Board for Professional and Occupational Regulation (BPOR)

SUPPORT for the continued licensure of Landscape Architects

My name is Susan Wolford and I am a resident of Loudoun County, Virginia and a licensed Landscape Architect in Virginia and North Carolina.  I am also a certified land use planner, a LEED Green Associate and an Envision Sustainability Professional.  I am a Regional Vice President for Pennoni – a 1,200-person multi-disciplinary firm with five offices in Virginia and another 30 offices located throughout the mid-Atlantic region.

I am writing to voice my STRONG SUPPORT for the continued licensure of landscape architects in Virginia.

I originally obtained my Landscape Architecture license in Idaho in 1982 and was licensed in Idaho, Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia and North Carolina but I now only practice in Virginia and North Carolina.

Firmwide, we have 14 licensed Landscape Architects with 7 licensed in Virginia.

As a landscape architect, I have had the opportunity to lead numerous multi-disciplinary design teams on a wide variety of projects.  Once such project was the Northern Fauquier County Sports and Community Park located in Marshall, Virginia.  This 88-acre park included a public access road to athletic fields for football, soccer, and baseball as well as playground facilities, concession buildings, restrooms, shelters and pavilions overlooking a large pond.  There were horseshoe pits, volleyball courts and an amphitheater as well as associated parking.  The park had a private water treatment, storage and distribution system as well as irrigated fields.   In addition, during the design process I presented to and coordinated with the Fauquier County Board of Supervisors, the Oversight Ad Hoc Committee as well as interested citizens and sports groups.

The park design was focused on environmental sensitivity and preservation of key wooded areas, stream beds and wetland areas as well a design the reflected and enhanced the rural character of the surrounding area.  As a landscape architect, that was right up my alley!  My education, training and ultimate licensing emphasized those same design parameters and gave me the qualifications to ensure the public’s health, safety and welfare. The various public groups I interacted with, knew my licensure as a landscape architect ensured that the public was adequately protected. 

Our team of landscape architects were also responsible for the design of critical park features such as the layout and grading of the sports fields and parking lots, accessible trails, selected the appropriate playground equipment and the irrigation system design.  In addition, because of my understanding of the whole process and my park design expertise, I managed and collaborated with our team of engineers, architects, and environmental scientists to create a full set of construction drawings.  This collaboration was successful because of our mutual respect for each other’s profession and expertise and our equal footing relative to licensing in our respective fields.

As I mentioned, Pennoni is a multidisciplinary design firm with 35 offices in 9 states.  We currently have approximately 1,200 employees and are organized as an ESOP.  The officers within Pennoni are nominated and approved by our Executive Board.  Nominations are accepted based on a defined set of criteria including that the nominee is a licensed professional within their particular field of expertise.  This is a criterion because Pennoni feels licensing of professionals indicates a level of expertise and commitment to their skill. Taking away the license of landscape architects in Virginia would put individual candidates at an extreme disadvantage since other professions are licensed and other states license landscape architects.

In addition to internal opportunities at Pennoni available to licensed landscape architects, many local, state and federal projects require a professional to be licensed in their respective area of expertise.  Taking away landscape architects license in Virginia would exclude those professionals from that local, state and federal project work unfairly creating a disadvantage in the marketplace.

It is my hope that you will fully understand the importance of licensure of landscape architects and how they protect the health, safety and welfare of the public by the virtue of the qualifications and experience required to obtain the license.  Licensure also ensures fair competition in the marketplace and provides economic opportunities for all professionals.

Thank you for your time.

Susan S. Wolford, LA, AICP, Green Associate, ENV SP, ASLA

Regional Vice President

Pennoni

13880 Dulles Corner Lane, Suite 100

Herndon, VA 20171

703-851-6192