County places six-month emergency moratorium on new Transfer of Development Rights applications

Kittitas County commissioners voted to place a six-month emergency moratorium on new Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) transfers and applications during a Monday meeting, county planning staff said.

CDS director Chad Beyla told the board the county has received “an influx of TDR applications that have gone outside the intent of what a transfer development rights program is supposed to do.” He said the TDR program is intended to conserve natural-resource, agricultural and forest lands and to shift density into urban growth areas. Instead, Beyla said, some recent applications moved density off urban growth area lands and the county is uncertain where those densities would be transferred.

Beyla said some applications have already been vested and that those vested certificates — many of which required conservation easements — would continue to be honored under existing vesting rules. The proposed moratorium would apply only to new applications received after the moratorium takes effect.

He told commissioners staff will return within roughly 60 days with an ordinance and a work program to identify code adjustments; staff raised options including creating a TDR banking mechanism or, alternatively, rescinding the TDR program if it cannot be made to meet policy goals.

A commissioner moved and another seconded the resolution; the board approved the moratorium by voice vote. The transcript does not record a roll-call tally or the names of the mover/second. Staff did not provide a schedule for the 60-day work program beyond the stated target.

The moratorium suspends acceptance of new TDR transfer applications while staff craft code changes or other program adjustments for future consideration by the board.