service & outreach: land use planning & growth management:
tools for quality growth
transferable development rights
In 1998 the Georgia General Assembly passed legislation authorizing local governments to implement transferable development rights programs. Under a TDR program development rights are transferred from "sending areas," which are designated for protection, to "receiving areas," which are designated for growth. Conservation easements permanently protect land in the sending areas from which the development rights have been sold. TDR programs have been used successfully in other jurisdictions to protect thousands of acres of agricultural, historically or ecologically sensitive land; to stimulate economic growth; and to manage urban development.
Papers
Introduction to Transferable Development Rights, Summer 1998, Melissa Bledsoe, Joe Covert, Matt Freeman, William Jones, Autumn Rierson (PDF file). Case studies of TDR programs around the U.S. The Georgia General Assembly passed TDR enabling legislation in 1998.
Protecting Farmland in Developing Communities: A Case Study of the Tax Implications of Conservation Easements, 2001, Nanette Nelson, Laurie Fowler, and Jeff Dorfman. Exploration of tax consequences of different farmland protection strategies including conservation easements and the Georgia Conservation Use Program. Thorough discussion of the use of TDRs to protect farmland.
Research
The Feasibility of a Transferable Development Rights Program for Athens-Clarke County, GA, 2005, Jeffrey H. Dorfman,
Jorge H. Atiles, Jamie Baker Roskie,
Jeffrey Boring,
Nanette Nelson,
Beth Gavrilles (PDF)
Resources and References
TDR slide show (PDF version of Powerpoint)
OCGA 36-66A-1: Official Code of Georgia TDR Enabling Legislation (external site)
|
