10/02/08 Transfer Development Rights and farmland preservation

Washington Ag October 2, 2008 At a meeting in Spokane Wednesday the Farmland Preservation Task Force heard a presentation on a tool that can be used to slow the conversion of rural and agricultural land. Leonard Bauer is with the department of Community Trade and Economic Development, which is doing a report for the legislature on transfer of development rights or TDRs. Bauer says agricultural land owners sell their development rights to a developer who is looking to use them in an urban area. Bauer: "Typically you will have what is called a receiving area designated by the city, usually it is a city, in that area and that area will have a limit on zoning and in order to go above that and have more development right you would have to purchase that from a farm or forest land owner." The sale of the development right puts money in the pocket of farmers and ranchers to help them keep farming and it's a private transaction with no taxpayer cost. Bauer says there are existing TDR programs in the state. Bauer: "King County has had one since the early 1990s that has preserved about 50-thousand acres of both forest and farmland." Challenges of TDRs are that outcomes are uncertain because the program is voluntary and programs are complicated to design and implement. I'm Bob Hoff.