Since 2007, the City of Glendale has focused on making affordable housing in the community more sustainable. For one project built on city-owned land, Glendale required the building to be designed and built to meet the LEED-Silver standard. For another project, the city paid for the assessment and design to make four affordable housing projects meet another recognized green building standard.

In 2011, the city adopted additional green building standards that are stronger than California’s Green Building Code that went into effect the same year. These standards include the installation of radiant roof barriers that reduce summer heat gain and winter heat loss and more efficient heating and air conditioning equipment. Glendale also requires new single‐family dwellings with floor area greater than 5,000 square feet to meet additional California Green Building Code standards, known as “Tier 1 Standards.”