Milton Officials Told Oconee County Leaders Why Milton Adopted A Transfer Of Development Rights Program

Two officials from the north Fulton County city of Milton last night told 30 Oconee County citizens, including four commissioners, why Milton adopted just last June a Transfer of Development Rights program.

The reason, Mayor Pro Tem Bill Lusk told the group, was simple.

The residents wanted to maintain the rural character, the “green space, the open space, your farms,” he said, and the TDR program was a mechanism for doing just that.

Kathleen Field, community development director for Milton, told the group the city could not afford to buy up land or development rights.

The market, she said, will determine how successful the TDR program ultimately is in preserving the open spaces.

If developers are willing to purchase development rights that the owners of undeveloped land want to sell, she said, the city will be able to achieve its goal.

For more on this story, go to Oconee County Observations.