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Definition

"Transfer of development rights (TDR) is a market based technique that encouraged the voluntary transfer of growth from places where a community would like to see less development (called sending areas) to place where a community would like to see more development (calling receiving areas). The sending areas can be environmentally-sensitive properties, open space, agricultural land, wildlife habitat, historic landmarks or any other places that are important to a community. The receiving areas should be places that the general public has agreed area appropriate for extra development because they are close to jobs, shopping, schools, transportation and urban services" (Source: Prutz, AICP, 1999)

The act of exchanging in development rights for land, instead of ownership of the land.

Purpose

To facilitate geographic movement of the right to develop from locations where it is not desired to areas where it is desired.

ELABORATE

IT is to ensure that open space requirements of the municipality's planning goals are met without causing a financial burden to landowners or restricting needed development. If it is well administered, TDR generates cost-effective and efficient developments. It could reduce prospect of litigation over preservation policies and avoid the use of municipal funds to purchase land while helping to ensure preservation goals. Then, the municipality can increase its tax base, but does not have to settle for less preservation than it really wants. (Source: New York State Governor, Andrew M. Cuomo and Department of State Secretary of State, Cesar A. Perales. James A. Coon Local Government Technical Series)

Methods

There are two methods of transferring development rights. One method is when the TDR program allows the landlord to sell the development rights to another person to develop. Then, the developer is able to use those rights to increase density on another piece of property at another location. "After selling the development rights, a landowner still retains title and all other rights to the land. These other permits include farming, forestry, some recreational uses, and other non-intensive uses." (Source: New York State Governor, Andrew M. Cuomo and Department of State Secretary of State, Cesar A. Perales. James A. Coon Local Government Technical Series)

The second method is the government establishing TDR Bank to transfer development rights to people who want to buy it. In this case, people who wish to develop a land will buy the rights from the local government.

ELABORATE

For example, there is a land in a "conservation" zoning district that is zoned to permit one dwelling per acre. Through TDR, the rights to develop 20 dwellings on 20 acres could be transferred to another land. The 20 welling units density could be added to the density that is already allowable in a tract in a specific residential zone. In that specific district, a 15 acre parcel would permit 60 dwelling under the quarter-acre zoning. However, with the added development rights from the conservation district, a total of 80 dwellings could be constructed on the parcel in the residential zone. For the conservation district, however, under the most common TDR model, the 20 acres in this district could not be developed at all. Its economic use value would have been realized by sale of the right to develop it. Source: New York State Governor, Andrew M. Cuomo and Department of State Secretary of State, Cesar A. Perales. James A. Coon Local Government Technical Series)

TDR Success Factors

Source: APA

1. Demand for Bonus Development

- In order for TDR to be sold, the developers must want the additional density development only allowed through TDR.

2. Receiving Areas Customized to the Community

- The receiving areas needs to be definitely customized in physical, political, and market characteristics of the community.

3. Strict Sending-Area Development Regulations

4. Few or No Alternatives to TDR Achieving Additional Development

- This allows developers few alternative ways of gaining additional development potential other than TDR.

5. Market Incentives: Transfer Ratios and Conversion Factors

- The market incentives offer transfer ratios and conversion factors designed to produce TDR prices that adequately compensate sending-area landowners.

6. Ensuring That Developers Will Be Able to Use TDR

7. Strong Public Support for Preservation

8. Simplicity

9. TDR Promotion and Facilitation

10. A TDR Bank

The factors from 6 to 10 appears to be helpful, but not critical to success as much as factors 1 through 4.

Advantages and Disadvantages (Source: Strafford Regional Planning Commission)

There are couple advantages for TDR. First, it protects value of the land through a free market mechanism. This is an advantage because the value of the land is determined through the rights that are given, and not by regulation that is forcefully implemented by the government. The citizens and landowners are free to do whatever with the land they own. (Why is this an advantage, describe.--DONE) Secondly, it is used as an incentive based program to protect valuable land. This is important because as we need to preserve valuable land rather than developing it on every land we could.

As there are advantages, there are also couple disadvantages. First, it may be too late to implement it successfully nation-wide. Because there are already development lands with different regulation and laws that different parts of America are following. Secondly, to implement TDR in every aspect, it maybe too complex and require a lot of time for every part of the country to use this method.

Success

- New Jersey Pinelands,NJ: This was adopted in 1980. It is the most ambitious TDR program in the country, encompassing one million acres of land and allowing transfers between 60 different municipalities. The total area preserved through severance increased to 15,768 acres as of the end of 1997. (Source: Bredlin, 2000)

- Montgomery County, MD: The county had permanently preserved over 38,000 acres of farmland using TDRs.(Source: Bredlin, 2000)

Examples

- Seattle (4/19/2004) City Council approved the sale of TDR's at $1.6 million for low-income housing and to pay off $147,630 worth existing debt for Benaroya Hall. In exchange The Washington Mutual Bank and the Seattle Art Museum are allowed increased density in the new office tower and an expansion to the Seattle Art Museum at 2nd and Union. Washington Mutual Tower will achieve 420,000 square feet of additional density. (Source: Seattle.gov website http://www.seattle.gov/news/detail.asp?4264&Dept=28)

- King County: The County currently uses two different transfer of residential density credit ordinances to encourage private property owners to preserve open space, wildlife habitat, woodlands, shorelines access, community separations, trails, historic landmarks, agricultural land and park sites.

- Redmond: located just outside of Seattle, has a TDR program in which the sending areas are lands zoned Agriculture or Urban Recreation or lands classified as critical wildlife habitat. When a sending site is not classified as critical habitat, the transferable development is simply the amount of development allowed by the site's zoning once wetlands and other unbuild able areas have been excluded from the calculation. (Source: Pruetz)

Sources: Rick Pruetz, AICP, 1999, APA National Planning Conference, Chief Assistant Community Development Director/City Planner City of Burbank, California

Cases, Statues, Examples, and a Model. John B. Bredlin, Esq. Session: April 18, 2000, 2:30-3:45pm. APA National Planning Conference, Transfer of Development Rights.

Strafford RegionalPlanning Commission http://www.strafford.org/factsheets/fs_tdr.pdf

What Makes Transfer of Development Rights Work?: Success Factors From Research and Practice. Pruetz, Rick; Standrige, Noah. American Planning Association. Journal of the American Planning Association; Winter 2009; 75, 1; ProQuest

King County: Website, Definitions - Transfer of Development Rights http://dnr.metrokc.gov/wlr/tdr/definitions.htm

Seattle.gov website, City of Seattle News Advisory, 4/19/2004. City Gains Housing, Debt Funding Through Sales of Transferable Development Rights, http://www.seattle.gov/news/detail.asp?4264&Dept=28

This is a good outline, need to write out into narrative and add citations.

Urbanature (talk) 20:31, 16 October 2014 (UTC)