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25 <br /> RURAL BUFFER IMPLEMENTATION MEASURE <br /> MEASURES USED BY OTHER JURISDICTIONS <br /> T;.ansfsr of_ Development Rights (TDR) <br /> Definiti9j <br /> Ownership of land carries with it certain rights with <br /> regards to that land. Among these rights is the right to <br /> develop the land. The term Transfer of Development Rights <br /> refers to the severance or separation of the right to develop <br /> from the land itself and transferring that right to another <br /> person. <br /> Neither the transfer of a land ownership right to <br /> another person nor the severance of a right from the land is <br /> a new concept. A lien on property is a partial transfer of <br /> an ownership right. Selling mineral rights to another person <br /> is a transfer of a development right. Actual extraction of a <br /> mineral is distinctly a severance of the right from the land. <br /> Application <br /> There are several basic elements to a transfer of <br /> development rights program. <br /> 1. Through adoption and development of a comprehensive <br /> long range master plan it is necessary to identify <br /> an area from which development rights may be trans- <br /> ferred and an area into which they may be trans- <br /> ferred. <br /> 2. Develop a basis for assigning development rights to <br /> the land from which they may be transferred. Bases <br /> for assignment could be acreage, fair market value, <br /> assessed value, or development potential. <br /> 3. Assign development rights to the owner of each <br /> tract of land in the area from which development <br /> rights may be transferred. <br /> 4. Open the market to the buying, selling. and trans- <br /> fer of development rights. <br /> This technique is being used for a variety of purposes <br /> in areas where the exercise of the right to develop land <br /> conflicts with some public purpose. The most common use of <br /> this technique has been for the preservation of agricultural <br /> land. In such cases. the development right on the land is <br /> severely restricted; to the extent, for example, of only one <br /> (1) dwelling unit per twenty five (25) acres. An owner of <br /> land so restricted is compensated by being allowed to sell <br /> his development rights to another person for use elsewhere. <br />