Johnson v. Arlington County

OPINION BY JUSTICE STEPHEN R. McCULLOUGH

**846 Wakefield Manor and Courthouse Manor, two Arlington County taxpayers, challenge the County's inclusion of "transferrable development rights," or TDRs, in their real estate assessment. They argue that the County had no authority to assess and tax TDRs on their properties for the years 2012 through 2015. We agree with the taxpayers and reverse the judgment of the circuit court.

BACKGROUND

TDRs have emerged as a land use development tool in urban areas. TDRs can help a locality to "protect[ ] the environment and preserv[e] open spaces." Amanda Siek,…