NY Town L § 261-A (2021)
2021 New York Laws TWN - Town Article 16 - Zoning and Planning 261-A - Transfer of Development Rights; Definitions; Conditions; Procedures.

§  261-a.  Transfer  of  development  rights; definitions; conditions;   procedures. 1. As used in this section:a. "Development rights" shall mean the  rights  permitted  to  a  lot,   parcel, or area of land under a zoning ordinance or local law respecting   permissible  use, area, density, bulk or height of improvements executed   thereon.  Development  rights  may  be  calculated  and   allocated   in   accordance  with  such  factors  as area, floor area, floor area ratios,   density, height limitations, or any other criteria that will effectively   quantify a value for the development right in a reasonable  and  uniform   manner that will carry out the objectives of this section.b. "Receiving district" shall mean one or more designated districts or   areas  of  land  to  which development rights generated from one or more   sending districts may be transferred and in which increased  development   is permitted to occur by reason of such transfer.c.  "Sending  district" shall mean one or more designated districts or   areas of land in which development rights are designated for use in  one   or more receiving districts.d.  "Transfer  of  development rights" shall mean the process by which   development rights are transferred from one lot, parcel, or area of land   in any sending district to another lot, parcel, or area of land  in  one   or more receiving districts.2.  In  addition  to  existing  powers  and authorities to regulate by   planning or zoning, including authorization to provide for  transfer  of   development  rights  pursuant  to  other  enabling  law, a town board is   hereby empowered to provide for transfer of development  rights  subject   to the conditions hereinafter set forth and such other conditions as the   town  board deems necessary and appropriate that are consistent with the   purposes of this section. The  purpose  of  providing  for  transfer  of   development   rights   shall  be  to  protect  the  natural,  scenic  or   agricultural qualities of open lands, to  enhance  sites  and  areas  of   special character or special historical, cultural, aesthetic or economic   interest  or  value, to protect lands at risk from sea level rise, storm   surge or flooding and to enable and encourage flexibility of design  and   careful  management  of  land  in  recognition  of  land  as a basic and   valuable natural resource. The conditions hereinabove referred to are as   follows:a. That transfer of development rights, and the sending and  receiving   districts,  shall be established in accordance with a comprehensive plan   within the meaning of section two hundred sixty-three of  this  article.   The  sending  district  from which transfer of development rights may be   authorized shall consist of natural, scenic, recreational, agricultural,   forest, or open land or sites of special historical, cultural, aesthetic   or economic values sought to be protected or  lands  at  risk  from  sea   level  rise,  storm surge or flooding. Every receiving district to which   transfer of development rights may be authorized, shall have been  found   by  the  town board, after evaluating the effects of potential increased   development which is possible under the transfer of  development  rights   provisions,  to  contain  adequate  resources, environmental quality and   public facilities,  including  adequate  transportation,  water  supply,   waste   disposal  and  fire  protection,  and  that  there  will  be  no   significant environmentally damaging  consequences  and  such  increased   development  is  compatible  with the development otherwise permitted by   the  town  and  by  the  federal,  state,  and  county  agencies  having   jurisdiction  to  approve permissible development within the district. A   generic environmental impact statement pursuant  to  the  provisions  of   article eight of the environmental conservation law shall be prepared by   the  town  board for the receiving district before any such district, or   any sending district, is designated, and such statement shall be amended    from time to time by the town board if there  are  material  changes  in   circumstances.  Where a transfer of development rights affects districts   in two or more school, special assessment or tax districts, it  may  not   unreasonably  transfer  the  tax  burden  between  the taxpayers of such   districts. The receiving and sending districts need not  be  coterminous   with zoning districts.b.  That sending and receiving districts be designated and mapped with   specificity and the procedure for  transfer  of  development  rights  be   specified.  Notwithstanding  any other provision of law to the contrary,   environmental  quality  review  pursuant  to  article   eight   of   the   environmental  conservation  law  for any action in a receiving district   that utilizes development rights shall only require information specific   to the project and site where the action will occur and shall be limited   to review of the environmental  impacts  of  the  action,  if  any,  not   adequately reviewed in the generic environmental impact statement.c.  That  the  burden  upon  land within a sending district from which   development rights have been  transferred  shall  be  documented  by  an   instrument  duly  executed  by the grantor in the form of a conservation   easement, as defined  in  title  three  of  article  forty-nine  of  the   environmental  conservation  law,  which  burden upon such land shall be   enforceable by the appropriate town in addition to any other  person  or   entity  granted  enforcement  rights by the terms of the instrument. All   provisions of law applicable to such conservation easements pursuant  to   such title shall apply with respect to conservation easements hereunder,   except  that  the  town  board  may  adopt  standards  pertaining to the   duration of such easements that are more stringent than  such  standards   promulgated  by the department of environmental conservation pursuant to   such title. Upon the designation of any sending district, the town board   shall adopt  regulations  establishing  uniform  minimum  standards  for   instruments  creating  such  easements  within  the  district.   No such   modification or extinguishment of an easement shall diminish  or  impair   development  rights within any receiving district. Any development right   which has been transferred by conservation easement shall  be  evidenced   by  a certificate of development right which shall be issued by the town   to the transferee in a form suitable for recording in  the  registry  of   deeds  for  the  county  where the receiving district is situated in the   manner of other conveyances of interests in land affecting its title.d. That within one year after a development right is transferred,  the   assessed  valuation  placed on the affected properties for real property   tax purposes shall be adjusted to reflect the  transfer.  A  development   right  which  is  transferred  shall be deemed to be an interest in real   property and the rights evidenced thereby shall inure to the benefit  of   the transferee, and his heirs, successors and assigns.e.  That development rights shall be transferred reflecting the normal   market in land, including sales between owners of  property  in  sending   and  receiving districts, a town may establish a development rights bank   or such other account in which development rights may  be  retained  and   sold  in  the  best  interest  of the town. Towns shall be authorized to   accept for deposit within the bank gifts, donations, bequests  or  other   development  rights. All receipts and proceeds from sales of development   rights sold by the town  shall  be  deposited  in  a  special  municipal   account to be applied against expenditures necessitated by the municipal   development rights program.f.  That  prior  to designation of sending or receiving districts, the   legislative body of the town shall evaluate the impact  of  transfer  of   development  rights  upon  the  potential development of low or moderate   income housing  lost  in  sending  districts  and  gained  in  receiving   districts and shall find either there is approximate equivalence between    potential  low  and  moderate housing units lost in the sending district   and gained in the receiving districts or that the town has or will  take   reasonable  action  to  compensate  for  any  negative  impact  upon the   availability  or potential development of low or moderate income housing   caused by the transfer of development rights.3. The town board adopting or  amending  procedures  for  transfer  of   development  rights  pursuant to this section shall follow the procedure   for adopting and amending its zoning ordinance or local law, as the case   may be, including all provisions for notice applicable  for  changes  or   amendments to a zoning ordinance or local law.Nothing in this section shall be construed to invalidate any provision   for  transfer  of  development rights heretofore or hereafter adopted by   any local legislative body.