Woodinville, Washington

Woodinville, population 10,938 (2010), lies in northern King County roughly 15 miles northeast of Seattle. The City uses TDR to encourage landowners to preserve open space, environmentally sensitive areas, park sites, historic landmarks, resources and rural areas.

Sending areas must contain one or more of the following features: open space, wildlife habitat, woodlands, shoreline access, community separators, regional trails, historic landmarks, agricultural land not already preserved, park sites that serve the receiving sites where the TDRs are being transferred and a freestanding multistory parking garage in the CBD zoning district. The number of TDRs available to a sending site is calculated as the gross land acre minus prior conservation easements and land dedicated to development times the base density of the zoning for the site. TDRs for sensitive environmental land declared unbuildable at both the sending and receiving site is combined and multiplied by the allowable base density. TDRs are transferable after the sending site has been permanently restricted by a conservation easement or, in the case of land zoned A-10 or A-35, a conservation easement consistent with the purchase agreements used in the agricultural land development rights purchase program.

Receiving sites must be zoned R-4 through R-48, TB, CBD or O. Each of these districts has a baseline and maximum density achievable via TDR. For example, baseline in the R-4 is 4 units per acre and maximum density with TDR is 5 units per acre while baseline in the R-48 is 48 units per acre and maximum density with TDR is 72 units per acre. Receiving site projects must comply with the dimensional requirements of the zone with the base density that is most comparable to the density achieved by the receiving site project by using TDR.

When a receiving site project requires approval as a subdivision map, a conditional use permit or a commercial building permit, the hearing on the primary proposal serves as the hearing on the TDR application. When the primary proposal does not require a hearing, the TDR application is considered under the decision criteria needed for conditional use permits.