Many are held to standards developed by the nonprofit U.S. Green Building Council in a system known as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, which assigns a point value to nearly every aspect of construction, from site location to solar panels.
Glendale, aside from a few utility subsidies and development incentives downtown, has virtually no green development standards in its building codes.
A forthcoming lawsuit alleging the county is overcharging cities to collect and administer property taxes found a new ally Tuesday after the City Council voted unanimously to join in the legal action.
In doing so, Glendale joins at least 24 other cities in Los Angeles County that plan to sue in an effort to recoup what city officials argue are unreasonable charges being levied by the county to cover the administrative costs of collecting and distributing property taxes.
County officials counter that the administrative fees charged to cities are fair compensation for a restructured collection formula and a service that they have, until recently, had to shoulder largely on their own.
Anger among cities throughout the state has been brewing since the 2006-07 fiscal year, when they lost a reprieve from county charges and saw property tax administration fees balloon.
The lawsuit, which is expected to be filed later this month, would seek reimbursement from the county, plus interest, on the higher charges and force a different rate structure.
Glendale is paying about $308,000 more than it was before 2006, Senior Assistant City Atty. Lucy Varpetian said.
