Public help from nonprofit

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TransForm, a nonprofit organization in Oakland working to expand public transportation and walkable communities, is offering help to developers who want to build multihousing projects in inner cities.

TransForm Program Director Ann Cheng said advocates will boost marketing efforts in ways that include testifying for developers at public meetings on behalf of projects that meet TransForm’s criteria to reduce driving by building housing near public transportation.

Oftentimes neighbors force developers to downsize their projects because of traffic fears, making them financially unfeasible.

"Neighbors’ biggest fears are about traffic, which is legitimate, but we’re trying to show what will actually happen rather than their worst-case scenario," Cheng said.

Developers have until Nov. 15 to apply for Greentrip certification from TransForm at www.greentrip.org.

She noted that many homebuilders want to do what’s right by creating housing options where residents can drive less. And she noted that building high-density projects in already established neighborhoods near transit lines creates less traffic than projects built on the outskirts of cities where no public transportation is available.