Planning Commission debates using TDRs to steer height, parking and site outcomes

The South Burlington Planning Commission spent its main discussion item tonight re-examining the city's Transferable Development Rights (TDR) program and how the city might change rules to increase market activity and better direct growth. Staff presented a memo requested by City Council, and commissioners debated options including: requiring TDRs for developments above specified story counts; using TDRs to limit new surface parking or additional lot coverage; and flipping bonus rules so developers buy rights to exceed baseline standards.

Committee members who favored stronger TDR use argued the program can be a tool for clustering development where the city wants density and conserving land elsewhere. A committee member said, "Basically, if you wanna use land inefficiently, you have to buy a TDR," framing the idea that TDRs could be a disincentive for low-density, vehicle-oriented development (Committee member). Staff cautioned that the city does not set market prices and that transaction costs are high; "The numbers that I have heard are in the, you know, somewhere between 8 and 14,000 per," the staff member said when asked about recent sales (Staff member). Commissioners also flagged legal and surveying costs that can make small TDR sales impractical.

Discussion moved through several options rather than toward a single, immediate policy change. Commissioners preferred a staged approach: (1) consider expanding where TDRs can be used (for example, into certain City Center form-based code areas) and (2) explore "flipping" bonus structures so TDRs are required for deviations the commission considers undesirable. Commissioners asked staff to return with targeted options and analysis rather than a 20-year market study. No formal regulatory changes were adopted tonight; the commission asked staff to prepare follow-up materials for future meetings.