Aspen, population 5,914 (2000), lies at an elevation of 7,908 feet at the foot of one of the world’s most famous ski areas, approximately 200 miles southwest of Denver. The area was first settled by silver miners in 1879 and Aspen has retained many historic landmarks from its past.
In 1994, Pitkin County, which surrounds Aspen, adopted a TDR program to preserve rural, mountainous land for non-commercial recreation. As reported in Beyond Takings and Givings, the Pitkin County program has been relatively successful. In 2005, the City of Aspen adopted a package of zoning code amendments that created a transferable development rights program to encourage the protection of historic properties.
In the Aspen program, potential sending sites are designated Historic Landmarks in zones that permit single-family or duplex residential development as a permitted use. An interested landmark owner can offer to record an easement that permanently restricts the size of the landmark below the floor area allowed as a matter of right by the zoning ordinance. The ordinance specifically states that the remaining development potential must be stated as a reduction from the square footage otherwise allowed, thus acknowledging that the code-permitted floor area can change over time and that the sending site can remain eligible to receive floor area incentives and exemptions.
The City Council evaluates applications for TDR Certificates based on review criteria in the Zoning Code. If an application meets the review standards, the City Council approves the establishment of a TDR Certificate by Ordinance. One TDR Certificate is approved for each 250 square feet of floor area restricted by the easement. The certificates are given to the applicant at a real estate closing at which the property owner delivers the executed easement for recordation. TDR Certificates can be sold, assigned, transferred or conveyed. The City does not prescribe or guarantee the monetary value of a TDR.
The City ordinance allows Aspen TDRs to be transferred to Pitkin County receiving sites should the County amend its code to allow such transfers. However, the City ordinance specifically prohibits Aspen receiving sites from accepting Pitkin County TDRs.
As of August 2005, three zoning districts permitted maximum floor area to be exceeded by TDR: Medium Density Residential (R-6), Moderate Density Residential (R-15) and Low Density Residential (R-30.) In each of these potential receiving zones, the extinguishment of an Aspen Historic TDR certificate allows an additional 250 square feet of floor area. Each residence on a receiving site is eligible for the maximum bonus of 250 square feet. However, two floor area increases (500 square feet) could be approved if the proposed receiving site is located in the same subdivision or planned unit development as the sending site. Non-conforming uses/structures and properties on the Inventory of Historic Sites and Structures are not eligible to become receiving sites. The City issues a letter confirming TDR extinguishments. The letter states expresses the new floor area limit not as an absolute number but as an additional square footage beyond the applicable code limit; this allows the property to benefit from future code changes to floor area limits and keeps the receiving site eligible to receive floor area incentives and exceptions.
