Transfer Development Rights (TDR) and
Purchase of Development Rights (PDR)

TDR and PDR are land use control programs designed to direct development away from protected areas. These programs are being utilized in other parts of the country to preserve open space and farmland. Under a TDR program, the right to develop in the designated protected or sending district, measured by dwelling units per acre, is removed and transferred to a designated receiving district. The sending and receiving districts do not necessarily have to be located within the same community.

The June 1997 Ohio Farmland Preservation Task Force report makes several recommendations to protect Ohio's farmland. One of these recommendations is the establishment of a Purchase of Development Rights (PDR) program. As stated in the task force report, "A PDR program allows a farmer to voluntarily sell the right to develop farmland in return for accepting a permanent conservation easement on the affected land."

Whereas the development rights under a TDR program are transferred between two private landowners, government purchases the development rights under a PDR program from a private landowner. Although the mechanics of the two programs differ, the end results are the same. Based on an opinion from the Ohio Attorney General's office, neither the state nor local governments currently have the authority to purchase, or accept as a gift, land for the purpose of agricultural land preservation. Nonprofit organizations and agencies, such as Metro Parks, the Darby Creek Land Conservancy and The Nature Conservancy, can accept land as a gift.

Recommendation

The Brown Township Comprehensive Plan acknowledges the potential for the Transfer Development Rights and Purchase of Development Rights programs as a means of preserving agricultural land, directing development away from sensitive areas and for preserving agricultural land. It is recommended that the committee selected to develop the township's agricultural preservation plan, review and monitor state legislative actions regarding these planning concepts to determine how they may be implemented in Brown Township in order to reduce development pressures within the township.