Imperial Edict XIV/Text

By order of Her Majesty,

The First Newportian Empire shall now recognize five distinct types of property:

1) Undeveloped private property,

2) Developed private property,

3) Undeveloped subterranean property,

4) Developed subterranean property, and

5) Public property.

Private property shall hereby be defined as any piece of land within the Empire which has been claimed by an individual or individuals to utilize as they see fit, within the restrictions of building codes and Imperial law. An individual’s claim to private property shall now be legally considered to extend upwards to infinity, and downwards exactly twenty blocks below the ground level. The term “ground level” shall hereby be defined as the y-level of the lowest finished floor on the property, or the y-level of the lowest grass, sand, or dirt block exposed to the surface if no finished building exists. Claims to new private property shall not impede on existing property claims, including, but not limited to, neighboring private properties and public properties, such as roads.

Undeveloped private property shall hereby be defined as any piece of private property which has been claimed, but on which significant construction has not yet occurred. Undeveloped private property claims shall only be valid if the claimant leaves a sign on said property displaying their name and the date the claim was made. If no such sign has been left on the property, the Empire reserves the right to reclaim the property at any time prior to construction. The claimant of the undeveloped private property shall retain the rights to the property for a period of seven days. If no development by the claimant has occurred within the property seven days after the property has been claimed, the claim shall be rendered null and void, and rights to the property shall revert back to the Empire for other citizens to claim. Should the claimant initiate construction on the property within seven days after the claim was made, the undeveloped private property shall be reclassified as developed private property.

Developed private property shall hereby be defined as any piece of private property encompassing finished or in-progress building(s) and/or agricultural development. Developed and undeveloped private property claims shall encompass a reasonable area with respect to the surrounding development and natural landscape, and shall not impede on any previously-established neighboring public or private property. Any property claim may be deemed unreasonable by a majority vote of the Court of Common Pleas; the Monarch shall not have the power to declare any property size unreasonable. Should the Court deem a property of unreasonable size, the property claimant may be asked to decrease the area of their claim as necessary.

Subterranean property shall hereby be defined as private property which has been constructed underground, not as part of a surface-level private property claim, with no directly adjacent access to the surface. This category includes, but is not limited to, mining tunnels, underground rail lines, and underground bunkers.

Undeveloped subterranean property shall hereby be defined as any piece of subterranean property which largely includes naturally-generated blocks (stone, dirt, ores, water, etc.) and simple player-placed blocks (cobblestone, torches, chests, etc.). Undeveloped private property shall extend three-dimensionally in each direction one block beyond the excavated area. This type of subterranean property shall essentially be considered private property of the constructor; that is, the constructor shall retain the rights to chests and other items within the property; however, any damage done by other players to blocks which do not contain items within the property shall not be considered griefing. Additionally, surface-level private property claims shall supersede any undeveloped subterranean property located less than twenty blocks below the surface property’s ground level, even if the surface-level claim was made after the construction of the undeveloped subterranean property.

Developed subterranean property shall hereby be defined as any piece of subterranean property which has been intentionally developed as a finished dwelling and utilizes advanced player-placed blocks and/or decoration (rails, concrete, stone bricks, polished blocks, vegetation, etc.). Developed private property shall extend three-dimensionally in each direction one block beyond the excavated area. This type of subterranean property shall be fully considered private property of the constructor; that is, the constructor shall retain the rights to all blocks within the property. Any damage done by other players to blocks within the property shall be considered griefing. Additionally, surface-level private property claims made after the construction of the developed subterranean property shall not impede the subterranean property, even if the subterranean property is located less than twenty blocks below the surface property’s ground level.

Public property shall hereby be defined as any piece of land within the Empire which has been claimed and/or developed by the Monarch or a government institution for the collective use of the public, including, but not limited to, roads, public farms, and government buildings. Essentially, public property is directly owned by the Empire, and shall not be griefed or otherwise altered by private citizens. No claims to private property shall impede on previously-established public property.

All existing property within the Empire shall hereafter be classified as one of these five distinct types of property. Exceptions to the regulations imposed by this legislation may be granted by the Newport Department of Urban Planning. The regulations imposed by this legislation shall not apply retroactively; that is, existing claims to property need not be decreased.