20D.200.20 Transfer of Development Rights Procedures.

20D.200.20-010 Certificate of Transferable Development Rights.

(1) The property owner must file an application with the City for issuance of a Certificate of Transferable Development Rights. The Administrator shall set forth the submittal requirements necessary for application.

(2) The Administrator will verify ownership and qualification of the property for the program. The Administrator will calculate the quantity of development rights based upon the use of the land at the time that the certificate is requested.

(3) The Administrator will issue the owner Certificates of Development Rights with an assigned serial number stating the quantity of development rights for that property and describing to what portion of the site the certificate shall apply. (Ord. 2353)

20D.200.20-020 Transferring Development Rights, Easements and Deeds.

(1) Prior to, or concurrent with, the time that the property owner exercises his/her right to sell, transfer, or use such certificates, the following shall be approved by the Administrator and the City Attorney, and the owner shall execute and record in King County’s real property records:

(a) A TDR conservation easement for environmentally critical areas; or

(b) A TDR conservation easement for properties zoned Agriculture or Urban Recreation; or

(2) The easement or deed restriction shall place the following restrictions on the property:

(a) Properties zoned Agriculture (A) or Urban Recreation (UR) and not containing environmentally critical areas listed in RCDG 20D.200.10-020(1)(c), Sending Area Properties, shall be restricted to agricultural or recreational uses by a TDR conservation easement meeting the requirements of this division.

(b) Properties containing environmentally critical areas listed in RCDG 20D.200.10-020(1)(c) or forest communities described in RCDG 20D.200.10-020(1)(d) shall be restricted to use as a fish and wildlife habitat by a TDR conservation easement meeting the requirement of this division.

(c) Properties classified as historic landmarks or historic landmark districts shall be restricted by a preservation easement that protects the significant features of the structure and site.

(3) If the owner is selling or transferring the rights, a deed, as approved by the Administrator, shall be executed by the selling and purchasing parties and recorded with the King County Records and Elections Division transferring ownership of those development rights being sold. The purpose of the deed is to confirm that a developer or investor has purchased the development rights. A copy of the recorded document shall be filed with the King County Assessor’s Office and the Redmond Administrator. The deed shall include the recording number(s) of the TDR conservation easement, preservation easement, or TDR deed restriction for the rights being transferred, and a legal description of the land from which development rights are granted.

(4) Secondary Transfers. A development right may be sold or transferred more than once. If a TDR owner in a receiving area, who has developed according to the regulations in this chapter, later elects to sell the development rights acquired according to this chapter, the improvements allowed through the use of TDRs must first be uninstalled and the land returned to a landscaped condition according to Chapter 20D.80 RCDG, Landscaping and Tree Protection. (Ord. 2353)

20D.200.20-030 Partial Sale or Use of Development Rights.

(1) The sending area property owner can sell all, none, or part of his/her granted development rights.

(2) If the sale of development rights from the sending area property owner would entail less than an entire parcel, the following additional regulations shall apply, except to those properties designated as historic landmarks:

(a) The portion of the lot involved in the proposed sale of development rights shall be legally described and must be shown on a map. The serial number assigned to the Certificate of Development Rights shall reflect only the portion of the property where development rights have been sold.

(b) When a portion of the total available development rights are sold from a lot or property, the future sale of additional development rights from that property shall occur so that the land is contiguous, to the greatest extent possible, to the lands from which development rights were previously sold.

(c) If the land subject to the TDR conservation easement is subdivided, within the limitations of the zoning, any new parcel created shall continue to be subject to the TDR conservation easement and shall comply with this division.

(3) In the case of a historic landmark, the partial sale of development rights shall cause the preservation easement to be executed in full. (Ord. 2353)