Agenda - Planning Commission - 01/03/2008

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One way that local governments have attempted to minimize the effects of downzoning is to create single zones that serve as both the sending and receiving areas. which only Montgomery County uses a dual zone that clearly separates sending and receiving areas. Montgomery County down- zoned its rural area from one house per five acres to one per 25 and then gave each landowner in the sending area one TOR per five acres. St. Lucie County adopted a single-zone TDR program, but requires that a landowner or two or more landowners have a minimum of 500 acres and develop their land in a new urbanist town or village. In return, the county agrees to provide central sewer and water service, even to new towns or villages outside the county's urban service boundary. Take the case of an owner of a 500-acre parcel outside the USB who proposes to build a new village development: . The landowner must set aside at least 75 percent of the site as open space. . The minimum density is five dwelling units per acre, so the 125 acres of development land must support at least 625 dwelling units, of which 50 units (eight percent) must be Workforce Housing units. . Transferable development rights moved from the open space for use as Workforce Housing receive a multiplier of 2.5. The remaining land set aside for open space receives a multiplier of 1.25. . The landowner can receive additional TOR multipliers (bonuses) by attracting a target industry, institution of higher learning, or a research facility. TORS: THE NEXT GENERATION The next generation ofTDRs will feature the transfer of development rights across political jurisdictions and landscape-scale preserva- tion. TDR programs may provide a way to encourage greater regional cooperation, espe- cially in the Northeast, where townships con- trol planning and zoning. In 2000, the State of Pennsylvania authorized the use ofTDRs across municipal boundaries if the municipalities have a writ- ten intergovernmental agreement or have adopted a multimunicipal plan. Even though 92 @ dozens of multimunicipal plans have been completed, to date, no TDRs have moved from one municipality to another. An obvious problem: Why would one municipal- ity want to provide space for another's development? town Seattle, or for a 50 percent increase in the number of homes allowed in some unin- corporated parts of the county. For instance, in 2006, R.C. Hedreen Co. paid $930,000 to King County's TDR Bank for 31 rural develop- ment rights. In exchange, the company was allowed to add 62,000 square feet of residen- tial space and increase the height of a build- ing it owned above 300 feet. CONCLUSION The transfer of development rights technique is nearly 40 years old. Local governments have used TORs to protect historic sites, wetlands, In 2004, the State of New Jersey passed legislation allowing the transfer of develop- ment rights not only across municipal bound- aries but from a'sending area anywhere in the state to a receiving area anywhere in the state. New Jersey is proposing to use transfer of development rights as a key tool in preserv- ing the New Jersey Highlands in the northeast corner of the state. King County, Washington, has preserved more than 92.000 acres since 1999, mainly through a single transaction that enabled it to put many TORs in its bank. In 2004, the county paid $22 million forTDRs from a 90,000-acre tract owned by Hancock Timber Resource Group. Development rights can be transferred to inside Seattle's urban growth boundary to allow taller buildings in down- I i '" . w [ ." ~ Jj" n o c o and scenic areas in addition to farmland and forestland. A TOR program can be addressed in the local comprehensive plan and added to the local zoning ordinance. The zoning in both the sending areas and receiving areas should match the outcomes the local government is try- ing to achieve. And the procedures for operating the TDR program should be spelled out in the zoning ordinance. A common mistake local governments make is giving away density for free in the rezoning process rather than requiring a developer to acquire TDRs to help preserve land in the community and thus maintain a balance between open space and develop- ment. Also, mostTDR programs place a heavy emphasis on preserving open space and not enough attention to the appearance, density, ZONING PRACTICE 12.07 AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION I page 6