HomeMy WebLinkAboutSession06_Exploring Transfer of Development Rights for Managed Retreat in Hawaiʻi•Melissa May, AICP, Associate, SSFM•Makena Coffman, PhD, Director, UHM Institute of Sustainability & Resilience•Alexander Yee, AICP, Coastal and Water Program Manager, City and County of Honolulu, Office of Climate Change, Sustainability & Resilience •Kaʻāina Hull, Planning Director, County of Kauai
Exploring Transfer of Development Rights for Managed Retreat in Hawaiʻi
Goals of Today’s Session
Source: Brian Garrity, Unsplash
Learn about…
•How transfer of development
rights (TDR) works and can be
used
•Research findings on market
outcomes of potential TDR
programs for managed retreat
on Oʻahu
•Draft TDR legislation for Kaua‘i
•Considerations for
implementation of TDR in
urban, rural, and other unique
contexts
•Navigating the political context
for passing TDR legislation
Transfer of Development Rights
(TDR)•Marked-based mechanism that
transfers development from
“sending areas” to “receiving
areas” in a way that would not
be possible under existing
zoning regulations (Pruetz,
2003)
•Property owners sell
development rights to a
developer, who uses them to
exceed baseline zoning in
receiving area (e.g. exceeding
floor area ratio)
•Sending area properties
conserved with conservation
Source: Wikipedia, Idawriter
Source: Wikipedia, La Citta Vita
Transfer of Development Rights
(TDR)TDR has been used for…
•Historic preservation
•Penn Central Station, NYC
•Preserving agricultural land
•King County, WA
•Protecting environmental
resources
•Lake Tahoe, CA
•Greenhouse gas mitigation
and sequestration
•Miami-Dade County, FL
•Climate adaptation
•Ocean City, MD
Source: Wikimedia, Danazar, CC BY-SA
4.0
Source: World Atlas
Transfer of Development Rights
(TDR)
(Hou et al.,
Transfer of Development Rights
(TDR)
(Madison-Morgan Conservancy,
Role of Other Agencies
The goals of a TDR program can
be aided by…
•TDR Bank
•Conservancy
•Redevelopment agencies
•Other agencies and
organizations
Other agencies can assist in
educating landowners, purchasing
and retiring development rights,
and/or facilitating transactions.
Source: WorldAtlas
TDR Proposed for Managed
Retreat
(EPA, 2017)(Pruetz, 2020)(Georgetown Climate
Center, n.d.)
(California Coastal
Commission, 2018)
Makena Coffman, Director, Institute for Sustainability and Resilience
Research Team:
Alice McLean, MURP
Kimberly Burnett, Associate Director, UHERO
Justin Tyndall, Assistant Professor, UHERO & Economics
Christopher Wada, Researcher, UHERO
Kaila Ronquillo, Undergraduate Researcher, UHERO
Economic Considerations for TDR as a Tool
for Coastal Managed Retreat
A Case Study for Oʻahu
Need for SLR Response in Hawaiʻi
Photo credit: Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Photo credit: Hiroko Kazama
Photo credit: Ronen Zilberman/Civil Beat
Research Questions
How might a TDR program work on Oʻahu to
facilitate managed retreat from vulnerable
coastal areas expected to be adversely impacted
by SLR?
Would TDR be economically feasible in a
hypothetical pilot project focused on the North
Shore of Oʻahu?
Using the same North Shore sending area, would
TDR be economically feasible in a hypothetical
pilot project with a Honolulu-focused receiving
area?
Background
TDR Success Factors
(Pruetz & Standridge, 2008)
Importance Factor
Essential Demand (willingness to pay) for bonus development
Customized receiving areas
Important Strict sending area regulations
Few alternatives to TDR
Market incentives
Helpful Certainty of TDR Use
Strong public preservation support
Simplicity
Promotion and facilitation
TDR bank
Considerations for TDR in SLR Response
-Many TDR programs fail because developers can achieve
their desired density for free (Pruetz & Standridge, 2008)
-TDR programs have not been widely adopted in coastal
areas to fund retreat, in part because of the high cost of
coastal real estate compared with inland properties
(Williams, 2014; Robb et al., 2020)
-“Hybrid” TDR programs from the 2000s onwards often
allowed receiving areas in urban fringe, or even rural
locations, as a concession to real estate market dynamics
and attempt to improve program outcomes (Linkous &
Chapin, 2014)
Photo credit: Rickymar Photography
O‘ahu Market
Illustrations
Sending and Receiving Areas
Sending Area Data
(Han et al., 2023; retreat framework adapted from Griggs & Reguero, 2021)
Parcels in Paumalū ahupuaʻa
-Parcels in SLR-XA 3.2 ft.
-Data collected and analyzed by ISR research lab, updated with
2023 assessorʻs data
Area Land and Dwelling
Value ($2023)
Dwelling
Units
SLR-XA $250,321,800 97
NS Receiving Area Selection & Data
Land use concepts from Waialua Town Master
Plan (2005)
-Adding more residential development would
connect existing residential areas, satisfy a
growing need for new housing in Waialua,
and broaden the economic base of the town
center (DPP, 2005, p. 5-4)
NS Receiving Area Concepts & Parcels
Land Use
Concept
New Residential
Units
Number of
Parcels Acres Land Value Building Value Demo Costs
Total
Acquisition/Demo
Costs
Community
Residential
Infill Concept 200 3 53.546 $2,256,630 $426,400 $6,330 $2,689,360
Expanded
Community
Residential
Concept 325 9 132.145 $7,806,230 $426,400 $6,330 $8,238,960
Expanded
Community
Residential
with Lodge 450 9 183.549 $9,397,200 $2,441,000 $550,710 $12,388,910
Note: Calculated using ArcGIS Pro, 2023 City & County of Honolulu assessor’s data and RSMeans Online construction estimates.
Honolulu Receiving Area Selection & Data
Makiki/McCully-Mōili‘ili area
-Outside of existing TOD
areas and identified for
additional residential
housing within the PUC
Development Plan
-1,000-2,500 new units
within Makiki
-500-750 new units
within McCully-
Mōili‘ili
Makiki/McCully-Mōili‘ili Receiving Area
-Identify 3,116 local parcels
-Assign current legal FAR to every
parcel
-Assign current built FAR to every
parcel (assessment data)
-Calculate the amount of unused
FAR
-Determine whether FAR is a scarce
resource
04
Findings &
Conclusion
NS Receiving Area Findings
Receiving Area
Concept TDR Credit Price Ratio Total Dev Cost
Total Dev Cost Per
Unit ROI
Net Unit
Change
Community
Residential Infill $1,251,609 2.06 $301,263,297 $1,506,316 -30.29%103
Expanded
Community
Residential $770,221 3.35 $333,032,982 $1,024,717 2.47%228
Expanded
Community
Residential with
Lodge $556,271 4.64 $363,403,016 $807,562 30.02%353
Makiki/McCully-Mōili‘ili Receiving Area
-85% of 3,100 parcels have unused
FAR
-Total unused FAR: ~26 million
square feet
-Could build ~20,000 new housing
units under current FAR
-FAR is not scarce
-However, developers cannot easily
use this FAR for many reasons
-Relevant to this study, perhaps
because it is spread across many
parcels
*Graph omits areas zoned FAR 10
Makiki/McCully-Mōili‘ili Receiving Area
-There are 32 parcels that
currently have more than
100,000 square feet of unused
FAR each (after excluding 28 that
are ”public” in use)
Unused Square Footage Under Current FAR, excluding
public/quasi-public uses
Market Illustration – Existing Site with Hypothetical Apartment Buildings
89,000 sq ft parcel zoned for mixed use, 150 units (undeveloped)
Receiving Area TDR Credit Price Ratio Total Dev Cost
Total Dev Cost
Per Unit ROI
Net Unit
Change
Baseline: 150-
Unit Mid-Rise
Under Current
Zoning --$70,793,800 $471,959 58.91%-
TDR: 400-Unit
High-Rise $1,026,487 2.58 $438,415,600 $1,096,039 -31.57%303
TDR: 800-Unit
High-Rise $394,803 6.70 $631,415,600 $789,270 -4.98%703
TDR: 37 400-Unit
High-Rises $27,743 95.36 $6,982,992,400 $471,824 58.96%14,703
Key Findings
-TDR has potential to facilitate managed retreat; however,
under limited market conditions
-The two receiving area illustrations demonstrate that TDR will
best function when re-zoning (i.e. up-zoning) is included;
however, greenfield development is often undesirable for
other land use and environmental considerations
-TDR will be difficult to use for the purpose of infill
development
Photo credit: Darryl Oumi, special to Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Discussion
-To preserve sandy beaches and minimize risks to public
safety, managed retreat should be done in a proactive,
coordinated manner; a voluntary TDR program would
likely result in patchwork of retreated and unretreated
properties
-Other factors besides density/zoning constrict housing
development. E.g.:
-Infrastructure
-Piecemeal lots
-Permit delays
-If no private use is desired, consider other mechanisms like
land acquisition for managed retreat
Exploring TDR for Managed Retreat on O‘ahu
Alexander Yee, AICP, Coastal and Water Program Manager, City and County of Honolulu, Office of Climate Change, Sustainability & Resilience
City Goals for Studying
TDR•Facilitate managed retreat
•Minimize regulatory takings liability
•Leverage private capital
•Understand local conditions relevant to feasibility:
•Development in the SLR-XA
•Local housing market
•Existing land use vs. allowed by zoning
TDR Study Takeaways
•Market illustrations –illustrative but not necesarily
representative.
•Few examples of TDR used to redirect development out of
vulnerable beachfront areas.
•As a whole, additional FAR is currently easy to come by,
whether by existing zoning or incentives (e.g. TOD, 201H).
•Demand for TDR may be held back by the same factors
that prevent additional development under current zoning:
infrastructure, assembling parcels, approval timeline and
uncertainty.
Future Research Areas
•Demand for additional FAR
by TDR would need to be
“by design.”
•Better defining receiving
areas based on:
•Zoning district
Makiki-McCully-Mōʻiliʻili Receiving Area: Unused
FAR by Zoning District.
Identify “slack” within zoning district within
Community Plan Areas. Consider restricting
transfers within Community Plan Areas.
Community Plan update process could allow
community participation on sending/receiving
areas.
Future Research Areas
•Demand for additional FAR
by TDR would need to be
“by design.”
•Better defining receiving
areas based on:
•Zoning district
•Community Plan Area
Future Research Areas
•Demand for additional FAR
by TDR would need to be
“by design.”
•Better defining receiving
areas based on:
•Zoning district
•Community Plan Area
•Availability of
infrastructure (ex.
Sewer)
Identify sites with/without infrastructure
constraints
(ex. Purple = sewer mains)
Thinking Outside the Box
•Alternatives to DR as an FAR Bonus
•Retention of nonconforming FAR/height
•Fast-tracking/streamlining/other process-related
perk
•Exclusive use/second currency
Makiki-McCully-Mōʻiliʻili
Receiving Area Currently
Available FAR. Each x
represents one parcel of
land
End of the Line for TDR?
•No.
But...
•TDR will need to be narrowly tailored to specific
need/conditions
•One of many tools in the SLR adaptation toolbox,
alongside regulatory, buyouts, leasebacks, life estates,
land trusts, etc.
•May look different than TDR programs have in the past.
•Not interested in looking at Ag land as receiving areas
on Oʻahu.
Exploring TDR for Managed Retreat on Kaua‘i
Kaʻāina Hull, Planning Director, County of Kauai
Kaua‘i Shoreline Viewer
Questions?
Group Activity
Group Activity
•This game demonstrates
transactions between
property owners and
developers in a voluntary
TDR program.
•Landowners in the “sending
area” sever the development
rights from their properties
and sell them to willing
buyers (developers), who use
them to develop in the
“receiving area.”
•Once the development rights
are transferred, sending area
Source: Oregon Dept. of Land Conservation and
Development
Group Activity
•Players with houses and title
deed cards are property
owners.
•Development right price
is listed next to “Houses
cost” on title deed card.
•Players with money are
developers.
Facilitators are city workers
Group Activity
Walk around the room and find someone
to transact with:
1.Developers, pay the property owner for
their house(s) for the price listed on their
title deed card.
2.Property owners, give your house(s) to
the developer in return. Then raise your
hand for a “city worker” to record the
conservation easement on your title deed
card with a dot sticker.
3.Developers, place your new house(s) in
the “receiving area” game board to
complete your development.
Mahalo!