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• The Feasibility of Transfer Development Credits for Conservation in the Beaver Hills Initiative Area (PDF, 850 KB)

 

Transfer development credits for conservation in the Beaver Hills initiative area

June, 2008—The concept of Transferable Development Credits (TDC) is relatively new in Alberta and Canada, although there are several examples of successful implementation in the United States as Transferable Development Rights.

Recently, Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) in partnership with the Alberta Research Council (ARC) and the Beaver Hills Initiative (BHI) began to explore the concept of TDC’s and the application of this tool for municipalities in Alberta. The resulting report reviews the potential for an inter-jurisdictional Transferable Development Credit (TDC) program to help achieve conservation objectives in the Beaver Hills Initiative (BHI) Area.

TDC programs provide voluntary incentives for limiting development in environmentally sensitive areas and accommodating development in areas designated for growth. TDCs are typically created through conservation easements but may also be created through designation of sites as historically or culturally significant.

TDC programs provide several benefits:

• Benefits to land owners by providing monetary compensation for limiting development;
• Benefits to developers by allowing development at higher densities and increasing returns to investment;
• Benefits to the public by improving ecosystem services and other landscape features.

In theory TDC programs have several desirable characteristics. They are:

• Voluntary
• Growth neutral
• Flexible
• Low fiscal burden

Next steps for successful implementation of a TDC program include:

• Identification of sending areas to be protected, and receiving areas and bonuses;
• Analysis of the economic feasibility of alternative TDC design options including calculation of credit requirements and transfer ratios;
• Establishment of administrative structures for facilitating transfers.

We would like to acknowledge the generous support of the Max Bell Foundation which provided the funding for this study. We also acknowledge the significant contributions of our partners from the Beaver Hills Initiative and the Alberta Research Council.