STAFFORD — The Board of Supervisors is considering expanding upon the Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) Program to encourage development in targeted growth areas.
A TDR is when development rights in more rural areas (sending areas) are transferred to more urban and growing areas in the county (receiving areas). This acts as a conservation method for landowners while boosting urban growth.
TDRs are not a new concept in Stafford. The existing program, established in 2015, operates mainly in the Aquia District. Now, the Board is looking to potentially expand the concept throughout the county.
Although the current TDR program requires a minimum of 20 acres to participate, the Board of Supervisors discussed the possibility of being more inclusive of smaller landowners.
“I’m for going below 20 acres in order to ensure the wholeness thing; however, on the process I think you [the staff] need to get back to us with some options on the process to ensure that we are not giving them TDRs on undeveloped land,” supervisor Wendy Maurer said, Rock Hill District.
Questions remain as to what the application process will look like, how the development rights will be assigned/transferred, and what zoning areas can qualify for TDRs. The Healthy Growth work session held on Tuesday morning was just a precursor to many future work sessions to hash out all of the details.
“We cannot make this too complicated,” said Board of Supervisors Chairman Gary Snellings, representing the Hartwood District. “I’m not talking complicated for staff or for us, I’m talking for the citizens. I think we need to make it as simple as possible.”
There were two options presented as to how the TDR program would be developed: either by the Board of Supervisors or by a citizen task force. The majority of the Board of Supervisors concluded that a citizen’s task force would not be the most effective way to carry out the process.
“I do not have confidence in the task force concept,” said Mark Dudenhefer, Garrisonville District. “This is an extremely important overarching decision that has to be made by this Board.”
The Board also discussed the need for development incentives, for example, the current program says one development right from a sending property is equivalent to a development right for a receiving property. They requested more information from staff as to specific incentive options for future growth.
With an upcoming election, the Board of Supervisors had to figure out whether to rush through the process to get it done by the new year or extend the timeframe for the project. Under the current bylaws, no land-use issues are supposed to be taken up in November and December.
The Board voted 7-0 to push the timeline back into the new year to allow for more time for citizen input. Extending the timeline allows the Board to avoid joint public hearings, a task no Board member wanted to tackle.
“This is inarguably the most important decision that I’m ever going to make,” said supervisor Cindy Shelton, Aquia District. “I want to go through this thoughtfully. I want to make sure that we consider the things that we are. We are affecting property values, and what we are doing absolutely has to be done correctly.”
