Summit County's TDR program has protected sensitive lands and reinvested $4.5 million into open space, staff says

Jessica Forsyth, Open Space and Trails Senior Resource Specialist, presented an overview of Summit County's Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) program to the Open Space Advisory Council on July 2. Forsyth said the program moves density from areas less suitable for development to more appropriate receiving areas through an intergovernmental agreement with the Town of Breckenridge.

Forsyth described program mechanics: a property owner transfers title of qualifying parcels to Summit County and the Town of Breckenridge in exchange for a TDR certificate that can be sold to a developer seeking additional density in receiving areas. The program expanded to include wetland lots in platted subdivisions (for example, Quandary Village); qualifying parcels generally must be covered 50% or more by high-quality wetlands or wetlands of concern.

To date, Forsyth said, the TDR program has removed 100 development rights from roughly 2,000 acres of sensitive lands that are now protected in perpetuity, protected nineteen lots totaling about 10 acres through the wetland-lot mechanism, and reinvested approximately $4.5 million into open-space acquisition. Forsyth called the Upper Blue TDR bank the most active within the county.

Council members did not take action on the TDR presentation; no new policy or change was proposed at the meeting. OSAC received the overview as informational and moved on to other agenda items.