2.11.2  Purchase of Development Rights

The purchase of development rights (PDR) is a land conservation tool communities can use to protect important natural resources such as farmland, hillsides, and wetlands. Under a PDR program, a unit of government (city, village, town, county, or state), or a nonprofit conservation organization, such as a land trust, buys the development rights to land and places a conservation easement on the land. A conservation easement is a legal agreement between the entity purchasing the development rights and the property owner restricting the type and amount of development that may take place on the land. Easements can be tailored to the unique characteristics of the property and the interests of the landowner. The easement is recorded with the deed to the property to limit the future uses of the land as specified in the easement.

PDR programs are voluntary and the sellers of their development rights retain ownership and control of their land. They can sell or transfer their property at any time, but because of the easement, the land is permanently protected from certain types of development. The value of development rights to agricultural lands, for example, is based on the difference between what a property would be worth for non-farm development purposes and its value to a farmer for agricultural purposes.