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Transferable
Development Rights
(TDR)
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General Definitions
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What is a "Development Right"?
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A piece of land
has many different layers. On the bottom layer are the mineral deposits
that may occur on the site. The next layer is the surface of the land -
the earth, trees, and rocks. On another layer is the water that flows
across the site. On the top layer is the development right Owning a
development right means that you own the right to build a structure. Each
of these different layers is independent. For example, in Colorado, the
water may be separated and sold-off from the land. The same is true for
the development right. |
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What is a "Sending Site"?
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Some parcels of land have productive agricultural value or
environmentally sensitive areas, such as wetlands, rare plants, or
wildlife habitat. Preservation of these types of areas has been identified
as a goal of the county. Because these sites are important to preserve,
parcels with these types of features in the plains area of the County have
been identified as "sending sites". This means that the owners
of these properties have the opportunity to sell off and send potential
development off of the environmentally sensitive sites to a
"receiving site". |
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What is a "Receiving Site"?
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A receiving
site is an area that usually does not have environmental features that are
important to preserve. The ideal receiving site will be located in or next
to existing development and will be served with public utilities.
Development rights can be "sent" off of sending sites as
described above, and placed in a receiving site. The number of rights that
a receiving site can accept is determined on a case-by-case basis. |
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What is a "Conservation Easement"?
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Conservation easements come in many forms. Generally speaking, a
conservation easement is like a blanket that is spread across a property.
In the areas covered by the blanket, no new development may take place.
The TDR program allows up to five percent of a sending site to be
developable area (single-family dwelling and accessory buildings). The
remainder of the land will be covered by a conservation easement. While
land covered by a conservation easement will remain open, it should not be
confused with what people now think of as open space because the land
itself remains under private ownership. Think back to the example of
property as a series of layers. The development rights layer is owned by
Boulder County but the surface rights layer is owned by a private entity. |
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What is meant by the term "Density"?
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Density refers to the number of development
rights originating from a parcel of land. In most Boulder County
zoning districts, one dwelling unit per 35 acres is the
allowable density without a public review process. If a property
owner takes part in the TDR program as a sending site, a
conservation easement will be placed over the property. In
return for this easement, the sending site owner will be offered
"bonus density". This means that instead of having one unit of
density, or development right, per 35 acres, the owner may
instead be granted two or even three units of density, or
development rights. The bonus density depends on several factors
which will be discussed later in this guide. |
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What is meant by the term "Banking"?
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If someone purchases development rights from a sending site but doesn't
place them right away on a receiving site, the person is said to be
"banking" the development rights. |
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What does it mean to "Extinguish" a Development
Right?
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When someone purchases a development right and then uses that right to
build a dwelling in a receiving site, the development right is
"extinguished"... it is used up. |
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