Rosslyn

Rosslyn, officially the City of Rosslyn, is a city in the Commonwealth of Verona. At the 2020 census, the population was 542,818, making it the tenth-most populous city in Verona. The city has annexed a number of unincorporated areas, contributing to the large population increase over the past two decades. This, coupled with rapid urban development and a higher than average birthrate means that Rosslyn has the highest percent population growth per year of any city in Cartadania. It is primarily in Santa Rosa County, for which it serves as the county seat, however, the eastern portion of the city previously extended into the extreme southern panhandle of Sierra County before the Code of Verona amended the county lines and increased the borders of Santa Rosa County in 2022.

Rosslyn is located at the southern point of the Palm Coast metropolitan area, named for the abundance of Palm trees along Verona's northeastern coastlines. It is one of 77 cities across seven counties that constitute the Palm Coast metro area.

History
Today what comprises the city of Rosslyn is the result of many municipal mergers and annexations. The city traces its roots to the former town of Rosalyn, a resort town in Santa Rosa County's southeastern corner, south of the former city of Avilla. It was named for the wife, Rosa Lynn Marti, of the town incorporater, Ernesto Marti, and was founded in 1902. The town was mostly a resort destination just outside of the booming metropolis of Sierra, where tourists typically went to escape the ever growing swarms of people. Maybe much to their dismay, the town reincorporated as a city in 1986 and promptly began an aggressive expansion and development campaign.

In March 1986, the new city, now named Rosslyn, annexed an unincorporated area nearly three times its pre-incorporation area. Some of this included land in Sierra County which would eventually vote to secede from the city and form their own community (mostly over differences in costs of living). The city began growing quickly to meet the needs of new residents. Residents in the cities of Agueria, Cobia, and Terasto voted to merge with Rosslyn in July of the same year and the city of Rosslyn fully annexed all three by September. By this point the city had exploded from its original 43,000 residents to well over 350,000 in less than a year. This alone earned the city the title of fastest growing city in the state. With an exploding younger generation, a trend that continues today, Rosslyn also became the city with the highest percent growth per year of any city in Cartadania.

The City of Rosslyn is known for its easy-going atmosphere, and this is reinforced by its booming day- and nightlife. The Rosslyn Tourism and Casino District has quickly become one of the most popular destinations in the region, so much so that the City of Sierra has even monetarily funded its development. The two cities have many intercity agreements, as well as both being a part of the Palm Coast Consortium of Metropolitan County Governments via their respective counties. The two cities have a history of shared services, despite not sharing a physical border.

In the late 2010s, it was clear that the city had completely transformed from a tiny resort town to a major city, and had done so in the span of 50 years. There had been talk of the city annexing the remaining area of the county and merging with the then-remaining five cities. While the Code of Verona does not allow for consolidated city-county governments, the municipality would essentially have functioned as such. Much of the reasoning behind this talk was due to lack of available land. Rosslyn has, in the past, grown by annexation and merging, however development has halted this process and the city had run out of open land for development.

On 28 August 2019, Rosslyn officially annexed the cities of Avilla, Cordena, Tarera, and Madria, as well as a small section of land in unincorporated Sierra County, adding over 90 square kilometers to the city's area. Officially, it is now only one of two cities within Santa Rosa County, the other being Rainier. City Hall has redesignated the government buildings of the four cities, considering they were much smaller in population than Rosslyn, into local branches of government offices. Tarera, the biggest of the four, utilized a three-story building near the city's beachfront to serve its 31,000 residents. Unlike Rosslyn, these four cities did not possess an administrative division system, while Rosslyn has eight boroughs. Each of the cities were consolidated into an existing borough, or in the case of Tarera, split between nearby boroughs.

Climate
Rosslyn has a typical tropical climate, specifically a tropical wet and dry climate (Köppen climate classification: As), with warm to hot temperatures and high relative humidity all throughout the year. However, these conditions are relieved by a near absence of extreme temperatures and pleasant trade winds blowing from the Urlazio. February is the warmest month, with mean maxima of 31 °C (88 °F) and minima of 24 °C (75 °F), while July is the coolest with mean maxima of 29 °C (84 °F) and minima of 22 °C (71 °F). Rainfall is heavy at around 1,720 millimetres (68 in) per year, but there is a dry season between about September and January that is more distinct than further south on the state's coast. The greatest amount of rain falls between March and July.

Known as the "City of the Sun" and also as "Crystal City", Rosslyn is located in the northeastern tip of Verona in central Cartadania. Lying approximately six degrees south of the equator, the sun shines on for more than 3,000 hours every year. This is in contrast to the fact that the city has one of the highest average rainfall volumes in the commonwealth. The average temperature in Rosslyn is about 27 °C (81 °F). During the summer season it normally reaches above 30 °C (86 °F) with the water at a soothing 26 °C (79 °F).

Neighborhoods and districts
The city of Rosslyn is divided into eight boroughs: Bayside, Cypress, Downtown Rosslyn, Fairhill, Highley, Llewelyn, Respass, and Westyn. These boroughs are further divided into 38 neighborhoods and districts. Rosslyn formerly had the issue of being a fully developed city, only being able to spawn more development without demolition of existing structures being annexation of more land. With the addition of the land from recent annexation, the city has been able to develop more infrastructure.

Demographics
As of the census of 2030, there were 542,818 people, 197,154 households, and 141,555 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,866 people per square kilometer (4,833.6/mi²). There were 207,138 housing units at an average density of 712.1 per square kilometer (1,844.5/mi²).

There were 197,154 households out of which 38.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.9% were married couples living together, 16.2% had a female householder with no spouse present, and 24.2% were non-families. 20.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.30.

The median income for a household in the city was €87,615, and the median income for a family €$95,777. The per capita income for the city was €35,890. About 1.3% of families and 6.1% of the population were below the poverty line.

The city of Rosslyn has a lower crime rate than the other large cities of the Palm Coast area, with each city over 500,000 residents meeting or exceeding the national average.

Economy
Rosslyn is composed of a variety of industries, including national and international corporate headquarters, advanced manufacturers, defense contractors and locally-owned businesses. The city's location and business climate have made it a hub of international commerce, as many foreign firms have established a presence, an office location, or their Sarpedonian headquarters in the city.

Tourism produces a large share of Rosslyn's economy. With an estimated $1.71 billion spent in tourism related industries, 31,000 jobs cater to 6 million visitors. City reserves benefit as tourists and visitors provide over $200 million in revenue. Rosslyn opened a Convention Center in 2013 which caters to large group meetings and events. Hotels not only line the bayfront but also cluster around the city's downtown borough and throughout the city. Restaurants and entertainment industries also directly benefit from Rosslyn's tourism.

Rosslyn has a small agribusiness sector which produces about $30 million for the city economy. Eighty-six farms exist in Rosslyn, mostly in the southwest portion of the city. Farmers can sell their produce and goods at any of city's public farmer's markets.

Government
Rosslyn is a full-service charter city, providing all services to its residents, with the exception of waste management, which is handled by a private corporation to a metropolitan landfill, and a full-court system, which is shared with the county. Rosslyn operated under a Council–manager government form of government.

Rosslyn city government consists of a city council with representatives from each of the eight boroughs serving in a legislative and oversight capacity, as well as a popularly elected, at-large mayor. The city manager serves as head of the executive branch and supervises all city departments and executing policies adopted by the Council.

The City government has an infrastructure to create close working relationships with its citizens. Rosslyn's city government provides services for neighborhoods, including service centers and civic leagues that interact directly with members of City Council. Rosslyn's police department also provides support for neighborhood watch programs including a citizens' training academy, security design, a police athletic program for youth, and business watch programs.

Courts
Rosslyn is the county seat of Santa Rosa County. It maintains the main county courthouse in Santa Rosa Civic Center–the Santa Rosa County Superior Court of Verona, which is located in the city's core. This is the county court of general jurisdiction that hears and decides all civil or criminal action that's not specially designated to be heard in some other court or before a governmental agency. It houses Santa Rosa County Circuit Court, Santa Rosa County General District Court, and Santa Rosa County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.

The Verona Court of Appeals for the Second District lies in Sierra County and the District's Ninth Division serves Santa Rosa County. It utilizes its own courthouse and only handles appeals from the county.

K-12 education
Rosslyn Independent School District is a public school district serving the majority of the city of Rosslynn. It is responsible for public K-12 education in the portion of the city within Santa Rosa County. The district has ninety-seven schools and enrolls approximately 93,281 students.

South Sierra Independent School District is responsible for educating students with the recently annexed portion of Rosslyn that lies within Sierra County. It enrolls approximately 114,927 students. The city has been pushing to have this portion of land ceded to Rosslyn ISD, though there hasn't been much development on the issue.

Healthcare
Rosslyn is served by Ivy Rosslyn Hospital (IRH), Ivy Santa Rosa Medical Center (ISRMC), and Buenayuda Medical Center (BMC). The city is also home to the Rosslyn Children's Hospital and Fairhill Transitional Care Hospital. The city is the location of the Verona Tech University's Medical School, which utilizes Ivy Rosslyn Hospital as it's teaching hospital. IRH is also the region's only Tier 1 Trauma Center south of downtown Sierra. From the other hospitals in southern Andina County, Los Angeles County, and southern Sinhedes County, trauma patients are airlifted to IRH by Ivy's Nightingale Air Ambulance.

Rosslyn is also home to the Cartadanian R6 Verona Veterans Hospital, which is linked to the Sierra Naval Station and Mirada Air Force Base. All Northern Verona residents are referred to this hospital and these bases for services.

Transportation
While Rosslyn is serviced by the Palm Coast Metropolitan Transit Authority, it used to only receive this service through buses and commuter rail. The city, in 2020, began construction of the Tide Light Rail as a solution to repeatedly being excluded from the Palm Coast Light Rail's planned service area. The agency's reason for the exclusion was cited as being too costly, thus the City of Rosslyn allocated $366 million for the construction and integration of its own light rail service and an additional $80 million each year for maintenance and other costs. Despite being a standalone service, the Tide Light Rail and Palm Coast Light Rail utilize the same ticketing setup and their metro cards are interoperable, thus it is easier for those residents to connect between the two systems seamlessly. The RTLR's Green line has an exchange station near the Andina-Santa Rosa-Sierra tri-point, where RTLR riders can switch to the PCLR's Green line and connect to the other major cities of the Palm Coast area.

Rosslyn is covered by an extensive network of bus lines that bring all of its citizens within reach of the rest of the metro area. With the automobile being the primary means of transportation for the majority of residents, Rosslyn is also served by a large network of freeways and highways. Crossed by IH-68 and various state highways, there are many routes for residents to utilize. The Palm Coast Beltway passes just inside the northern city limits and offers a direct connection to downtown Sierra, Lynnhaven, the Twin Cities, and central Andina County. All of the city's other highways and freeways that are controlled access have separated High-Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes that offer express routes and higher speeds than their untolled counterparts. As is custom in the Palm Coast area, all express lanes are HOV 2+ on the left and general toll on the right, with general tolls being higher than HOV 2+. The metro authority has considered increasing the HOV limit to 3+ in recent years due to the sheer number of drivers in the area. Though traffic is not usually a problem outside of the Sierra urban core due to extensive public transit integration, there are still areas that suffer from severe congestion during peak seasons, especially during major festivals and holidays.

Utilities
Water and sewer services are provided by the city's Department of Utilities. Rosslyn receives its electricity from Meridian Energy which has local sources including the Sierra Energy Center (a natural gas power plant), as well as Andina Nuclear Power Plant and Six Palms Nuclear Energy Center. Rosslyn-headquartered Marín-Helius Corporation distributes natural gas to the city from storage plants in Arcadia and Los Angeles County.

Rosslyn's water quality is known as one of the cleanest water systems in the country. The city of Rosslyn has a trememendous capactiy for clean fresh water. The city owns fifteen reservoirs throughout Andina, Los Angeles, Santa Rosa, Sierra, and Sinhedes counties. Because the Palm Coast area has grown faster than the local freshwater supply, the cities in the southern portion of the region face some unique challenges. The water of the rivers that flow throughout the area have always had a high salt content (too high to be cheaply treated), and due to large scale pumping, mostly by the city of Sierra, fresh groundwater is no longer available in most areas. Water for Mirada and 14 other cities is pumped from Lake Sedona into the City of Rosslyn's reservoir system and then diverted to the City of Mirada for treatment by the City of Mirada. Los Angeles County's portion of the water is treated by the City of Rosslyn and then piped to the county's water station. The pipeline that connects Rosslyn's reservoir system to Los Angeles County is capable of pumping 80 million gallons of water per day.

The city provides wastewater services for residents and transports this wastewater to the Palm Coast Sanitation District treatments plants in northwestern Andina County.