Acquire undeveloped land and preserve it in its current state. Favored by environmentalists. Open space benefits the local ecology and changes the spatial distribution of future growth.
This option determines which type of land will be considered for open space acquisition. Not all land in the target areas will become open space, and some open space may be found outside the target areas.
Instead of purchasing it outright, land can be acquired by Transfer of Development Rights. TDR separates the right to develop land from the particular parcel of land itself. The open space land is zoned unbuildable, but the owner is permitted to transfer or sell the unused development density to another location. Areas where building is allowed will have denser development as a result.
Local government can require landowners to sell land or transfer development rights if it is in the public interest that the land remain undeveloped. A mandatory open space purchase allows the acquisition of the most important land parcels, but faces more public opposition than a voluntary program. Acquiring land that is available on the open market, while more popular, may lead to fragmentation of open space and the development of adjacent parcels, making it less effective as a preservation technique than requiring the sale.