The residents of Cedar Island met on 14 Aplit 2009 to approve the second Cedar Island Community Charter.

Cedar Island Community Charter

Learning

Cedar Island is a small, quiet, Second Life community for people who are involved in research or creative projects and are interested in sharing and discussing their work. To be a resident you must be involved in a learning project and be willing to share your work with others. Projects may be independent, professional, or academic.

As a Cedar resident, you agree to organize an educational event, exhibit, or give a brief talk on your studies twice each quarter. An educational event may be related to a Cedar-island business.

You should prepare a poster describing your project to be displayed in the Cedar Gallery. You may change this poster as often as you like, but you agree to keep it up to date with your current studies.

You are also encouraged to join or organize a study group. Study groups meet regularly and focus on the study of a particular area or problem. With the approval of the community, study groups may also offer certificates for competencies.

Membership, Decision Making, and Administration

When you first join Cedar Island, you become a temporary resident. You may apply for permanent membership after three months. Once you become a permanent resident you may continue to own Cedar Island land as long as you uphold the community agreement.

Cedar Island is run by the committee of all residents using a consensus decision making process on a Quaker model. (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consensus_decision-making , especially "Quaker Model" for information on this process.) The resident meeting meets monthly to decide on membership and community policy. Where there are serious disagreements, decision making may be restricted to permanent residents.

The resident’s meeting appoints (or re-appoints) a resident as Clerk of the meeting for a six month term. The meeting also appoints residents to help coordinate education and events, manage the gallery, track membership and recruit new members, manage community finances, and provide island security.

Community Agreement

By joining Cedar Island you agree to do your best to treat all your fellow residents in an egalitarian spirit, with respect and consideration, listening carefully to other's concerns.

You must agree to contribute each month to help pay community costs. The resident’s meeting will set the amount each calendar quarter. Commercial plots require a slightly higher monthly contribution. We are committed to offering substantial scholarships to residents who cannot afford to pay the full amount.

Displays of pornography or gratuitous depictions of violence are not allowed in public spaces or any space visible from public areas of Cedar Island. The resident meeting (without the content owner) may decide to exclude any content from the sim region.

In some cases it may be necessary to ban individuals who threaten others, leave objects, or disrupt. In all cases, we will approach the individual and ask them politely to refrain. If they continue after the warning they may be banned from the estate, either on a temporary or permenant basis. Any banned individual may apply to the resident’s meeting for a lifting of the ban.

Cedar Island Land Use and Building

All Cedar Island plots are 1024 m2 (each plot has x 2 or 468 prims) and includes a building and landscaping. The two islands include a large expanse of shared space including ocean and forest and spaces for public gatherings.

No commercial use of land is allowed except on commercial plots. You are encouraged to display and sell your work in the Cedar Island gallery.

Any structure you have on your land must be appropriate for a quiet, contemporary US Pacific Northwest coastal community. Any replacement of a house or any substantial modifications must be approved by the resident's meeting. Any substantial outdoor structure must also be approved.

If you have a residential plot, the footprint of your house may take up to 256 m2 and may not overlap plot boundaries. You must maintain a distance of two meters between houses unless you have the permission of the other house owner. Houses must be no more than 12 m high from the highest point where the land touches the base of the house.

If you have a commercial plot, the structure may not exceed 18 m high from the highest point where the land touches the base of the building.

Each residential plot should have enough trees to maintain the look of a wooded US Pacific Northwest residential neighborhood. Trees and plants must be appropriate for the Pacific Northwest or coastal Chile. The community provides landscaping services, trees, and plants free of charge.