GreenTRIP Policy Adoptions

GreenTRIP thrives on our partnerships with innovative cities and transit agencies around the Bay Area that will be accommodating most of the growth anticipated in the next 30 years. We encourage cities and agencies to promote or require GreenTRIP Certification or the use of the GreenTRIP Connect tool.

  • Build Smarter

  • Reduce Vehicle Miles Traveled

  • Make California More Climate-Resilient

City Partners

The following cities have welcomed TransForm’s comments on proposed downtown and transit station area and corridor plans. They are also highly appreciative of the results from our Parking Database and GreenTRIP Connect, and have been providing rich feedback on tool design and research needs.

The following cities are our most active partners:

City of San Jose
City of Oakland
City of Walnut Creek
City of Mountain View
City of Sunnyvale
City of Concord

San Jose and Oakland, in particular, have committed staff time to help us shape our GreenTRIP Research and proposed GreenTRIP Connect tool.

We’ve also worked with the following cities over the last 7 years to improve parking and transportation policies in Transit Station Areas, in partnership with the Great Communities Collaborative: Berkeley, San Francisco, San Leandro, Hayward, Richmond, Alameda,Palo Alto, San Mateo, Emeryville, El Cerrito, Albany, Fremont, Lafayette, San Pablo, South San Francisco and Santa Clara.

GreenTRIP in City Codes

City of Richmond Builds GreenTRIP into City-Wide Zoning Code

In 2016, Richmond adopted the following language incorporating GreenTRIP Certification into their zoning ordinance:

15.04.612.030        Performance Requirements

A.       All projects subject to the requirements of this Article shall incorporate measures to reduce to the extent feasible single-occupant vehicle trip generation rates 15 percent below the standard rates as established in the most recent edition of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Trip Generation Manual by promoting walking, cycling, public transit, and ridesharing/vanpooling, and/or discouraging single-occupant vehicle travel, ensure that the average Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) by residents or workers in the development, or students or workers in schools, is less than the average citywide VMT. This performance target is consistent with the General Plan and the version of Plan Bay Area effective in 2016

B.       GreenTRIP Certification. Residential developments that obtain GreenTRIP Certification from TransForm, or other equivalent certification, prior to issuance of a certificate of occupancy, shall be deemed to have met this performance requirement.

You can read the full text here: City of Richmond Municipal Code.

City of Sunnyvale Encourages GreenTRIP Certification

In 2016, Sunnyvale adopted a new Multi-Family Residential TDM Program inspired by GreenTRIP Platinum. The accompanying TDM toolkit references GreenTRIP standards as best practices for TDM communications (p. 23), transit passes (p. 28), and carsharing (p. 33). This document also includes text encouraging GreenTRIP certification:

Figure B-5: Sunnyvale Mixed Use Toolkit Elements Related to Pedestrian Orientation and Travel Demand

Encourage GreenTRIP certification and reduce parking requirements for certified developments.

You can read the full text here: Sunnyvale TDM Toolkit.

City of Belmont gives GreenTRIP as an option to reduce Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT)

GreenTRIP is given as an option to reduce VMT and trips. It applies to the zones:

  • Belmont Village Specific Plan
  • Corridor Mixed Use (allows multifamily dwellings)

Section 31  Village  Districts (Belmont Village Specific Plan Area  

31.7.3 Performance Requirements 

A.        VTM Reduction. All projects subject to the requirements of this section must incorporate measures to reduce to the extent feasible single-occupant vehicle trip generation rates 15 percent below the standard rates as established in the most recent edition of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Trip Generation Manual by promoting walking, cycling, public transit, and ridesharing/vanpooling, and/or discouraging single-occupant vehicle travel, ensure that the average Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) by residents or workers in the development, or students or workers in schools, is less than the average citywide VMT. This performance target is consistent with the Belmont Village Specific Plan, the Belmont General Plan, and the version of Plan Bay Area effective in 2016.

B.        GreenTRIP Certification. Residential developments may meet this performance requirement by obtaining before issuance of a certificate of occupancy GreenTRIP Certification from TransForm, or other equivalent certification as determined by the Director aimed at reducing parking and vehicle miles traveled.

31.7.4 Vehicle Trip Reduction Measures. All projects subject to the requirements of this section that do not have GreenTRIP Certification or a City accepted equivalent must implement any combination of the following measures to achieve the required VMT reduction and promote use of non-auto and shared mobility options. The Director may establish limits on the use of any single measure to meet a portion of the overall performance requirement for a project. Approvals or modifications by the Director related to VMT measures in Section 31.7 shall be with the concurrence of the Public Works Director.

You can read the full text here: Section 3 – Zoning Districts Established

8A. Off-Street Parking and Loading in Corridor Mixed-use and Regional Commerical Districts        

8A. 7.3  Performance Requirements – All projects subject to the requirements of this section shall incorporate measures to reduce to the extent feasible single-occupant vehicle trip generation rates 15 percent below the standard rates as established in the most recent edition of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Trip Generation Manual by promoting walking, cycling, public transit, and ridesharing/vanpooling, and/or discouraging single-occupant vehicle travel, ensure that the average Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) by residents or workers in the development, or students or workers in schools, is less than the average citywide VMT. This performance target is consistent with the Belmont General Plan, and the version of Plan Bay Area effective in 2016. Residential developments that obtain GreenTRIP Certification from TransForm, or other equivalent certification aimed at reducing parking and vehicle miles traveled, prior to issuance of a certificate of occupancy, shall be deemed to have met this performance requirement.

8A.7.4 Vehicle Trip Reduction Measures – All projects subject to the requirements of this section that do not have GreenTRIP Certification shall implement any combination of the following measures to achieve the required VMT reduction and promote use of nonauto and shared mobility options. The Director may establish limits on the use of any single measure to meet a portion of the overall performance requirement for a project.

You can read the full text here: Section 5 – Commercial Districts

BART Builds GreenTRIP into Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Policy

In 2016, the BART Board of Directors adopted a new transit-oriented development policy for projects on BART-owned land. Included in their 2040 performance measures and targets is the following language, setting a goal of incorporating TDM strategies equivalent to GreenTRIP certification:

E.        Transportation Choice

Reduce Vehicle Miles Traveled

E3.  Reduction in vehicle trips from standard development via TDM‐related measures (e.g. car share, bike share, transit passes) ‐ equivalent to GreenTRIP.

You can read the full text here: BART Transit-Oriented Development Policy and 2040 Policy Performance Measures and Targets.

Governor’s Office of Planning and Research

The California Governor’s Office of Planning and Research added GreenTRIP Connect as a resource for the General Plan Guidelines (2017 update). You can read the full text here: General Plan Guidelines: 2017 Update

More City Codes

City of Berkeley Builds GreenTRIP Strategies into the Downtown Zoning Code

Within two years of Berkeley’s first GreenTRIP-certified project (Parker Place), the Downtown Area Plan was passed (2012), locking into code GreenTRIP strategies for all future development projects. The new code has a maximum parking code of one parking space for every three units and requires that each home and employee receive at least one transit pass for the life of the project. Additionally, all parking must be paid for separately from rent. Projects of a minimum size are also required to provide a free parking space to a carshare.

You can read the full text here: City of Berkeley Downtown Area Plan.

City of Emeryville Builds GreenTRIP into City-Wide Guidelines

In 2015, Emeryville’s city council adopted the following language incorporating GreenTRIP Certification into code, and reduced parking requirements to align with GreenTRIP requirements for parking ratios:

9-5.2008        Transportation Demand Management.

Multi-Unit Residential developments of 10 units or more shall comply with the following Transportation Demand Management (TDM) requirements.

(a)       TDM Plan. As part of the development application, the developer shall submit a TDM plan for approval by the Planning Commission or City Council, as the case may be, in conjunction with approval of the development. Compliance with the approved TDM plan shall be a condition of approval of the development. The TDM plan shall be implemented for a minimum of 40 years following issuance of a certificate of occupancy. The primary goal of the TDM plan shall be to ensure that the average Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) by residents of the development is less than the average citywide VMT. Such plan may include, but is not limited to, free transit passes for residents, free car sharing memberships for residents, free bike sharing memberships for residents, transportation information displays, and transportation information packets for residents. The plan shall include an annual survey of residents of the development to measure the plan’s success at achieving its primary goal; such annual surveys shall be made available to the Community Development Director upon request. The Community Development Director may require modifications to the plan if it does not appear to be meeting its primary goal based on the annual survey.

(b)       GreenTRIP Certification. Residential developments that obtain GreenTRIP Certification from TransForm, or other equivalent certification, prior to issuance of a certificate of occupancy, shall be deemed to have met the requirement for a TDM plan in subsection (a).

You can read the full text here: City of Emeryville Municipal Code.

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