Efficient Growth for Growing Suburbs
Upper Frederick Township, Montgomery County: Transfer of Development Rights Ordinance
Project Location Map
[0.2 MB .pdf]
Overview
Upper Frederick Township was awarded a $18,500 EGGS grant to develop a Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) ordinance for the township. This grant will allow the township to hire a consultant to identify development rights “sending” and “receiving” areas, and to develop an ordinance and mechanism that will allow the township to utilize this growth management tool. The township will also use this grant to promote the TDR concept to landowners in the township.
Objectives
Upper Frederick Township intends to protect important agricultural and rural lands in the township by implementing a TDR ordinance that will allow landowners in the designated rural “sending” areas of the township to sell development rights to developers wishing to build in the designated “receiving” areas of the township. The receiving areas are along Route 73 where infrastructure exists to support denser type development. Land in the receiving areas will be allowed to be developed at higher densities while permanently protecting land in the sending areas.
Key products of the project include:
- Establishment of a steering committee to provide public and municipal input;
- an explanation of the TDR concept to educate the public and municipal officials about the tool;
- maps identifying the designated sending and receiving areas;
- analyses of how density could be transferred from sending to receiving areas;
- design guidelines for the receiving areas; and
- ordinance language that contains a mechanism to implement and incentivize the TDR program.
Status
Upper Frederick Township is utilizing CH Planning Limited, the township planning firm, to conduct the study and write the ordinance. The ordinance was discussed numerous times at regularly scheduled Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors meetings, and a public information meeting was held July 29, 2010 to explain the TDR concept in greater detail. The final ordinance was adopted by the Board of Supervisors at their May 12, 2011 meeting.