Transfer of Development Credit (TDC) Blue Ribbon Committee

A TDC program deals with the movement (transfer) of development from one parcel of land to another; from a "sending" site to a "receiving" site. The reason for moving development from one place to another is primarily to guide development to locations that can better support it.

The Transfer of Development Credit Blue Ribbon Committee (TDCBRC) was authorized by the Board of Supervisors (BOS) on July 25th, 2006 to evaluate the County’s current TDC program. The committee is made up of 15 individuals representing specific areas of interest which include agriculture, the environment, development, Boards and Commissions, Advisory Groups, incorporated cities, the Land Conservancy of SLO County and the general public.

The following outlines the purpose of the TDC Blue Ribbon Committe and what issues they are evaluating:

A. Program Purpose

1. What was the identified problem with land use that the TDC program was created to solve?
2. What are the problems with land use today?
3. What has the TDC program accomplished?
4. What are the specific problems with the current program?

B. Specific Tasks Directed by BOS and Planning Commission (PC)

1. Evaluate the mechanics of TDC programs specific to holding conservation easements.
2. Reevaluate the allowed uses in conservation easements for sending sites and establish additional specific requirements for management. (BOS and PC letter)
3. Investigate a requirement of sending sites to merge all underlying parcels. Consider requiring the TDC program to retire lots. (PC letter)
4. Reevaluate the number that is divided into the development value that is used to determine the number of sending credits assigned to sending sites to reflect current property values. (BOS and PC letter)
5. In order to protect against a sprawl pattern of development, review whether density bonuses should be increased within existing communities that have adequate services as an incentive to direct growth into the existing urban and village areas and away from the areas distant from communities, including modifying the density bonuses and locational criteria to increase density bonuses within URLs that have water and sewer service and VRLs that have water service. (BOS)
6. Strengthen the receiving site criteria. (PC Letter). Consider requiring all receiver sites to be located within or contiguous to urban reserve lines (URL’s) (PC Letter)
7. Explore the cities participation in the program.
8. Evaluate the use of TDC’s for general plan amendments. (BOS and TDCBRC)

C. Explore Alternatives (Also through discussions in B above)

D. Produce Final Report

The committee currently meets on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month from 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. These meetings are open to the public. For the location of these meetings, please see the agenda for that meeting day.

For further information, contact Karen Nall, Senior Planner (805) 781-5606

View Meeting Agendas and Minutes

View Reports