Bill to Allow Transfer of Development Rights Introduced

BOSTON-A bill was introduced in the state legislature here that would enable towns to allow local developers to transfer development rights from less developed areas to more densely developed areas. Planners in three local towns–Acton, Northampton and Townsend–have already adopted TDRs based upon their reading of local zoning rules.

“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.”