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Burien planners weigh Transfer of Development Rights and LCLIP feasibility; consultants to return with revenue scenarios
Summary
Consultants funded by the Washington Department of Commerce briefed the council on a feasibility study exploring a Transfer of Development Rights program paired with the Landscape Conservation and Local Infrastructure Program (LCLIP); the study found low-, medium-, and high-growth placement scenarios and will return to council with revenue estimates and recommended incentives.
Consultants presented a Department of Commerce'funded feasibility study on June 1 that examined whether Burien should adopt a Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) program tied to the Landscape Conservation and Local Infrastructure Program (LCLIP), a tax-increment tool that shares county property-tax growth with participating cities that meet placement thresholds.
"The simple way of thinking about it is within our urban areas can we create incentives for property owners and developers to add additional capacity and then buy a conservation easement in a sending site," said Morgan Shook of the consulting team. The consultants said the Puget Sound Regional Council allocated Burien 273 regional TDR credits; placing more credits makes a city eligible for more county-shared incremental property taxes under LCLIP.
Consultants ran low-, medium- and high-growth scenarios to estimate how many of the 273 credits Burien could reasonably expect to place over 25 years: a low case of roughly 85 credits, a medium scenario near 195 credits, and an optimistic high-growth case approaching full allocation. They cautioned the actual revenue depends on where the city draws the local infrastructure project area (LIPA), what incentives are offered to developers, and how quickly credits are placed.
Council members asked about credit definition and pricing, whether sending sites can be prioritized by county, the risks if performance thresholds are not met, and whether commercial uses (including hotels) could be eligible receiving-site projects. Consultants said counties typically expect a performance path and that revenue sharing may be prorated or suspended if placement targets are not met; they said the next presentation will include revenue estimates, suggested incentive packages and an implementation roadmap.
No council action was taken; consultants will return with refined revenue forecasts and implementation steps in July.
