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Commissioners press staff on TDR inventory and potential fiscal exposure
Summary
Commissioners asked how many transferable development rights (TDRs) are effectively 'locked' and what fiscal exposure the county could face; staff said about 6,500 TDRs are locked by landowners and the land-preservation budget is roughly $11 million, with a county purchase price set at $6,500 per TDR.
During questions on the Prince Frederick master plan, commissioners probed how many TDRs remain unpurchased and whether the county would face large liabilities if it needed to acquire them.
Mary Beth Cook, director of planning and zoning, told the commission she would "give you a number and it's close. It's about 6,500 TDRs for which they are locked into the program and have sold at least 1 TDR." She added there are an additional "more like 8 to 9,000 out there for existing land that's in the preservation program that's been preserved but may not have sold or certified their TDRs yet."
A commissioner asked whether the county could legally absorb that inventory at the reduced density proposed in the draft plan; Cook said vested approvals would be grandfathered if the zoning ordinance update is adopted and that terms of grandfathering would be spelled out in a resolution. Commissioners also asked about the price-setting method for the county purchase program; Cook said the county sets the purchase price (currently $6,500 per TDR) using an annual analysis that considers comparable programs and arm's-length sales.
Cook also recited the land preservation budget figure during the exchange: "So right now, in our land preservation budget, we have about $11,000,000." Commissioners flagged substantial potential exposure if many TDRs must be purchased by the county and asked staff to provide more detailed fiscal modeling ahead of the public hearing and any ordinance adoption steps.
