§ 20.62.040. Certification and transfer of transferable development rights.

1.

Application for Certification of Number of Transferable Development Rights.

a.

Thurston County shall issue a certification of the number of transferable development rights on the sending area parcel and serially numbered individual certificates for each transferable development right credited to that parcel upon satisfactory application for certification of transferable development rights (TDRs) by the sending area parcel owner. The issuance of TDR certificates shall be recorded in the chain of title for the subject property.

b.

An application shall contain such information as deemed necessary to verify parcel size and existing uses as a basis for certifying the number of development rights. This information shall include:

i.

A map of the proposed sending area parcel and acreage determination provided by the Thurston County assessor's office verified by the Thurston GeoData Center. If a discrepancy in determining acreage affects the number of TDRs that may be allocated, the owner of the sending area parcel may choose to submit a field survey prepared by a registered land surveyor, and the allocation of TDRs will be based on that survey;

ii.

Legal description and parcel numbers of the sending area parcel;

iii.

A title report showing that the applicant is the owner of the subject sending area parcel;

iv.

Number of nonfamily member units and nonfarm housing units (as defined in Chapter 20.08A) existing on the subject sending area parcel;

v.

Number of family member units and farm housing units existing on the subject sending area parcel;

vi.

A review fee as may be prescribed by the Thurston County board of commissioners.

2.

Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) Easement. In order to validly convey the transferable development rights certified on a sending area parcel, a TDR easement shall be signed between the owner of the sending area parcel and Thurston County and recorded with the Thurston County auditor. To validly retain the transferable development rights which have been certified on a sending area parcel when an original owner sells such parcel, a TDR easement shall be signed by the purchaser of the subject parcel and Thurston County and recorded with the Thurston County auditor. The TDR easement shall be on a form approved by the board of Thurston County commissioners and shall contain the following provisions:

a.

All of the serial numbers of the transferable development rights which have been certified by Thurston County on the sending area parcel which is the subject of the TDR easement;

b.

A covenant on the sending area parcel that it may be developed or subdivided for residential purposes, including a farm residence, as authorized by the underlying zone, only if transferable development rights have been reserved for each dwelling to be constructed on the subject property prior to subdivision on the sending area parcel. If subdivision is not required, a transferable development right shall be reserved prior to construction of any single-family dwelling. Subdivisions for all other agricultural uses per Section 20.08A.035(2) are not affected by this transfer of development rights chapter. The covenant shall also state that any use of the parcel remains subject to the provisions of this title at the time the TDR easement is signed. A reserved transferable development right must be attached to a legal lot by a document of attachment in order for a single-family dwelling as defined in this title to be built. These reserved transferable development rights can be used only on the original sending area parcel or its legal subdivisions;

c.

A covenant that all provisions of the TDR easement shall run with and bind the sending area parcel in perpetuity and shall be enforced by the Thurston County board of commissioners;

d.

A statement that nothing in the restrictions shall be construed to convey to the public a right of access or use of the property and that the owner of the property, his/her heirs, successors and assigns shall retain exclusive right to such access or use subject to the terms of the TDR easement.

3.

Deed of Transfer.

a.

The certified transferable development rights shall be sold or otherwise conveyed only by means of a deed of transfer, the form and content of which is prescribed by the Thurston County board of commissioners and approved by the Thurston County prosecuting attorney. This deed must be recorded with the Thurston County auditor and appear in the chain of title of the parcel from which the development right(s) have been transferred.

b.

The deed of transfer shall specify the number of transferable development rights sold or otherwise conveyed and shall only be valid when recorded along with the appropriate TDR easement on the subject property, signed by the owner of the sending area parcel and Thurston County, containing the provisions established by the board of Thurston County commissioners for such a document.

c.

Contents. A deed of transfer shall contain:

i.

A legal description and map of the sending area parcel(s);

ii.

A covenant that all provisions of the deed of transfer shall run with and bind the sending area parcel and shall be enforced by the Thurston County board of commissioners;

iii.

The names of the transferor and the transferee;

iv.

A covenant that the transferor grants and assigns to the transferee a specified number of development rights from the sending area parcel;

v.

Proof of ownership of the sending area parcel;

vi.

If the transferor is not the owner of the sending area parcel, a statement that the transfer is (A) an original transfer, including a description of the reason for such (e.g., where an original owner sold the sending area parcel but retained the development rights), or (B) an intermediate transfer of development rights derived from a sending area parcel described in an original instrument of transfer, identified by its date, the names of the original transferor and transferee and the volume and page where it was recorded by the Thurston County auditor;

vii.

A covenant by which the transferor acknowledges that he/she has no further use or right of use with respect to the development rights being transferred;

viii.

The certification of the number of transferable development rights on the sending area parcel and copies of the appropriate certificates of those rights issued by the Thurston County as required by this chapter;

ix.

Payment of required excise tax and recording fees on the transaction;

x.

Proof off the execution and recordation of a TDR easement on the subject sending area parcel; and

xi.

The signature of the Thurston County staff member who has reviewed the document for completeness.

d.

Responsibility. The transferor and the transferee named in an instrument of transfer shall have the responsibility to supply the information required by this section, to provide a proper instrument of transfer and to pay all costs of its recordation, in addition to any other fees required by this section.

e.

Intermediate Transfer. Transferable development rights may be transferred to an intermediate transferor or broker before they are used and held for a period of time before they are used on a receiving area parcel.

(Ord. 12463 § 25, 2001; Ord. 11398 § 3 (part), 1997: Ord. 11049 § 4, 1995)

(Ord. No. 14773, § 10(Att. I), 7-24-2012)