minor permanent changes to Furniture, Decor, Trees, Rocks, Water to be mentioned at the LUC meeting for optional discussion. (add: May be implemented before publishing if first opportunity of roll out is taken and opportunity to discuss or object given. If mentioned at the GQT, in the Executive Report or any other transcripted meeting change is deemed as published). RA approval for [Add/Remove/Change] larger Water Structures, larger Roads, Parcels, larger CDS-owned Structures, significant changes to the Landscape.

Lilith: Objective: keep citizens informed about changes and give them a chance to complain, not adding more bureaucracy and making the work of the Exec unnecessary difficult. Exact definition of „minor“ and „major“ changes needed. Keep micromanaging away from the RA and leave it to the LUC, where the expertise is concentrated.

Almut: extend the LUC’s optional advising to the items Kyoko mentioned.

Rosie: Find a reasonable balance between getting things done, QA and sharing of responsibilities. We do not need to make things so tied up in detail that nobody wants to bother doing anything.
Proposed:

„1) The Chancellor has the discretion to replace/upgrade/place individual trees, rocks, street-lights, and other environmental decor as they see fit without consultation, providing that they fit the theme and ambience of the area and don't interfere with any citizen's enjoyment of their land.

2) Important structural elements to be changed: including public buildings, roads and pathways, forests and parks, large dramatic or important land formations must be posted to the forum for a period of no less than 10 days for public discussion. If there are objections to the plans then the work must be kept on hold until and if a concensus is found.

3) The Land Use Commission (LUC) reviews the regions on a regular basis and finds areas that need attention for upgrades or changes. If changes are small they may recommend them to the Chancellor directly. If important changes are being recommended (see item 2 above), then the LUC creates a proposal and presents it to the Chancellor and the Representative Assembly (RA) and posts to the forum for a minimum of 10 days for public comment. If the Chancellor agrees to the changes, the Chancellor assigns the work to a CDS Artisan Guild member, or a member of the Executive team. The RA's role is to ensure that the process is followed properly and to make comment on behalf of RA and citizen members.“

Kyoko: agrees with Rosie

Delia: Ems should be allowed to do minor corrective terraforming on faulty landscape without posting for comment first.

Rosie: subsumes Delias point under 1)

Tanoujin: Legislative roadmap: We need to get the Transparent Region Development Act done first, secondly strike the passage about Public Notification from NL 5-7 Civil Service Act and finish the LUC Act in a third step.

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Re: Transparent Region Development Guidelines

Post by Tanoujin Milestone »

Comment@Rosie: good text, I just wonder if we can find a solution for your Point 3) which obviously is controversal as turned out in the RA meeting oth the 20th of October.

The RA's role is to ensure that the process is followed properly and to make comment on behalf of RA and citizen members.

While I like the emphasis on conflict solution between Exec and ordinary Citizen, which should be faciliated by the RA, I do not see how the RA can ensure that the process is followed properly if it has no way to approve or even reject a proposal for further discussion.

As you know it is most unlikely that the Exec/LUC proposals fail during times of good practice. We have a healthy discussion climate at the moment. But I think it would be good to give the RA a lever to check back this important decisions, just as you can veto our legislation if we go bonkers ;)

So I would like to add:

The RA's role is to ensure that the process is followed properly, to make comment on behalf of RA and citizen members and approve the proposals if there are no serious and reasonable objections.

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Re: Transparent Region Development Guidelines

Post by Rosie Gray »

The RA's role is to ensure that the process is followed properly, to make comment on behalf of RA and citizen members and approve the proposals if there are no serious and reasonable objections.

I agree with this amendment to my draft. Thank you Tan.

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Re: Transparent Region Development Guidelines

Post by Tanoujin Milestone »

1) The Chancellor has the discretion to replace/upgrade/place individual trees, rocks, street-lights, and other environmental decor as they see fit without consultation, providing that they fit the theme and ambience of the area and don't interfere with any citizen's enjoyment of their land.

Suggestion 1:

„1) The Chancellor has the discretion to replace/upgrade/place individual trees, rocks, street-lights, and other environmental decor and perform minor terraforming as they see fit [...]

Suggestion 2:

Add to 1)
„To keep the Citizens informed about changes and give them a chance to publicly complain, the Chancellor will bring up any minor changes made to the CDS environment at the next LUC meeting for discussion. If there is no complain after 7 days after publishing the transcript, the changes are deemed approved.“

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