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Smart Growth America cultivates vibrant, sustainable communities with diverse living and transportation options, enhancing quality of life for all.

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Transfer of Development Rights | King County, WA

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Transfer of Development Rights | King County, WA

King County, WA’s web site describes its transfer of development rights (TDR) program as “a voluntary, incentive-based, and market-driven approach to preserve land and steer development growth away from rural and resource lands into King County’s Urban Area.”

Established in 2008, the program outlines the framework for moving development rights out of natural areas and into economic core neighborhoods. It sets the eligibility criteria for which sites can send out their development rights and which can receive development credits. It authorizes a TDR Bank and establishes the rules for buying and selling development credits and recording development restrictions on those sites that sell their development rights.