The Department of Planning & Zoning advises current owners of Forest Conservation Transferable Development Rights (FC TDRs) that as a result of the Maryland Tree Solutions Now Act of 2021, FC TDRs will no longer be permitted as a method of satisfying forest conservation requirements for development projects after June 30, 2024.
Therefore, FC TDRs can no longer be created and all projects using allocated FC TDRs must receive final approval on or before June 30, 2024.
Historically, the FC TDR program allowed an owner of land in an Agricultural Preservation District to sell their TDRs on existing forest land to another party so that the other party could meet forest conservation requirements.
Current FC TDR owners are encouraged to consider selling their FC TDRs while they are still usable by adding their contact information to the county’s TDRs-for-Sale list. Existing certified FC TDRs are in limited supply and valuable to the development community during this transition. Any FC TDRs that are not allocated before June 30, 2024 will automatically revert to traditional TDRs and may lose some of their financial advantage as a result.
Planning & Zoning strongly encourages the development community to consider alternatives to using FC TDRs in site designs as soon as possible, as FC TDRs are becoming increasingly difficult to obtain and the ability to use FC TDRs for mitigation will not be an option after June 30, 2024.
For more information about the changes to the FC TDR program, please contact Planner II/Rural Planner Jennifer David at [email protected]. For additional information about forest conservation requirements and mitigation options, please contact Planner II/Environmental Colleen Anglin at [email protected].
Calvert County created the first land preservation program in Maryland and currently has the most active TDR program in the state. The TDR program is intended to deter development of farms and forest lands and divert development to areas targeted for residential and commercial growth.
Through various state and local conservation programs Calvert County has preserved over 33,000 acres of land to date, toward a goal of 40,000 acres preserved. Learn more at www.CalvertCountyMd.gov/AgriculturalPreservation.
