To protect scenic and rural areas of the Town of Palmer;

To protect property values and provide a fair economic return to property owners;

To foster compact development in areas served by public services and infrastructure;

To promote compact development, both residential and commercial, in areas that have been identified as potential suitable sites for both future development and infrastructure improvements;

To promote the creation of traditional neighborhood developments with compact, pedestrian-friendly, predominantly residential areas on gridded streets;

To preserve the rural, historic, and agricultural character of the community by directing compact new development, both residential and commercial, to appropriate locations adjacent to existing urbanized centers;

To preserve the rural, historic, and agricultural character of the community by directing compact new commercial development to appropriate locations adjacent to major transit routes.

The following districts are hereby established:

These districts are delineated on the Transfer of Development Rights Map of the Town of Palmer, which is incorporated by reference as part of this chapter.

The applicant proposing to develop specified land in the receiving area at a density allowed by this article with transfer of development rights shall make an application to the Planning Board for a special permit. The application shall clearly illustrate a land parcel or parcels in the sending area and a parcel or parcels in the receiving area proposed for transfer of development rights, and the number of development rights proposed for transfer.

As part of the special permit application, the applicant shall determine the number of lots eligible for transfer from the parcel in the sending area, using the following process:

The Planning Board shall review the applicant's assessment of acreage eligible for transfer, and shall make a final determination of such acreage eligible for transfer.

The applicant shall also file with the Planning Board a preliminary development plan for the parcel in the receiving area, illustrating lots created using the transferred development rights, and illustrating all wetland and floodplain areas.

Approval of a special permit shall require the applicant to tender to the Planning Board a valid instrument granting to the Town a conservation restriction/agricultural preservation restriction for eligible land in the sending area. The applicant shall furnish to the Planning Board a certificate of title by a duly licensed attorney and such other evidence or assurance of title as may be satisfactory to the Town Counsel.

Upon advice of the Town Counsel that a conservation restriction/agricultural preservation restriction is valid and sufficient, there must be a vote by the Town Council authorizing Conservation Commission acceptance of the conservation restriction/agricultural preservation restriction. If the special permit application is valid and sufficient, the Conservation Commission, acting on behalf of the Town, may exercise its right of first refusal and should the Town decide to accept the conservation restriction, the Conservation Commission shall accept the conservation restriction/agricultural preservation restriction, for signature of the Massachusetts Commissioner of Agriculture in the same manner as other APRs or the Commissioner of the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs in the same manner as other conservation restrictions, and for recording in the County Registry of Deeds. If the Town does not decide to accept the conservation restriction/agricultural preservation restriction, the easement may be transferred to a qualified not-for-profit organization, and such an organization shall maintain, monitor and enforce the terms of the conservation restriction/agricultural preservation restriction.

Upon final approval of site plans, the Planning Board shall make a decision to grant, deny, or grant with conditions, the special permit to increase the number and density of units in the receiving area, based on the table in § 171-95.

Each residential building lot within the sending area is equivalent to one of the development rights in the receiving area shown in the Table of Exchange Standards for Transfer of Development Rights found below.

For development rights purchased for every one lot meeting minimum dimensional requirements for the underlying district within the sending area, the developer can add 1.2 residential lots or one neighborhood commercial lot in a traditional neighborhood development in the receiving area above what could normally be built under zoning standards of the underlying district, provided the dimensional requirements indicated in Subsection D, Table 2, of this section and other requirements of this article are met. Fractions of building lots cannot be rounded up to the next whole number.

When a landowner wishes to sell less than the total number of development rights available to a tax parcel, the landowner may do so, provided that the tax parcel is subdivided.

The maximum limits on density, building coverage, and parking reductions permitted to be developed by special permit in the receiving area shall be determined by reference to the Table of TDR Dimensional Standards for Receiving Areas found below.

All business and industrial uses developed under this article must meet the following standards:

The Planning Board may consider, in making its special permit decision, whether the project meets the following design standards:

The proposed use is in harmony with the purposes of this article:

The proposed use meets all of the procedural, dimensional and density requirements, and design standards of this article.

All residential uses in the receiving area must meet the TND design standards in § 171-102.

All business and industrial uses in the receiving area must meet the design standards for business and industrial receiving areas in § 171-96.

The restriction must be repurchased from the Town by the landowner at its then fair market value, and funds returned to the Town bank for development rights.

The restriction shall be released by its holder only if the land is no longer deemed suitable for agricultural or horticultural purposes and unless approved by a two-thirds vote of both branches of the Massachusetts General Court.

In lieu of transferring development rights using the process described §§ 171-94 through 171-96 above, an applicant for a special permit in § 171-96 may make a cash contribution to the Town of Palmer to be used for the purpose of purchasing a conservation restriction/agricultural preservation restriction. The contribution shall be of a value equal to the value of the required development rights, as determined in the Table of Exchange Standards for Transfer of Development Rights. This value shall be determined by multiplying the number of acres of developable land required by the average cost of a conservation restriction/agricultural preservation restriction in the Town of Palmer over the past three years, as determined by the Conservation Commission.

The maximum number of development rights which may be purchased through a cash contribution to the Town of Palmer shall be 100 development rights in any calendar year.

Minimum standards required for a traditional neighborhood development. Traditional neighborhood development permits greater densities than allowed in the Town Residential District, Neighborhood Business District, and Industrial A and B Districts. This greater density is only permitted when development rights from the sending area are transferred to the receiving area as described in this article. The following standards are required for the approval of a traditional neighborhood development:

Uses allowed by special permit in a traditional neighborhood development. Within a traditional neighborhood development, the Planning Board may approve the following uses as part of the special permit:

TND design standards.

TND open space and landscape standards.

Parking standards.