What are “transfer development rights?”
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Transfer development rights (TDRs) are a zoning tool used to control land usage.
Suppose you have a farm. The local government wants you to keep the farm intact and not subdivide. So, to encourage the retention of open farm land, the local government will allow you to sell you right to subdivide to someone else who can use the rights for another property.
In other words, the farm stays in one piece and another property becomes the site of more intense development, thus there is a transfer of development rights.
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