Dane County Ordinance has a legal and administrative framework to support town-initiated Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) programs. TDR allows willing landowners to trade potential development rights (a.k.a "splits") available under town density policies.
If your town is considering amending its comprehensive plan to implement or refine a TDR program, please make sure to contact the Senior Planner for your area (see attached map) at your earliest opportunity. Planning Division staff can answer questions on the ordinance, provide you with additional TDR resources and review specific proposals for consistency with the Dane County Comprehensive Plan as time permits.
See the Map where TDR has been used in Dane County HERE
To facilitate TDR, there are 2 overlay zoning districts:
Information for Town Governments
All documents are in Adobe Acrobat format unless otherwise stated.
Ordinance Required Forms For Landowners
If your Town has adopted the full Dane County TDR Ordinance, the below documents are required to be filed with the Dane County Register of Deeds as part of the transfer.
This document provides notice of where the development right is being sent, with a reference to the sending property.
Required: Legal Description of the Sending & Receiving Properties
Required Signature: Notarized Signature of the Zoning Administrator or the County Clerk
This document describes the farmland or open land that has the development right that is being moved. It basically states there is an easement on the property allowing farming/open land to continue and the development right has been moved.
Required: Legal Description & Map of the Sending Property
Required Signatures: Notarized Signature of the Land Owner, Notarized Signature from the Town, Notarized Signature from the Dane County, and Notarized Signature of any other Cooperating Entity.
Local Town Samples
