On Mount Augusta and Property Rights (an explanation by a longtime Augustan)

We've had a lot of talk in town lately about the definition of property and what can be derilected and what can't. As a player who has played in previous iterations of our city and adheres to our historical interpretations of property rights, I'd like to shed some light on this.

Article IV of the Augustan constitution defines property as follows:

A. Definition of property

i. Any structure or development of the land that does not conflict with existing ownership of property.

ii. A space of two (2) blocks extending out from the outer edge of any structure shall be deemed part of the structure and serve as a buffer between structures.

iii. Plot ownership will extend from sky to bedrock within the plots’ space. If a new building shall be erected next to an existing one, there shall be a four (4) block buffer between the two structures. The two block buffer shall be considered the property of the structures’ builders unless an exception is made by law or mutually consenting exchange/contract with the adjoining plots party.

iv. If the placement or nature of a structure violates a law the owner shall be given notice and forty-eight hours to correct it before ownership is automatically relinquished and the offending aspects of the structure may be destroyed. Failure to properly notify the owner or wait the allotted forty-eight hours before altering the offending property will be a violation of section 100.01 of the Augustan Criminal Code.

It seems that there is currently a movement to consider only buildings themselves as property and I think section iii addresses this specifically. It states that plot ownership goes bedrock to sky limit. Article ii states that there shall be a 2 block buffer from each building for a total of 4 blocks minimum between a building and the next unless specifically agreed to by contract (I'll address this later). What this means is that if I claim a 10x10 area and build a house, no one can derilict or claim the area above it to build a giant statue of Reiko taking a shit on my house or the area under it to build a giant toilet bowl. My claim goes from bedrock to skylimit. People come to Augusta so they can live in peace and not have people harassing them constantly. We have no formalized "building codes," there are no plot rents, there is no tax on land. We are a city of land owners and free agents, owners of our own person and property who have chosen to live together for our mutual benefit. This really sets Augusta apart.

Claims go from bedrock to sky limit.

We've also had issues with people claiming large areas of land that they cannot hope to develop themselves or with help in any reasonable time frame. Usually they just put up a fence or wall around the outside to indicate ownership. If they're marking the boundaries for a plot that they're actively building, this is fine. But if all they do to improve the land is fence it off, it can arguably be placed up for deriliction after 7 days.

Mount Augusta's laws about land use are strongly rooted in the labour theory of land ownership. In the same way that no one can simply claim trees, no one can simply claim land. People take ownership of trees when they mix their labour with the tree by cutting it into logs or by building a treehouse in it. People take ownership of land when they build a building on it or landscape it into a beautiful garden. There is no provision in the constitution that says these structures have to be reinforced, but they do have to involve the mixing of a person's labour with the land in order to "improve" it.

Property is defined as any structure OR development of the land.

I don't think we need to pass any new laws regarding plots or property. It's already fairly clear. If you claim land, you need to actively develop it, or, you cease to have ownership. Property, as noted above, is "any structure or development of the land." In the case of a large fenced plot, **no land has been developed," and "no structure has been constructed," therefor no property is present. This also negates the need to derelict such claims. If nothing is built after 7 days of an area being claimed, there is literally no property to derelict. Article IV Section C Subsection i. clearly states that "Property that has shown no signs of improvement in 7 days shall be eligible for dereliction." Once again, since property is any "structure of development of the land," there is no property to derilect, only unused land that someone has made an unjustified ownership claim over.

This is based on the Mount Augustan constitution. It avoids the pitfalls of the "reinforced structures only" view of property that has been promulgated by some people, who undoubtedly have good intentions. This reading of the law is not only philosophically sound, but it presents a definition of property and the rights associated therewith that applies equally to a bedrock to skylimit tower, a nice house with a garden, or a man-made lake with benches, streetlights, and walking paths.

Some of you may be wondering, "If claims go from bedrock to skylimit," this makes my plans for an apartment building, multi-story market, warehouse building, etc. non-functional. Well fortunately, in addition to our view of property, Augustans can, like any other person in any country on the map, enter into contracts. If I have a small warehouse on the surface and my neighbour has buildings on both sides and wants to build an underground tunnel connecting them, I can write up a contract granting him conditional, or even unconditional use of the land under my plot. MAFO is an example of such a plot. Me, Doughy, and Diet built MAFO, developed the land where it is located, and thereby created "property." However, we have entered into a contract of sorts to have it's use restricted to factories and such. Turkey, if he had elected to so, would have been totally within his rights to offer a permanent or time-constrained easement above his building on Augusta avenue to Hobbyist or anyone else who wanted to build a tree-house above it. I'm not going to involve myself with that situation any more than I'm already involved, but I did want to provide an example of how a contract might grant multiple people use, but not explicit ownership, of a land claim. If you enter into any contracts with your neighbours, or with other people to build structures or use your land, I recommend you post that agreement on the sub or somewhere safe where you can keep it as evidence if you ever go to trial regarding it. For purposes of this game, all of you are full fledged adult citizens with all the same rights and responsibilities. You can enter into contracts, you can own property, and you can make your own decisions.

Lastly, one of the expectations in Mount Augusta, and an uncodified rule of the city, is don't be a dick. You might want to claim that huge 200x200 plot for your epic build, but be aware that you are not the only person who lives here, and other people want to live and work downtown and near MAFO too. If you want to make a large claim, try to get community support for the project. Work with multiple friends to get it up faster. If it's unnecessary to be right downtown, consider putting your large builds a little further out where you won't have to fight anyone for land ownership. That's what "don't be a dick" means to me. If we fight and bicker and cook ourselves alive in a cesspool of shit stained salt, we will come out as losers, as a city. We can't afford to fight each other and we have to work together. I'd like to ask every single Augustan to me mindfull of their claims. The way things are right now, we shouldn't have any significant land problems until we're much bigger and much more developed.