Note, this page is announcements from Pennsics prior the current year. If you want to see announcements for the current year, see Current Communications of the Pennsic Staff
I used to have these at the end of my A Day In The Life of a Land Agent page, but they’ve gotten longer and longer over the last few years. So I’ve moved all of the old stuff to this page, and new stuff will be at the “current” page.
The following is just a bunch of excerpts from communications from the Pennsic staff that I see (mostly on the Facebook groups listed at the top of this page) and think are useful information.
Where relevant and feasible I will sooner or later use this information to update the rest of this page, but this section is just a place to quickly save the original communication. As such the amount of editing and formatting below will be minimal.
Also, while I have tried half-heartedly to keep them in chronological order, I do not necesssarily find them in chronological order and I don’t care that much.
Pennsic War Land Agents
Tananda Densmore
LAND OFFICE PROXY CLARIFICATION
So, just to make this very clear, because every year we get land agents who set a proxy “just in case”….
Proxy is NOT for “just in case I am late” or “just in case I can’t make it”
Proxy is also NOT for “If I set a proxy, then I can get myself and one other car into the land agents or proxy only line starting at 9am on land grab day… that is EITHER OR, and we’re checking for that”
When you set a proxy for your group, you are saying “for the purposes of land grab day, this person here is the SOLE PERSON AUTHORIZED TO REPRESENT MY GROUP AT LAND GRAB
This includes “sole person allowed to troll in before noon for my group” as well.
This is for when you know you won’t be able to be present in person for land grab or if you are going to be coming later and want to empower someone to negotiate for you or pick up your camp auth and car passes (either after negotiating / signing off, or if you’re PMAP or X-block, just getting your camp auth and passes)
For this PLANNED proxy setting, you set someone as proxy using your land.pennsicwar.org land agent account - they must have an account there too (they don’t need to be land agent for another group though they can be but they need to have an account to show up in the dropdown) You can set this yourself any time up until we lock it down
We lock it down, preventing further self-service changes July 24.
This is necessary because we need to produce various reports and documents that will be used by the land office during land grab and by the Event Services staff to know who is and is not a land agent/proxy.
You can see all the important dates in the calendar here:
https://land.pennsicwar.org/docs_announce.php#calendar
After that time - if you have an emergency / an unforeseen issue where you must pass on your Land Agent power to negotiate / sign off at land grab, there is an emergency proxy process which is outlined here:
https://land.pennsicwar.org/docs_announce.php#emergencyproxy
To request an emergency proxy after the proxy deadline:
Send an email from the registered Land Agent’s email address to dmland@pennsicwar.org – it must match the one entered into the Land website for the group.
The email should provide:Proxy Legal name
Proxy SCA name (if applicable)
Proxy phone number
Proxy email address
Group name for whom they are appointed proxy.
The person being identified as the proxy must be copied on the email.
All other Land Agents for your block should be copied on the email so they know and have contact information for your proxy.
Each group may have one (1) proxy. Multiple groups may designate the same individual as their proxy.
While not required for EMERGENCY proxy; In order to receive timely notifications, it is strongly suggested that the Proxy has a current account on the Land web site.
Yours in Service,
Lady Tananda Densmore
Deputy Mayor of Zoning and Planning (Land) - PW51
Andy Kailhofer
And importantly, you can create an account on the land website at any time, even from your phone. It requires very little bandwidth, you can do it. We’ll have a little discussion about this I think, but I’m going to say that it’s mandatory that you have an account even to be an emergency proxy because it’s so easy to set an account up. If I lose the argument that I’m about to have with tananda I’ll amend this comment, but I don’t want to.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/pennsiclandagent/permalink/1363066841044459/
Tananda Densmore
May 21, 2024
Correction/Clarification to previously stated policy:
Greetings land agents. I need to make a correction. Earlier this year, the land department made a decision that we could do away with the whole “one special car pass for the land agent to use if the block is settled before noon, 5 additional passes that are not valid until noon”
However, after discussing the plans for Land Grab / Trolling in with Event Safety and Event Resources at War Practice this year: I spoke too soon.
So, I am going to post here the contents of the section on Car passes which can be found in the Land Announcements (it needs updating which will happen soon )
Car Passes
During PW50, We had new Troll policy where only Land Agents / Proxies could troll in between 9am and noon. This will be continued for PW51.
We had planned on changing the car pass procedure from how it worked at PW50. However, after consulting with Event Safety and Event Services, the decision has been made that for this year, we will be implementing the same NEW car pass process that was in place for PW 50:
Upon approval of your map, as always, you will receive your stamped camp auth form (You supplied the form, we supply the stamp), a zip-lock bag with which to protect your form (which needs to be displayed at the entrance to your camp as always),and 6 car passes.
One and only one of those car passes will be specially marked as being usable before 12 noon. The other 5 will be usable only after 12 noon.
Again, this is actually the same as it was at PW50 but would be slightly different from previous years where all 5 car passes were equal… This special single pass is intended to allow the one and only one vehicle of the registered land agent (or proxy) to enter site once their block has settled even if it is before noon. The remaining 5 passes may be used by those whose blocks have settled who have trolled in before the land grab process has officially completed (at which time we stop requiring the special car passes, and normal Pennsic vehicle entry rules apply).
Again, I wish to apologize for any confusion this change in direction may have caused - this was entirely my error for not checking with the other Deputy Mayors, having assumed that the car passes were not a significant enough benefit to continue.
Never let it be said I am unwilling to admit my mistakes.
Yours in Humility
Lady Tananda Densmore
Deputy Mayor of Zoning and Planning (Land) - PW51
Tananda Densmore
From a friendly member of Land Staff (who has been working her way through the comments /questions posted in your group profiles)
Answers to some of the most common things asked of land which need to actually be asked/reported elsewhere:
Questions about getting Accessible portacastles for folks with disabilities- please reach out to disability services (pre event you can email disability@pennsicwar.org). Same goes for questions of charging for mobilty/medical devices, or anything at all related to disability services.
Disability services has an email address: disability@pennsicwar.org however note that this is for PRE-PENNSIC requests etc.. At Pennsic, you will want to make your way to Disability services which is located in the “Town hall” over near the Cooper’s Store next to Information Point
Issues with regular portacastles (placement, reporting damaged ones etc) should be reported at the Watch tent
Questions about land improvements or requests for things like water spigots and/or reporting issues with water hose breaks, questions about prepositioning trailers or Pennsic trailer storage - all of that goes to the War Room.
Pre-Pennsic, “war room” requests can go to info@cooperslake.com but please keep in mind, for Cooper’s Lake (and staff) Pennsic is a lot longer than just the 2 weeks the gates are open - as we get closer to Land grab, their focus is on all the physical things they need to do so email is great for stuff that is not an emergency
Once Pennsic starts, “The War Room” means the physical location over on Brewers Road near Troll.. (the one way road leading South just East of troll) If you need. This is where you go for paid parking, for requests to position trailers, and other questions related to the coopers lake property itself.
If you accidentally damage a water line (some of them are buried, tent mis-stakes happen…(yes that was a pun about tent stakes)) please do not delay reporting it out of fear of getting in trouble - but please do immediately contact the War Room / the watch and report the block and approximate location so the Coopers can fix it quickly - with water leaks time is of the essence- not only does it mess with water pressure badly but water in that quantity and pressure can quickly cause undermining/erosion and a really nasty rest of your Pennsic with a giant mud pit.
Something folks also often ask about is electrical power. Land does not govern electrical power. If you’re reporting a safety concern (damaged wires/boxes/transformers etc..) notify the watch immediately, Anything else related to power (with the exception of aforementioned disability services charging which goes through disability services) should be asked of the War Room (again in person at Pennsc, the info@cooperslake.com email is not very closely monitored once Pennsic starts)
NOTE from personal experience. If you want a way to charge your cell phone you can do paid charging at CLiC, You can generally bring your wall plug if you have it with you to the laundromat in town and charge while doing laundry, and/or you can also volunteer at the watch / troll / Town Hall (Info point, disability services, Lost and found) and other locations because many of those offer letting you charge your device as a perk for volunteering while you’re on your shift.
I hope this is helpful information for you.
Responding to a question about portcastle placement
Tananda DensmoreAuthor
I believe you can still make requests to the War Room, but the coordination ends up going to the same place and there’s a specific “in box” for them kept at the watch tent, so it’s convenient to just let folks know that. So if you have always taken such requests to the War Room, you can continue to do so.
Somebody asked what is the land allotment for preregistration an infant or for a child (e.g. 14 year old).
Tananda Densmore
Each paid pre registration entitles your group to 250 square feet.
As you already noted pre registering fake infants or children (with the purpose of “gaming the land system for cheap additional land allocation) is strictly forbidden. Rest assured, we do audit for ghost children / infants, and those found to be violating that rule are potentially subject to severe sanctions.
In order for an infant or minor to troll in, they must be with a legal parent or guardian or follow some very specific rules - see the official Pennsic web site under troll for rules on children and a Notarized Guardian form
https://www.pennsicwar.org/2023/02/checking-in-troll/ Yours in Service Lady Tananda Densmore Deputy Mayor of Zoning and Planning (Land) - PW51
Joshua MacDonald Admin
Almost every encampment has a fire pit, and of course everyone is expected to fill it back in when they leave. (If you don’t know, the SCA has long prided itself on leaving sites better than the way we found them.) The only exceptions are the blocks with gas lines running through them - that info is on the Land Department website:
“SPECIAL GAS LINE RESTRICTIONS
Additional fire pit restrictions in blocks E11, E18, E20, E24, W02, W03, AND W21, must be observed due to an underground high-pressure natural gas line that runs through those areas.
No fire pits or ground fires are to be placed within 50 feet of the Right-of-Way of the gas line. Violation of this rule may cause the gas company to exercise their right to demand that no camping of any type be allowed in this area. Violations of this rule will not be tolerated. The center of the gas line will be marked with a dotted white painted line. Dotted white lines will mark the 25 feet on each side of the centerline. Tents are allowed if stakes are less than 3 feet in length.
No tents or other structures are to be placed within 10 feet of any gas company marker or vent. Markers and vents must be accessible from the nearest road at all times. A blue painted circle will mark markers and vents. NOTHING is to be placed within this circle.”
Here’s more information:
https://www.pennsicwar.org/2023/02/firewood-info/
https://www.pennsicwar.org/2023/02/exit-policy/
https://www.pennsicwar.org/2023/02/camping-tips/
…somebody commented asking if gas company right-of-way land counts against land allocation square footage or is regarded as “unusable land”…
Joshua MacDonald
… that’s a question for Land staff. Your land agent (and other block agents) can work with them directly to point out the details of the block and make the campable square footage more accurate. It’s a long process since they have a lot of land to cover, but if you start early (like start during Pennsic) they are very happy to work with you.
Tananda Densmore
Admin
Top contributor
OK, Its official…
We’ve completed all the block map updates for Pennsic 51. They’re live on the land site
https://land.pennsicwar.org/map.php
NOTE: due to the weather and conditions at AWP we did not quite get to everything done - we’ll be surveying and checking at Pennsic proper, but of course, that will be for Pennsic 52 map updates (land staff is already working on Pennsic 52 stuff because that’s the nature of the beast)
Anyway. by all means, if you find an issue with your block - if there’s water spigots not listed, or if there are water spigots listed that are no longer there - if there’s a truly uncampable mess, if the impenetrable overgrowth from year after year has reduced your borders by a good 5 or more feet… please email maps@pennsicwar.org with details.
Pictures are nice but what really helps is if you take the officia latest map - either draw on it with Acrobat Reader comment tools or with your favorite drawing app like Photoshop, GIMP, Paint, etc… or draw in colored pen or pencil and scan or take a picture (scanning is better than photos) to really show us the area/issue on the map - that really helps us zero in on things
PLEASE KEEP IN MIND: We have to balance the needs of the block and of Pennsic as a whole - and we’re going to “trust but verify”. Map updates are at the discretion of the Department of Zoning and Planning. We are not giving a guarantee that we’re going to include every detail / change you ask for, but we’ll ensure that if you send the details and description to maps@pennsicwar.org that we get it on our list to review.
Yours in Service,
Lady Tananda Densmore
Deputy Mayor of Zoning and Planning (Land) - PW51
Tananda Densmore
SELF-SERVICE: Campers Changing Groups
Please note: The Land office gets a lot of requests “hey can I change my group choice” or “I accidentally chose the wrong group” - they are able to fix these for themselves before Pre reg ends.
If someone is not showing up in your group, tell them they can go to the Coopers Lake Registration office and log back in, go to their pre registration account and select the view option (It looks sort of like an eye) from there, go to their land group selection and change it to what you want then SAVE
This does not require paying or refunds or anything complicated - this is the preferred way if someone needs to change their land group before Pre reg ends. We (Land) have to lock down changes just before we do the land block assignments (because it would be a nightmare if folks could change groups after we already assigned land based on … number of pre registrations….)
Yours in Service, Lady Tananda Densmore Deputy Mayor of Zoning and Planning (Land) - PW51
Tananda Densmore Admin Top contributor
SELF-SERVICE: Changing Land Agent
There are times when a land agent realizes they need to hand the job over to someone else - Not just proxy (which is for Lang Grab day) but basically to turn over the job of Land Agent for the group to someone else…
Perhaps a person realizes they just can’t attend Pennsic at all, or has other life issues that will prevent them from performing their negotiation and on site duties etc.. or they’re just tired and want someone else to take over the group
If you need to do this, it is possible to do self-service any time up until 3 days after the close of pre-registration. Close of Pre registration is June 14, 2024, so that means June 17.. however PLEASE DO NOT WAIT TILL THE LAST SECOND.. please…
The process involves 2 main steps
you need to release the group from your land agent account
the new land agent needs to claim the group under theirs
PART 1 - YOU RELEASE THE GROUP
Log in to land.pennsicwar.org and on the main page you should see a sort of “landing page” with a few links and announcments - find the section that says
You have X people preregistered to your camp. You can see who they are under LAND AGENT MENU -> View Prereg.
Your group’s registration was completed properly.
Your Name: YOUR_NAME_HERE
Your Group: YOUR_GROUP_HERE If you need to unregister your camp so that someone else can be land agent, you can UNREGISTERBUTTON
(NOTE THAT UNREGISTERBUTTON IS AN ACTUAL SQUARE BUTTON THINGAMEE)
PRESS THAT BUTTON AND GO THROUGH ANY CONFIRMATIONS - IT WILL REMOVE THE GROUP FROM YOU
PART 2 - NEW LAND AGENT CLAIMS THE GROUP
You should now inform the person who will be taking over that they should go to land.pennsicwar.org and make an account if they don’t ahve one
NOTE: you can not be land agents for 2 different groups under the same account… each account needs to be separate - we won’t actively stop the same person from BEING land agent for 2 groups, but they must then use 2 separate logons
When they’ve logged on and do not have a group already assigned they should be presented with the option to either register a new group or claim a group
When they log on the “landing page” should say
You have not yet selected the group that you are the land agent for. Please click here to choose a group.
in red text
The “here” will be a link
on the following page they DO NOT ENTER A NEW GROUP NAME, instead they look for the text/link
Group Status: Existing Groups: Click Here New Groups: Enter Group Name Below
Click the link to be taken to a page that lists all available existing but unclaimed groups - and claim the proper group
IMPORTANT NOTE: Land Agent vs Proxy
This is for when you need to completely change who is the land agent for your group.
This differs from Proxy in that a proxy is someone who is only actively empowered to act on your groups behalf during land grab day itself.
A proxy is used when you can’t physically be present for land grab to either negotiate and sign off (if your block is not PMAP), to sign any required gas line or lake waivers, and to get your camp auth stamped and pick up your car passes for Land Grab day.
IMPORTANT NOTE: WHEN TO INVOLVE THE LAND OFFICE
If for some reason you go to register your group and found someone had claimed it incorrectly, report that to us immediately.
If you truly need to change land agent after the close of pre reg - we can assist you but it can’t be done self-service.. The process is a bit of a pain for us so we ask to please attempt to rectify this before pre reg closes using self service. However, we recognize sometimes life happens and we’re here to help.
If you run into issues or problems with the process
TECHNICAL ISSUES: please contact landweb@pennsicwar.org
ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES: please contact dmland@pennsicwar.org
Yours in Service,
Lady Tananda Densmore
Deputy Mayor of Zoning and Planning (Land) - PW51
In response to a question about how somebody becomes a “designated helper” for a land agent
Tananda Densmore
They would be the one other adult in the car with you when you arrive - and they must troll in together with you (and any associated minors you’re both responsible for) basically you are their designation - the fact that you are in troll line as a land agent and point and say “and this is my helper they are with me”. That’s it nothing fancy.
In response to a question from a land agent who has two adult children travelling in their vehicle.
Tananda Densmore
You could count one of them as an “adult helper” and have them troll in with you,.. please note that it’s actually Event Event Resources and Event Safety and Coopers Lake who control who is allowed to drive on site when and who is allowed to troll in when… the Land office did not make the specific rules we’re just sort of having to communicate them as they’re related to the process 🙂
So, I think that worst case one of them would need to stay and wait in the car till they can join the troll in line at noon, and one could trol in with you as your single adult helper. I personally would not turn you away saying you have too many in the car but that is NOT MY CALL.
I think the safest thing is to triple check with dmeventresources@pennsicwar.org - explain that literally this is the only way he can get to Pennsic - let him know it was suggested that one could troll in with you as your allowed adult helper and one would need to wait till noon to troll in with everyone else.
Again I do not have any official say in this Land’s jurisdiction is do do with assigning land blocks, arbitrating disputes, signing off on group auths, giving out the car passes, issuing sanctions, etc.. the trolling in and queuing on land grab day process is under Event Resources who is in charge of troll among other things and I don’t want to step on their toes.
In response to a question for clarification about the relationship with the designated helper
Andy Kailhofer
Any number of minors for whom one of the one or two adults in the car has the requisite and specific paperwork, otherwise yes good job you got it.
Tananda Densmore
Land One here: to add to what Andy said - no it does not need to be a life partner or romating pertner etc - it’s in one vehicle but it can be any adult of any relation who is there to act as an assistant/helper to you (whether it’s to help with setup or marking your land or whatnot) the key is “arrivign in the same car, trolling in as a group together with yourselves and associated minors for whom you’re responsible (legal guardians who must troll in with you)
If your helper is in another vehicle, they’ll need to wait till 11 to drive onto the battlefield and wait till noon to troll in… the 9am to 12 noon time slot is ONLY for “proxy OR land agent for a group and up to 1 adult helper (and associated minors for either) who arrived in the same single vehicle)
hope that clears it up.
In another comment further clarifying designated helper
Tananda Densmore
The language was from the Event Resources - not land … the crux is that the land agent (or proxy) may have up to one adult with them (in the same vehicle) that they’re basically saying “is my helper” there’s no official status for it or place you need to record it
Your “designated helper” is the optional second adult in your same vehicle that is with you when you arrive who is allowed to troll in with you (along with any associated minors for which either of you are responsible)…
ou all must be arriving in the same vehicle, and you must stay together in the troll line and troll in together as a group…
There’s no official designation - your helper might be there to watch the kids while you are performing your land agent duties, or might be there to go check your land for you while you wait for your fellow block agents at the great hall, or might just be your husband/wife/partner or your bestie who is catching a ride with you - we don’t really care what reason you give they’re “your designated helper” and you can have up to one
Anyone else who is planning on coming to start setting up your camp etc.. one of the people who is not a land agent or proxy and will be receiving one of the car passes etc.. will need to wait till at least 11:00am on Friday to drive on site and may not get in line to troll in till noon.
Tananda Densmore
Steven Owens YES! this is a great way for Land agents to do the thing…. if you’re a land agent and you see that you are missing people there’s a whole section in the Land Agents Handbook on what to do
4.If someone seems to be actually missing from the list, do the following:
Do not wait until pre-registration closes. Success favors the proactive.
From the time a person pre-registers on the Coopers Lake site, until the time their payment clears, they will not appear on this list. This is normal. Please verify that your camper’s payment has cleared before worrying about where they are camping.
Anyone who thinks they have registered for your group, and does not appear here, can log back onto the Coopers Lake site and edit their record, correcting their requested group name. This will move them immediately on your registered group’s prereg page as well.
If the camper does not wish to or cannot move themself in this way, you may contact the land office and we will do it for you.
Contact the person who you think is missing and get their PENN NUMBER. It would have been sent to them in their registration confirmation letter.
Put their FULL REAL NAME and FULL SCA NAME (if they have one) and PENN NUMBER and your GROUPNAME into an email to landweb@pennsicwar.org with a note saying “Please move this person to my group.”
E-mails received without all of the above will be returned with this list attached.
We will then find the person in the database, move them to your camp, and email you a confirmation that we have done so.