Laws, Regulations & Annotations

C

220.0000 CHANGE IN OWNERSHIP

Annotation 220.0878

220.0878 Wetlands Credits. Wetlands credits relate to zoning and development restrictions and the purchase of such credits does not transfer a present interest in real property and should not be treated as an appraisal event. Wetlands credits are distinguishable from transferable development rights (TDRs) in that wetlands credits do not transfer any part of the bundle of rights arising from the ownership of a wetlands mitigation bank site to a permittee. Wetlands credits are further distinguishable from TDRs by the fact that TDRs are development rights that have gone unused by the seller. In other words, TDRs come into existence regarding a property and have value because the property was not fully developed, such that the TDRs represent an unused "right" in the property. The seller of TDRs had development rights to his property but has decided to not fully exercise those rights. With the sale of the TDRs, the seller loses his right in perpetuity to further develop his property.

Wetlands credits, on the other hand, have no such characteristics. A purchaser of wetlands credits must purchase these credits as a prerequisite for development, but the seller ("bank") continues to own the wetlands. The seller of wetlands credits, a wetlands mitigation bank, does not lose an unused "right" as the result of selling wetlands credits. As such, the transfer of wetlands credits should not be treated as an appraisable event since the wetlands remain assessable to the seller ("bank"). C 5/3/2001.