TDR programs can be more attractive to developers than conventional development options.
Conservation easements provide permanent protection from development in the sending zone.
In 1998, the Georgia Assembly passed legislation that authorized local governments to implement TDR programs. Property owners in the sending site may give up the right to develop their land and receive development credits in return. The sending site is then placed under a conservation easement, a legal agreement restricting development. In a successful program the TDR credits are worth more to the seller than the unused development potential of the land and the buyer s profit from the increased development exceeds the costs of the TDR credit. AREA Selecting the sending area is quite simple since many TDR programs are created for the protection of specific geographic regions, such as prime agricultural land, or sensitive riparian land.