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Commission weighs transfer-development-rights, bonus pool and an affordable-overlay approach
Summary
Staff told the commission that TDRs have been purchased or held and that bonus-pool incentives were more attractive to developers; commissioners discussed trade-offs between land-conservation via TDRs and producing deeply affordable units.
Staff explained differences between transfer-development rights (TDRs) and the affordable-housing bonus pool and how those instruments have been used or held. Pyle said TDRs require upfront credit purchases and some owners are holding credits pending better Town Center conditions; he added that the bonus pool has been a more attractive path for recent projects. "TDR programs are at odds with affordability," he said, noting that TDR-driven projects may not trigger the same inclusionary outcomes as market-rate bonus projects.
Commissioners discussed ways to reconcile land-conservation aims with affordability objectives, including considering hybrid programs, commingled approaches used elsewhere, and an affordable-housing overlay that could allow not-for-profits to build deeper-affordable projects if they can demonstrate traffic, water and sewer capacity. Staff characterized an affordable-overlay on faith-based or public parcels as an administratively feasible backup to demonstrate capacity for deeply affordable housing, though it would likely rely on public funding or philanthropy.
