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Officials: set TDR price and let Office of Agriculture broker sales to fix market friction
Summary
Committee members and the Office of Agriculture discussed setting a regulated price for TDRs, why private TDR transactions have lacked demand, and how Fund-mediated purchases could create a functioning market for transferable development rights while protecting farmland owners.
Councilmember Balcom and other members questioned whether developers would always choose BLTs if TDR pricing remained uncertain. Miss Dunn answered that setting a regulated TDR price and dividing the BLT requirement into TDR units would create clear math for developers. "So in a sense of, like, I don't think a developer will be going to a farmer and providing, a much much lower price the farmer would have not an incentive to sell at that because they can sell it to the Department of or Office of Ag," Miss Dunn said.
Mike Sheffel (Office of Agriculture) explained why TDRs have been difficult to mobilize: private TDR sales are informal and the consideration does not need to be recorded on transfer deeds, so prices are opaque. He said the county is updating BLT appraisals and exploring a methodology for setting a TDR price that balances efficient public spending with fair compensation to farmers. "If we could figure out, what a cost of a TDR is, that would be wonderful," Sheffel said, noting historical perceptions of TDR values around "$40 to $50,000" before the recession. The committee emphasized the need to avoid leaving developers with an incentive to purchase BLTs as the cheaper or easier option.
