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In July 2007, the City Council adopted
Ordinance 2353,
updating Redmond's TDR program. The updates:
- Ensure consistency between the TDR program and Redmond's Critical
Areas regulations;
- Add the Gateway Design District in Southeast Redmond as an eligible TDR receiving area;
- Eliminate the neighborhood cap on TDRs - previously, any one
neighborhood could receive only up to 35% of all TDRs;
- Institute a parking bonus cap - an applicant may now only exceed
underlying parking limits by 25% in Downtown and Overlake and by 30%
elsewhere in the city;
- Provide a TDR to residential developers who, after providing
required affordable homes, are unable to develop a bonus market rate
home onsite due to site or zoning constraints, consistent with the
policy of providing incentives in Redmond's affordable housing
program; and,
- Update obsolete references in the Development Guide.
How this Affects Your Property
As a result of maintaining consistency between the TDR program and Critical
Areas regulations, in many cases those who wish to send development
rights (i.e., protect environmentally critical areas) no longer have to prove
that a qualifying wildlife species is present on site. Rather, the regulations
focus on preserving the critical habitat itself. Consistent with that, the City
has published a sending areas map showing
generally which areas of the City are eligible sending areas, reducing the
amount of research required on the part of potential program participants.
In July 2007 the City send potentially eligible property owners
this letter describing the TDR program
and how those property owners could participate in the program. The letter
also includes a sample TDR transaction.
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