custtom settings for my SP site without using a list or having access to the farm/server?

Even the first option (XML) seems to require access to the server. Or am I misunderstanding it?

I have a custom solution. It's basically custom master pages. I want to be able to share them within my company so other people can use them. I'd like to have some configuration options for the master pages. Right now I'm using a JS file that people can edit but I was looking for something more elegant.

I don't care where the link to edit the settings is as long as it's more user friendly.