In 2007, Governor Gregoire signed into law a bill authorizing the Washington State Department of Community, Trade, and Economic Development (CTED) to explore a regional marketplace for TDR in central Puget Sound.  The agency convened a citizen’s advisory committee in September 2007 to examine how a TDR program could operate in the central Puget Sound region (King, Kitsap, Pierce, and Snohomish counties).  This committee represented diverse constituencies from across the region and was tasked with developing a program that:

• Supports and enhances the effectiveness of existing and emerging TDR programs;
  
• Makes it easy for all counties and cities to adopt locally appropriate TDR programs;
  
• Creates economically sound means for cities and counties to create TDR programs that can operate more broadly to address regional conservation and growth opportunities;
• Provides the infrastructure resources cities need to participate in a TDR program;
• Promotes efficient and fair transactions that meet needs of buyers, sellers and the public;
• Directs CTED to manage the process according to specific criteria; and
  
• Asks the Puget Sound Regional Council to evaluate the proposal and give recommendations.

Following a thorough and transparent public process, the stakeholder group made recommendations to CTED on what elements a regional TDR program should include.  These recommendations were included in legislation to be considered during the 2008-2009 session.

In early May of 2009 the legislature passed bill 1172, authorizing the creation of a regional transfer of development rights program.  Governor Christine Gregoire signed this bill into law at Cascade Land Conservancy's annual Conservation Awards Breakfast. 

The Regional TDR Program is now codified as RCW 43.362.

Following the passage of the bill, the Environmental Protection Agency awarded a grant of $567,000 to a partnership of public agencies and private organizations to fund implementation of the program.

Read a description of the regional TDR policy process here.

Download and read CTED's final report including program recommendations here.

Photo by Joe Sambataro.