What Is a Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) Program?
With a TDR system, landowners retain ownership and use of their land, but sell the rights to develop it in the future. Typically, a local government awards development rights to each parcel of developable land within a community based on a parcel’s acreage or value, and also designates appropriate “sending areas” (areas eligible to sell or donate development rights, i.e. rural conservation districts) and “receiving areas” (areas where development rights can be applied, i.e. urban growth areas). Landowners in sending areas can then sell or donate their development rights to a builder/developer who applies them to a project in a receiving area.
