What is a Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) Initiative?

A Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) initiative is a voluntary, market-based tool that helps guide growth while conserving important lands. It allows property owners to transfer the right to develop from one property (called a “sending area”) to another property (called a “receiving area”). 

• Sending Areas are places the community wants to protect—such as farmland, wildlife habitat, open space, or areas vulnerable to hazards like floods or wildfires.

• Receiving Areas are places suitable for additional growth—typically locations already served by roads, water, and sewer infrastructure. 

Through a TDR transaction, a landowner in a sending area can sell their development rights, preserving their land for agriculture or open space. A developer in a receiving area can purchase those rights to build at a higher density than normally permitted. 

This approach creates a balanced path for growth and conservation: 

• Landowners in protected areas are compensated for maintaining their land’s conservation value. 

• Developers gain flexibility to direct growth where infrastructure exists.

• The community benefits from thoughtful land use, preserved landscapes, and sustainable development patterns. 

To learn more about TDR programs across Colorado, visit the Colorado Department of Local Affairs’ webpage: https://planningforhazards.colorado.gov/transfer-of-development-rights

TDRs in Larimer County 

Larimer County is launching the TDR Initiative to explore how this proven planning tool could work locally. The countywide effort will evaluate the feasibility of a flexible, market-driven program that supports growth in appropriate locations while conserving the natural, agricultural, and scenic resources that define Larimer County’s character.

Building on existing community plans and past conservation successes, the initiative will include listening sessions with residents, landowners, municipalities, and community partners. These conversations will help identify lands and resources to protect, areas most suitable for future development, and strategies to make a TDR program effective and locally grounded.

Your input will be vital in shaping how a TDR initiative can help guide growth, protect resources, and sustain the landscapes and communities that make Larimer County unique. 

What we have heard so far:

• Protecting Our Landscapes: There is a deep desire to keep our "community separators"—those open green spaces between towns—and to protect the high-quality farmland and wildlife habitats that make our region special.

• Growing Smarter, Not Just Bigger: Community members want growth to happen in areas that already have the roads, water, and sewer lines to handle it, rather than stretching resources thin into untouched rural areas.

• The "Missing Middle" Housing Gap: We’ve heard that it’s currently too hard to build anything between a large single-family home and a massive apartment complex. We need more variety—like townhomes and duplexes—that families can actually afford.

• Business Helps Pay the Way: New houses alone don't cover the high cost of new roads and utilities. To keep our towns financially healthy, we need to balance new homes with commercial and industrial spaces that help foot the bill.

• Keeping it Simple and Transparent: Whatever plan we move forward with should be easy to understand and based on clear data (like soil health and irrigated lands) so that everyone knows exactly how conservation decisions are being made.

• Respecting Local Identity: Every town is different. Whether it’s the mountain views in Estes Park or the farming roots of Wellington, any regional plan must respect the unique feel and rules of each individual community.

How can you get involved?

Contact us through email or phone and we'll be sure to update you on the current status and ways to participate!