My name is Shawn Balon and I am a registered landscape architect in Virginia and currently a project manager at Timmons Group, a multi-disciplinary firm including engineering, landscape architecture, planning, environmental, electrical, geotechnical, and technology services. As a landscape architect, our team provides services throughout the state of Virginia and along the east coast ensuring that health, safety, and welfare is regulated through all project types and sizes ranging from parks and trails to complex mixed-use residential developments. In many of these projects, I assist in leading a team of engineers and architects to ensure that the design, detailing, and implementation of all exterior components are constructed to ensure the public is adequately protected.
I urge the Board to continue licensure for landscape architects in Virginia for the following reasons: