"The bill would put into statute what these communities have subtly understood," Christopher Hardy, legislative liaison for the Massachusetts Audubon Society, tells Globest.com. "Now they could face the risk of being challenged legally."
In Northampton, planners passed the ordinance to allow farm and forest landowners to sell their development rights to developers who used them to build higher density developments in specified areas of the town. "Basically, you transfer the right to develop from one parcel of land to another," notes Hardy. "If a community wants its Downtown rehabilitated it can swap the ability to develop in a more scenic area to Downtown, where it's more appropriate."
The proposed legislation for this bill was filed for the first time last year but it never passed. The bill, which was filed now by Senator Steven Brewer, currently has support from the Home Builders Association of Massachusetts, the Greater Boston Real Estate Board and the Massachusetts Association of Realtors. The Massachusetts Audubon Society recently came out in support of the bill.
"This bill is expanding the tools a community has to deal with development pressures," points out Hardy, who adds that communities are not required to adopt TDRs if they don't want to. "We are always looking at ways to maximize the presence of open space while allowing necessary development."
The bill was passed in the local affairs committee, which is its first hurdle in the process. It then has to pass the committee on steering and policy, which will review the bill, before it makes it to the House and Senate.
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