The transfer of development rights is a mechanism by which culturally or historically significant properties, in many cases farms, significant buildings or scenic views, may be protected in perpetuity through the sale of "development rights." Typically, owners of land in development-restricted areas called "sending" districts transfer the development rights from their property and sell those rights to property owners in specified "receiving" districts.
An administrative program or regulatory procedure by which an owner of environmentally sensitive land sells the land's development potential to an owner of land where higher density development is desirable.
A mechanism whereby sensitive areas may be preserved by allowing property owners to sell development rights to another to be used in areas defined as growth centers.
The landowner receives compensation from a developer for the development rights associated with the property which the developer can transfer to other location approved by the local government to create more compact development on the new site.
A system that assigns development rights to parcels of land and gives landowners the option of using those rights to develop or to sell their land. TDRs are used to promote conservation and protection of land by giving landowners the right to transfer the development rights of one parcel to another parcel. By selling development rights, a landowner gives up the right to develop his/her property, but the buyer could use the rights to develop another piece of land at a greater intensity than would otherwise be permitted.
Explained by Frank B. Gilbert: "Landmarks are often located in the center of cities where zoning resolutions would permit much larger buildings should they be replaced. . . . In New York City the owner of a landmark may now transfer unused development rights from his lot to an adjacent site where a new building is to be constructed. This transaction, allowing the new building to be larger, enables the landmark owner to realize some of the present-day value of his land without destroying the historic building" (qtd. in All about Old Buildings 215).
Property that may not be used on the land from which they come. TDR may be sold to be used on a designated site in a receiving (growth) area. When TDRs are sold, the land they came from is restricted to farming. TDRs require that zoning be in place in both the sending and receiving areas.
A tool used to conserve resources and open space through a process that transfers the development rights of a piece of property to a similar property in an identified receiving zone. The original property zone is called a sending zone, and is an area where the land is considered less desirable for development. A receiving zone is an area that is more suitable for development. Land owners who purchase these development rights are able to develop land at a greater density than what is typically allowed.