TDR TodayCurrent Programs Throughout the U.S.

Thurston County, Washington

• Pop 245,181 (2008 Census)

• 1994 TDR Feasibility Study

– American Farmland Trust determined demand for TDRs marginal in cities

• Farmers

• Decade for market development

– Based on study not community planning process

• 1996 TDR Adopted

• Survey Requirement

• Transfer Rate

– One TDR per five acres

• No incentive, no real “bonus”

• Intermediate Parties

– Banked, retired

• Olympia

– Allows density decreases from five to four units per acre

• Sustainable, no? Desirable, yes!

• Height and Parking Restrictions

• Urban Growth Areas

– Requires credits

• Comp. Plan Limiting

– Recommendations

• Inform the Public

• Working Lands Advocate

• Mitigation Strategies

• Purchase of Development Rights (PDR)

– Working Lands Strategic Plan more focused on PDR v. TDR

• Buyers and Sellers

– No banking mechanism

King County, Washington•Pop. 1,737,034(2000)

•Origins of program in 1994 Comprehensive Plan

•1998 County adopted a 3-year pilot program

•2001 County adopted program permanently

•2005 County used $22 million of Conservation Futures Tax Revenues to secure 990 TDRs or 90,000 acres in Snoqualmie Forest, thereby preserving the most acreage of any single TDR program in the United States.

King County, Washington• County is Facilitator & Broker

– Oversee transactions – Track sale prices– Education/Outreach– “Market Maker”– Auctions ???

• TDR Bank– Buy, hold, sell TDRs

• Purchased 1,124 TDRs• Holdings 1075 credits• Sold 49 tdrs

– Create City and County Partnerships• Amenity Funding • Leverage Public Money (CFT$)

• County allocates $500,000 for incorporated receiving areas to improve amenities and offset the impacts of increasing density.

• Sending Sites

•1 TDR = 5 Acres of Gross land area

•R-1 properties = 4TDRs per 1 Acre

• Receiving Sites

•1 TDR = 2 additional units

•%50 “By Right” density allowance

•6 units per acre can increase to 9

• Private Market Statistics as of 2008

•Current price range $15,000 $26,000

•520 Total TDR credits severed

•301 TDR credits redeemed

•2000 Acres preserved by private TDR market

• Over 91,000 total Acres of Land Preserved

Calvert County• 74,563 Population (2000

Census)• Sending Sites:

– Agriculture Preservation District (APD)

• Zoned 1/25 acre• Transfer rates 1/5 acre

– Difference in Sending Sites• Land in APD only at request of

owner

• Receiving Sites:– Farm Communities/ Resource

Protection District– Rural Community District

• 1/10 acre -1/2 acre (Downtown)

• Agriculture Preservation Advisory Board

• APD can be removed after 5 years

Why It’s Working• Profitable• People want to farm• Purchase and Retirement

(PAR)• Developable receiving sites• Marketing and Educating

• County participation

• Unique Feature:• TDR sold, entire property under

a conservation easement

*8,900 Acres Preserved (2001)

TDR Sales 1980-2001

Montgomery County

• 871,341 Population (2000 Census)

• 323,000 Acres• 1980 TDR Program

– Sending: Rural Density Zone (RDT)

• Zoned 1/25 w/ exceptions

– Receiving: Zoning Districts• Two density limits

– Baseline– Higher limit control

• Incentives– Speed of Approval– County Development Rights Fund

(1982-1990)• Savings: 68 million in public

expenditures

Why It’s Working:

• TDR main option for exceeding base zoning

• Location: near Washington D.C.

• Easy and Predictable– Educating the public

What’s Not Working:

• Approval Process

• Inequities in Compensation

• Incorporated Municipalities– No Participation

*40,583 Acres Saved (2000)

The Pinelands, New Jersey

• Seven Counties

• 53 Municipalities

• Pop. 700,000

• Total 938,000 acres

• Close proximity to Philadelphia, New York, Atlantic City.

• 1978 Congress created Pinelands National Reserve

• 1979 New Jersey passed Pinelands Protection Act

• 1981 Comprehensive Management Plan enacted

The Pinelands, New Jersey• Pinelands Commission

• 15 member Commission• + Executive director of 50 person staff• Works on Federal, State, County &

Municipal levels• Managed CMP, Oversees PDC Banks

• Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP)

• Land Use Regulation• Land Management• Voluntary TDR Program: Pinelands

Development Credits (PDCs)

• Two PDC Banks• $5 Million Initial funding from State

General Fund • Burlington County Pinelands Development

Credit Exchange• New Jersey Pinelands Development Credit

Bank– Responsibilities

• Program facilitator• Administration• Public Education• Purchase PDRs & PDCs• Hold Credits for developers• Manage Website

• PDCs Value and Application• 1 PDC = 4 units• Can be used as collateral against loans• Can be held as investment• Used to increase density above current code

in receiving areas

Since the CMP has been implemented in 1981, PDCs have preserved over 55,000 acres of Environmentally Sensitive Areas and Farmland

Characteristics of Functioning TDR Program

• Public Education• Strong and Dynamic Leadership • Consistent regulatory process• TDR Bank• Ease of use• Public accessibility• Strong sense of place• Resource perceived as valuable• Appropriate receiving areas• Market Demand

American Farmland Trust "Purchase of Development Rights and Transfer of Development Rights Case Studies" American Farmland Trust (2001).

Aken, Jeff, Eckert, Jeremy, Fox, Nancy and Swenson, Skip. Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) in Washington State: Overview, Benefits, and Challenges." Cascade Land Conservancy (2008)

Bratton, Nicholas, Eckert, Jeremy and Fox, Nancy. "Alternative Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) Transaction Mechanisms." Cascade Land Conservancy (2008)

Jasey, Neil N. "State of New Jersey: Pinelands Development Credit Bank, Annual Report 2009." (August 2009), http://www.njdobi.org/pinelandsbank.htm (accessed March 21, 2010)

Kaplowitz, Michael D., Machemer, Patricia, Pruetz, Rick. "Planners' experiences in managing growth using transfeable development rights (TDR) in the United States." Land Use Policy 25 (2008): 378-387.

Machemer, Patricia L. and Kaplowitz, Michael D. "A Framework for Evaluating Transferable Development Rights Programmes." Journal of Environmental Planning and Management 45(6) (2002): 773-795.

Montgomery, Carlton. "State of the Pinelands 2009: Annual Report." Pinelands Preservation Alliance (2009), www.pinelandsalliaance.org (accessed March 21, 2010).

Pruetz, Rick. Beyond Takings and Givings: Saving Natural Areas, Farmland, and Historic Landmarks with Transfer of Development Rights and Density Transfer Charges. Marina Del Ray, California: Arje Press, 2003.

U.S. Census Bureau. Calvert County Maryland (2000) http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/24/24009.html (Accessed March 25, 2010).

U.S. Census Bureau. Montgomery, Maryland (2000) http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/24000.html

(Accessed March 25, 2010).

Walls, M. 2007 Transfer of Development Rights in U.S. Communities: Evaluating Program Design, Implementation and Outcomes http://www.rff.org/rff/Documents/Walls_McConnell_Sep_07_TD R_Report.pdf

Davis, Jeremy. "2-D Working Lands Staff Report Comprehensive plan Policy Changes" Thurston County Planning Department. January 6, 2010. http://www.co.thurston.wa.us/planning/planning_commission/agenda/1-6-10/Preliminary%20Working%20Lands%20Staff%20Report.010610.FINAL.pdf (Accessed April 1, 2010).

“A Study of PDR and TDR for Boone County, Kentucky” Boone County Planning Commission. Sept. 2001. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:oHt2hSWhPfcJ:www.boonecountyky.org/PC/PDR_TDR.pdf+thurston+county+tdr+credits+sold&cd=9&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us (Accessed April 2, 2010).