Definitions
Transfer of Development Rights (TDR)
General Definitions
What is a "Development Right"? Land ownership is commonly described as consisting of a bundle of different rights. Usually when someone purchases a parcel they purchase the entire bundle of rights that might be associated with the land.
Some of the more common rights include ownership of any mineral deposits under the land, or the timber that might grow on the land. An access easement is an example of separating off the right to travel across a parcel and selling that right to another party such as an adjacent landowner who can't get to his or her property any other way. Owning a development right means that you own the right to build a structure on the parcel. Development rights may be voluntarily separated and sold off from the land. Development rights only come in whole increments; there is no such thing as a part of a right.
What is a "Sending Site"?
 Some parcels have productive agricultural or forestry values, provide critical wildlife habitat or provide other public benefits such as open space, regional trail connectors or urban separators. Preservation of these types of areas has been identified as a goal of the County.
By selling the development rights, landowners may voluntarily achieve an economic return on their property while maintaining it in farming, forestry, habitat or parks and open space in perpetuity.
See Sending Sites for specific criteria to qualify as a sending site. When development rights are sold off of a sending site, a permanent conservation easement is placed on the parcel.
What is a "Receiving Site"?
Development rights that are "sent" off of a sending site are placed on a receiving site. A receiving site is a parcel of land located where the existing services and infrastructure can accommodate additional growth. Landowners may place development rights onto a receiving site either by transferring them from a qualifying parcel they own by purchasing the development rights from a qualified sending site landowner, or purchasing them from the King County TDR Bank. With transferred development rights a landowner may develop the receiving site at a higher density than is otherwise allowed by the base zoning. See Receiving Sites for criteria to qualify as a receiving site.
What is a "Conservation Easement"?
Conservation easements come in many different forms and the specific conditions may vary depending on the purpose of the easement. Generally speaking, a conservation easement is like a blanket that is spread across a property. In the areas covered by the blanket, no new development may take place. Frequently landowners will retain one development right in order to build a single-family residence on the land. While land covered by a conservation easement will remain open, but the land itself remains in private ownership. Depending on the criteria used to qualify a sending site, a range of uses may be permitted under the conservation easement, such as agricultural or forestry activities. To ensure that the terms of a conservation easement are being complied with, all conservation easements allow County staff access to the property.
What is "Density"?
Density refers to the number of development rights that can be transferred off of a parcel of land. The zoning of a parcel and the acreage are used to calculate the number of development rights that are attached to a parcel. Parcels located in some areas, such as rural forest focus areas or agricultural lands, may also get "bonus density." In these areas the number of development rights allowed may be higher than the number calculated from the base zoning alone. In addition, development rights from some rural sending sites that are transferred to some urban locations may be able to transfer at twice the calculated number. For a complete explanation of the criteria for calculating the number of development rights on a parcel and any bonus density, see Sending Sites.
One development right is generally viewed as the equivalent of one residential unit. Development rights can be used to increase the allowed density on receiving sites. For more information on transferring development rights, see Receiving Sites.
What is "Banking"?
If someone purchases development rights from a sending site but doesn't use them right away on a receiving site, the person is said to be "banking" the development rights. The sending site property owner might also bank development rights by separating the rights from the parcel and placing a conservation easement on the land. The property owner would then have a certificate for the number of development rights allowed that could be sold or used on a receiving site. Under some circumstances, King County may also purchase development rights and transfer them in the "TDR Bank" and then sell them at a later time to owners of qualified receiving sites.
What does it mean to "Extinguish" a development right?
When someone purchases a development right and then uses that right to build a dwelling unit on a qualified receiving site, the development right is "extinguished." It is used up and cannot be used again in any other location.
For questions about TDR Program please contact Darren Greve.
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