# Location Selection Process

## Purpose

Select locations that can support a safe, autonomous, legally viable, and economically meaningful Specus Village.

## Trigger

A new country, region, or land plot is proposed.

## Owner

To be defined.

## Core Rule

```text
fatal flaws first, beauty second
```

Specus Village не выбирает землю только по красоте, цене или вайбу. Сначала нужно доказать, что участок юридически, физически и операционно выдерживает Village.

## Process

### 1. Country / Region Screen

Before individual land plots, compare the country or region:

- land tenure clarity;
- foreign ownership / lease rules;
- planning certainty;
- rural road access;
- power reliability;
- internet backbone;
- water regime;
- wastewater regulation;
- hazard data maturity;
- healthcare and EMS baseline;
- construction ecosystem;
- tourism and demand context;
- local supply-chain depth;
- insurance and finance environment;
- municipal and community culture.

### 2. Red-Flag Gate

Do not score a site until these red flags are checked:

- unclear, disputed or non-transferable title;
- missing legal access / easement;
- zoning that clearly blocks the Village concept;
- no legally secure water source;
- no compliant wastewater route;
- seasonally cut-off or construction-incompatible access;
- buildable area in severe flood, erosion, landslide or wildfire exposure;
- geotechnical conditions that make foundations, roads or utilities abnormal;
- strong municipal or community opposition;
- serious security environment;
- no legal or physical path to later phases.

Unresolved red flag = **hold / reject**, regardless of visual appeal.

### 3. Weighted Scoring

Score every viable site from 0 to 5:

- **5** — excellent; ordinary mitigation only;
- **4** — good; manageable risk or cost premium;
- **3** — conditional; viable with explicit mitigation, CAPEX and permit plan;
- **2** — weak; serious constraint or uncertainty;
- **1** — poor; only if strategically exceptional and cheap;
- **0** — fail.

Use these weighted criteria:

| Criterion | Weight |
|---|---:|
| Legal / zoning status | 6 |
| Land ownership and use rights | 7 |
| Access road | 4 |
| Emergency access | 4 |
| Distance to airport / city | 4 |
| Medical access | 3 |
| Water availability | 7 |
| Wastewater feasibility | 6 |
| Power | 3 |
| Internet | 2 |
| Climate comfort | 3 |
| Natural hazards | 5 |
| Fire risk | 4 |
| Flood / drainage | 5 |
| Soil and foundation conditions | 6 |
| Construction logistics | 5 |
| Local labour and suppliers | 4 |
| Hospitality potential | 5 |
| Food system potential | 4 |
| Community / municipal acceptance | 5 |
| Security | 4 |
| Long-term scalability | 4 |

### 4. Evidence Confidence

Each score must have an evidence grade:

- **A** — legal documents, licensed expert report, utility confirmation, official map or measured field data;
- **B** — strong desktop evidence, provider letters, municipal discussions or credible secondary data;
- **C** — visual impression, seller statement or unverified estimate.

Apply confidence multiplier:

- mostly A: `1.00`;
- mixed A/B: `0.90`;
- mostly B/C: `0.80`.

### 5. Decision Bands

| Final Score | Decision |
|---:|---|
| 85–100 | pursue immediately |
| 70–84 | pursue conditionally |
| 55–69 | reserve / watchlist |
| below 55 | do not pursue |

Red flags override score.

## Required A-Grade Evidence Before Sales

Do not market a site as a home plot, infrastructure package or full Village concept until these are A-grade:

- legal control;
- legal access;
- water;
- wastewater;
- buildable area / hazard confirmation.

## Location Archetypes

### Near-Access Village

Best for residential sales.

Prioritise:

- road reliability;
- medical access;
- utilities;
- municipal acceptance.

### Destination Village

Best for residential + hospitality.

Prioritise:

- airport access;
- destination appeal;
- seasonality;
- social licence.

### Remote-Regenerative Village

Only pursue if water, food-system potential, hazard resilience and self-sufficiency are exceptional.

## First Site Visit Checklist

- Drive the full approach route in and out.
- Record road surface, bridges, steep segments and difficult turns.
- Test whether fire truck, ambulance, crane, module trailer and concrete truck could access.
- Check low points for debris lines, ponding, erosion and blocked drainage.
- Look for seasonal water signs.
- Ask local people where the site floods, burns, loses power or becomes inaccessible.
- Identify the real buildable terrace / plateau, not only gross land area.
- Check nearby nuisance: odour, quarry, heavy traffic, noise, industrial use.
- Run internet tests at several points.
- Measure real travel time to clinic, emergency department, fuel, builders’ merchant and municipality.
- Speak with planner, firefighter, road engineer, well driller and septic installer if possible.
- Check whether phase two can expand without fatal legal or physical constraints.

## Expert Checks

| Expert | Minimum deliverable |
|---|---|
| Property lawyer / title specialist | title review, encumbrance schedule, easement / access memo |
| Planning consultant / land-use lawyer | planning route memo, approvals schedule, red-line issues |
| Licensed surveyor | boundary, topo and access survey |
| Hydrogeologist / water engineer | yield, seasonality, quality and storage concept |
| Wastewater soil scientist / sanitary engineer | site-and-soil evaluation, system options, regulator path |
| Geotechnical engineer | soil / foundation report with risk zones |
| Civil / road / drainage engineer | access feasibility, road upgrades, stormwater concept |
| Fire consultant / forester | fire-risk memo, egress, suppression-water and defensible-space plan |
| Flood / hydrology engineer | flood and overland-flow assessment with build / no-build map |
| Modular logistics specialist | route survey, laydown and crane / assembly concept |
| Environmental / social consultant | EIA trigger memo, stakeholder map, consultation plan |
| Market / hospitality analyst | demand memo, seasonality and comparator set |

## Output

A location decision file in the relevant folder under `08_LOCATIONS`.

Before a site can move forward, it must pass legal due diligence in `04_OPERATIONS/Business_Processes/Legal_Due_Diligence_Process.md`.

## Brand / Trust Use

The location framework is part of trust architecture:

```text
Specus does not merely sell attractive land; it pre-qualifies village locations.
```