Chapter 18.95
TRANSFER OF DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS
Sections:
18.95.010 Purpose and intent of the transfer of development rights program.
18.95.020 State enabling legislation.
18.95.040 Designation of sending and receiving sites.
18.95.050 City TDR bank – Purpose.
18.95.060 City TDR bank expenditure and purchase authorization.
18.95.070 Administration of City TDR bank.
18.95.080 Purchase and sale of TDR rights by the City.
18.95.090 Sending site certification, application and procedures.
18.95.100 Receiving TDRs – Standards, applications and procedures.
18.95.120 Monitoring TDR certificates.
18.95.010 Purpose and intent of the transfer of development rights program.
The intent of the TDR program is to:
A. Provide an incentive for property owners to protect and preserve open space, environmentally sensitive areas, park sites, recreational areas, historic sites, rural and resource lands.
B. Allow opportunities for increased density in specific designated parts of the City that are best suited to accommodate urban densities with the least impacts to the environment and public services.
C. Promote design and development consistent with the City’s vision goals and the comprehensive plan’s subarea plan for Summit Place.
D. Allow the transfer of development rights:
1. Between private and public parties, through direct sale of development rights from a qualified sending site property owner to a qualified receiving site property owner; and
2. Between the City and a sending site property owner where the City may act as a TDR bank for development rights by purchasing TDRs from qualified sending sites and holding them for sale at a later date to an applicant for use on a qualified receiving site.
3. Consistent with the subarea plan for Summit Place, Alternative 3. (Ord. O-11-466 § 1).
18.95.020 State enabling legislation.
This chapter is adopted pursuant to RCW 36.70A.090, Comprehensive plans – Innovative techniques, which states:
A comprehensive plan should provide for innovative land use management techniques, including, but not limited to, density bonuses, cluster housing, planned unit developments, and the transfer of development rights.
(Ord. O-11-466 § 1).
18.95.030 Definitions.
Following are specific definitions for certain words, terms and phrases used throughout this chapter. Where any of these definitions conflict with definitions used in other titles of the Municipal Code, the definitions herein shall prevail when used in the context of this chapter. Other terms used in this section may be defined in Chapter 18.20 MVMC.
“Development rights” means the allowable dwelling units that may be transferred from a TDR sending site to a TDR receiving site. Development rights may be transferred with or without transferring the ownership of the property, meaning that the actual property containing the TDRs may be sold or the TDRs may be sold without selling the title to the property.
“Easement, conservation” means a voluntary, legally recorded restriction, in the form of a deed, on the use of the property, in order to protect resources such as agricultural lands, historic structures, open space, recreation areas and wildlife habitat. The easement may include all or part of a parcel. In perpetuity, no new development shall take place within the areas covered by the easement. The property itself may remain in private ownership.
Extinguishment Document, Quit Claim Deed. When a development right is purchased and then used, the right to build a dwelling unit on the sending site is “extinguished.” It is used up and cannot be used again in any other location. The quit claim deed and extinguishment document records the sale and use of the development right on both the sending site and the receiving site and states how the development rights are applied.
“Letter of intent, TDR certification” means a signed letter provided by the City documenting availability of development rights for sale from a sending site. For those sending sites outside the City limits, this letter will be provided by King County.
“Public open space” means property owned by the City of Maple Valley, King County or State agency that is set aside to serve the purpose of protecting and conserving critical areas, natural systems, forest or agricultural lands, historic preservation, open space or recreation.
TDR Bank – City. A TDR bank may be operated by the City for the purpose of buying, selling and holding development rights. The TDRs may be purchased by the City or donated to the City and retained in the bank for later sale.
TDR Bank – County. A TDR bank may be operated by King County in accordance with Chapter 21A.37 KCC.
“TDR base density” means the developable housing units on a property calculated pursuant to its zoning designation.
“TDR certificate” means a recorded document, issued by the City or King County, showing the number of development rights available from a sending site to be used at a TDR receiving site.
“TDR, certified” means that a sending site owner has obtained a certificate from the City or County verifying that the transfer of development rights process is completed on the property, and a conservation easement has been recorded or the property has been dedicated as public open space in perpetuity.
“TDR receiving site” means privately or publicly owned property in the City limits where existing urban services and infrastructure can accommodate additional development. TDR receiving sites are identified and designated through the City comprehensive plan. Summit Place, as described in the subarea plan for Summit Place, is a designated TDR receiving site.
“TDR sending site” means privately or publicly owned property within the City limits that has been designated as a sending site; or sites in King County from King County priority rural and/or resource land located within approximately five miles of the City limits when authorized through interlocal agreement. (Ord. O-11-466 § 1).
18.95.040 Designation of sending and receiving sites.
Sending sites and receiving sites are established based on their ability to meet the purpose and intent and designation shall be identified in the City comprehensive plan.
A. Designation – Sending Sites.
1. Inside City Limits. A privately or publicly owned sending site may be identified through the City comprehensive plan, and meets one or more of the following criteria:
a. The site includes at least 30 percent critical areas and/or required critical area buffers as defined by this chapter; or
b. The site is within the comprehensive plan park, recreation or open space (PRO) designation; or
c. The site is contiguous with existing public open space or parks; or
d. Retention of all or part of the site in permanent open space or recreation will achieve one or more of the goals and policies adopted in the comprehensive plan; or
e. The site has limited access for ingress, egress or infrastructure accessibility.
2. Outside City Limits. Pursuant to an Interlocal Agreement with King County and the City of Maple Valley, public or privately owned TDR sending sites within five miles of the City limits as described in the subarea plan for Summit Place, policy SP-5. These sites will be from King County priority rural or resource land.
3. Future Use of a Designated Sending Site. The development or use of a TDR sending site may affect the ability of the site to be certified as a TDR sending site.
4. Designation as a sending site is not intended to supplant a property owner’s ability to exercise a reasonable use exception pursuant to MVMC 18.60.080(B) for development of their property.
B. Designation – Receiving Sites.
1. A privately or publicly owned receiving site may be identified through the City comprehensive plan. Summit Place, as described in the subarea plan for Summit Place, is a designated TDR receiving site. (Ord. O-11-466 § 1).
18.95.050 City TDR bank – Purpose.
The purpose of establishing the City “TDR bank” is to facilitate the purchase and sale of development rights.
A. The City may acquire development rights from any designated sending site.
B. Development rights purchased from the TDR bank may only be used for receiving sites in the City of Maple Valley. TDR development rights purchased by the City through the outright purchase of a sending site property, or through the purchase of only the development rights from a sending site property, may be retained by the City indefinitely.
C. Development rights may be sold to an applicant for a land use development project within the City for the immediate use of the TDR in conjunction with a development project, or an applicant may purchase TDRs to hold for future use without identifying a pending development project.
1. The City shall certify all development rights by recording a quit claim deed and extinguishment document on the sending site property prior to the sale of any TDR development rights.
2. Certificates identifying the number of TDRs purchased will be provided for any applicant that purchases TDRs from the TDR bank once the rights have been extinguished.
3. TDRs purchased from the TDR bank may be sold to another party through an agreement between the two parties and through an exchange of the recorded certificate, verifying the origin and number of TDRs exchanged. (Ord. O-11-466 § 1).
18.95.060 City TDR bank expenditure and purchase authorization.
The TDR bank may accept donations of development rights from qualified TDR sending sites.
A. The City may use funds from the sale of City-owned TDRs to facilitate development rights transfers. These expenditures may include, but are not limited to, establishing and maintaining Internet web pages, marketing TDR receiving sites, procuring title reports and appraisals and reimbursing the costs incurred by City departments for administering the TDR bank fund and executing development rights purchases and sales.
B. All proceeds from the sale of TDRs by the City shall be available to facilitate development rights transfers and for acquisition of additional development rights or returned to the fund from which the original TDR purchase was made. (Ord. O-11-466 § 1).
18.95.070 Administration of City TDR bank.
A. The City Manager is authorized to administer the TDR bank, including but not limited to:
1. Managing the TDR bank fund;
2. Authorizing and monitoring expenditures;
3. Administering development rights purchases, sales and issuance of letters of intent and certifications; and
4. Providing periodic summary reports of the TDR bank activity for the City Council.
B. The Planning Department shall keep records of the dates, amounts and locations of development rights that have been:
1. Issued a letter of intent;
2. Purchased and certified; and
3. Sold and extinguished. (Ord. O-11-466 § 1).
18.95.080 Purchase and sale of TDR rights by the City.
A. Sale of TDRs by the City. The City shall evaluate the purchase offer to ensure consistency with the following criteria:
1. Development rights sold by the City shall be disposed of in a manner that serves an identifiable public purpose, effects a public benefit, or ensures that adequate monetary or in-kind consideration is received in exchange therefor. The adequacy of any such consideration may in the City’s discretion be determined by an appraisal of the development rights in order to ascertain their fair market value. Development rights shall not be disposed of by the City in any manner that effects a gift of public funds or public property as defined by the Washington Constitution.
2. The TDR shall be purchased for use on a designated receiving site(s).
3. After approval by the City Council, the City will issue a certificate as proof of the purchased TDRs for the applicant to hold until such time as the TDRs are approved for use on a receiving site.
B. Purchase of TDRs through the TDR Bank. All offers to purchase development rights from the TDR bank shall be in writing, and shall include: the number of development rights to be purchased; proposed purchase price; and the required date or dates for completion of the sale. The sale shall be completed within three years of the date the City received the purchase offer, or the offer to sell the TDRs may be withdrawn at the sole discretion of the City. Payment for purchase of development rights from the TDR bank shall be in full at the time the development rights are transferred unless otherwise authorized by the City.
C. All sales of TDRs by the City from the TDR bank shall be approved by the City Council. (Ord. O-11-466 § 1).
18.95.090 Sending site certification, application and procedures.
A. Qualifying a Sending Site for the Transfer of Development Rights.
1. Eligibility. In order to sell or transfer development rights, the property owner of a designated property or otherwise eligible sending site(s) must submit:
a. A written proposal to the City requesting certification of the property as a TDR sending site;
b. Site Survey. For parcels intending to retain more than one development right associated with the parcel, a site survey shall be required showing the property and delineating any critical areas and their buffers and the potential developable site area. No critical area surveys are required for parcels intending to transfer the density of the entire parcel (except for the retention of one unit);
c. A description of the intended use of the property after the development rights are sold and how it complies with subsection (B)(3) of this section, Preservation of Open Space Resulting from TDR Conversion.
2. Calculation of TDRs.
a. The Planning Director or his/her designee shall review the application and calculate the allowable number of development rights for the sending site. The TDR base density shall be calculated as defined in MVMC 18.95.030.
3. Use of Development Rights.
a. Receiving sites may use purchased TDRs to exceed the allowable residential density. One TDR equals one residential dwelling unit pursuant to MVMC 18.95.100.
4. TDR Certificate Letter of Intent. The Planning Director or his/her designee shall prepare and issue a TDR certificate letter of intent for the sending site which documents the available development rights on said sending site. When any of these development rights are certified, the letter of intent shall be reissued to reflect the actual amount of development rights.
5. TDR Certificate Letter of Intent Revision Request. The applicant may request, in writing, that the Director revise the TDR certificate letter of intent within 90 days of the issuance of the TDR certification letter of intent when:
a. The development rights have not been sold; and
b. The applicant demonstrates that the TDR rights were improperly calculated; or
c. The applicant provides additional studies, data or other information demonstrating that an adjustment of the TDR rights would be appropriate.
B. TDR Certification.
1. Certifying TDRs.
a. Inside City Limits. The Planning Director or his/her designee shall review an application for a TDR certificate for the sending site inside the City limits at the request of a qualified sending site property owner. Following review and approval of the sending site certification application, a TDR certificate letter of intent shall be issued defining the TDR certificate content as required in subsection (B)(2) of this section, TDR Certificate Content. The sending site property owner may then market the TDR sending site development rights to potential purchasers. After the designation of the specific area(s) of the property as permanent open space or after recording of a conservation easement as required in subsection (B)(3) of this section is completed, the TDR certificate may be issued.
b. Outside City Limits. TDR certification on sending sites outside the City limits within King County shall be by King County consistent with the “Interlocal Agreement Between King County and the City of Maple Valley Adopting the Joint Plan for Summit Place.”
c. Prior to the release of building permits, the receiving site applicant shall deliver the TDR certificate(s) to the City and a quit claim deed and extinguishment document shall be recorded on the sending site(s) and receiving site after approval of the receiving site project.
2. TDR Certificate Content. A TDR certificate is a recorded document, showing the number of development rights available from a qualified sending site to be used by a TDR receiving site and shall delineate the number of development rights including:
a. The number of residential dwelling units; and
b. Proof of preservation of open space or a conservation easement resulting from TDR conversion shall be as required in subsection (B)(3) of this section.
3. Preservation of Open Space Resulting from TDR Conversion. As part of the development rights transfer and prior to the issuance of the TDR certificate, the sending site property owner is required to document that the site, or portion of the site, is no longer developable and shall be preserved as permanent open space or pursuant to a conservation easement in one of the following ways, as determined by the City case by case:
a. By Deed. The sending site property owner shall deed the ownership of the property to the City subject to a recorded conservation easement preserving the property in perpetuity as public open space. Maintenance for the benefit and protection of the natural resources, including wildlife, scenic corridors and water quality, shall be the responsibility of the City as defined in the conservation easement.
b. By Conservation Easement. The sending site property shall retain title to the property by recording a conservation easement in perpetuity over the parcel. The conservation easement shall include the preparation and implementation of a stewardship plan to ensure the property is maintained for the benefit and protection of the natural resources, including wildlife, recreation areas, scenic corridors, and water quality. All conservation easements shall allow City staff access to the property to ensure compliance with the conservation easement. The conservation easement shall include:
i. All of the critical area and associated buffer; and
ii. A portion of the developable site area equal to the percentage of TDRs sold and certified.
c. For sending sites purchased by the City, where the City wishes to sell all or some of the TDRs, the City shall record a declaration of covenant in perpetuity over the property, which shall include all of the critical area and a portion of the developable site area as required for property retained in private property and shall include the preparation of a stewardship plan as required in subsection (B)(3)(b) of this section, preservation of open space. (Ord. O-11-466 § 1).
18.95.100 Receiving TDRs – Standards, applications and procedures.
A. Standards for Transferring Development Rights to a Receiving Site. Transferred development rights can be accommodated on a receiving site based on the following design and development criteria:
1. Applicability. Receiving sites may use the purchased TDRs to exceed the allowable residential development density and for new development or modification to existing development, in accordance with this chapter; provided, that all development and design standards required by the underlying zoning district shall be met.
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TDR Value: 1 TDR = one dwelling unit up to the following limits: |
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Receiving Site Zone |
Density Limits |
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MPC |
Up to a maximum 200 dwelling units; applies only to Summit Place |
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R-4, R-6, R-8, R-12 and MU |
Up to a maximum 25% increase over the allowable density |
B. Application Process and Procedures for Using TDRs.
1. Application. A project application proposing to use TDRs on a designated receiving site shall include a copy of the TDR certificate letter. A recent title report for the property shall be included in the application.
2. When a property owner intends to deed property to the City, the property owner shall:
a. Warrant to the City, in a form acceptable to the City, that to the best of the property owner’s knowledge, no hazardous substances have been released on the property; and
b. Prior to any such transfer, provide the City with access to and allow the City to inspect the property and all books and records relating to the property.
c. The City may, in its sole discretion, elect not to accept conveyance of the property, and require the property owner to retain the property and record a permanent conservation easement.
3. Using Certified TDRs. The total number of development rights from a sending site may be transferred to one or more designated receiving sites; provided, that the development rights shall only be transferred together as individual development rights. The individual uses of a development right may not be divided, but development rights purchased from one sending site may be distributed to more than one receiving site.
4. A decision for the project shall clearly state: (1) the number of TDRs transferred to the receiving site; and (2) the incorporation of TDRs into the approved project through the total density.
5. TDR development rights once used for a land use application are valid only for the specified parcel for which they were originally approved for use.
6. Quit Claim Deed and Extinguishment Document with TDR Certificate. A TDR certificate is required to document the use of TDRs on all sending sites and receiving sites that have sold or incorporated additional development rights on their property through the TDR process. A quit claim deed and extinguishment document with the attached TDR certificate shall be recorded on the sending site and the receiving site parcels describing:
a. How the TDR rights are used on the receiving site;
b. The number of TDRs used; and
c. The source of the TDRs. (Ord. O-11-466 § 1).
18.95.110 Appeals.
A. Any decision under this section will not be subject to appeal except as part of an appeal of the entire project. An appeal of a TDR determination may be incorporated under a project appeal under MVMC 18.100.230, Administrative appeals.
B. Decisions by the Hearing Examiner regarding the transfer of development rights may be appealed to Superior Court in accordance with MVMC 18.100.240, Judicial appeals. (Ord. O-11-466 § 1).
18.95.120 Monitoring TDR certificates.
The City shall keep records and monitor both the issuance and transfer of TDR certificates and related conservation easements, and the development they represent. (Ord. O-11-466 § 1).
18.95.130 Other authority.
Nothing in this chapter is intended to limit the City’s authority under the State Environmental Policy Act or any other source. (Ord. O-11-466 § 1).