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operations. As part of the county's agricultural preservation efforts, the county should adopt TDR policies to allow transfer of development rights from agriculturally designated land to PD's, new towns, and other suitable areas that the county might identify as acceptable receiving zones. Generally, successful TDR programs are located in high growth areas, where there is sufficient demand to support a market for development rights. Because of that fact, the applicability of a TDR program may be limited to periods when growth pressures are high. Previously, such periods occurred during the 1980s and the mid -2000s. One issue, however, is that TDR's will not work at the densities allowed under current agricultural zoning regulations (1 dwelling unit per 5, 10, and 20 acres). This is because the price that an agricultural land owner can obtain for residential development of his land at existing zoning densities is usually greater than what a development rights purchaser would be able to pay and still have a profitable TDR receiving zone project. To address that issue, the county should establish density credits for AG -1, AG -2, and AG -3 designated land in Indian River County at 1 unit per acre, 1 unit per 2 acres, and 1 unit per 4 acres, respectively. Additional density allowances up to 1 unit per 2 acres should be allowed for environmentally significant portions of AG -3 designated land. In addition to setting an appropriate density transfer credit for agricultural areas, the county will need to establish criteria for new TDR receiving zones. Such zones should be located in areas suited for higher density, such as within and adjacent to commercial/industrial nodes. New towns, which are discussed below, constitute another suitable TDR receiving area. ➢ Purchase of Development Rights Another tool that the county has used in recent years to preserve agricultural land is the purchase of development rights and the subsequent establishment of conservation easements. Through its conservation land acquisition program, the county has preserved over 2,000 acres of agricultural land in the county. Preserved agricultural lands include the Sexton Ranch (462 acres located along 82nd Avenue) and the Padgett Branch conservation area (1,585 acres located on SR 60 near the 20 -mile bend). In both cases, development rights were purchased using funds from land acquisition bonds. Currently, there are not sufficient funds remaining to allow for the purchase of additional agricultural sites. Going forward, the county's policy should be to continue using the purchase of development rights to preserve agriculturally significant land. If approved by voters, future land acquisition bonds could fund the purchase of development rights from additional sites. ➢ Clustering Clustering is another method of preserving agricultural land. In a clustered development, new residential lots are situated in close proximity to each other, while the majority of a project's area is set-aside as open space. In some cases, the open space can be dedicated to agricultural uses. Future Land Use Element 111