Transfer of Development Rights

Through a TDR program, developers purchase development rights to build in a “receiving area” – or area that is targeted for growth, and those funds are used to permanently preserve land in the sending area – the open space or farmland - at no cost to the taxpayer. The result is that municipalities have more control over where growth occurs; landowners are compensated fairly for their land; developers have a clear picture of where they can build; and fewer public funds are spent on land acquisition.

To qualify for the program, towns are required to provide a utility service plan, capital improvement program and real estate market analysis. Towns must also adopt a development transfer plan that includes:

• An estimate of the municipalities anticipated population and economic growth for the succeeding 10 years.
• The identification and description of all prospective sending and receiving zones.
• An analysis of how the anticipated population growth is to be accommodated within the municipality in general, and the receiving zone or zones in particular.
• An estimate of existing and proposed infrastructure for the receiving zone.
• A procedure to convey the development rights/credits from the sending zone to the receiving zone.
• Explicit planning objectives and design standards to govern the review of applications for development in the receiving zone.