I am Alisa Cowen, a Virginia licensed Professional Landscape Architect.

I am the sole owner of AST Cowen Design Group, LLC, a woman-owned, small business of 15 staff members, founded in 2006 and located in Arlington, Virginia.  Among our 15 member staff are 2 Virginia licensed Landscape Architects, and 3 Virginia licensed Professional Civil Engineers.

Within the practice area of land development design Cowen Design Group delivers integrated civil engineering and landscape architectural design solutions for federal facilities domestically and worldwide.

Any action to de-regulate and de-license Landscape Architects will force Cowen Design Group out of business in two ways.

90% of Cowen Design Group's business is through contracts originating at the U. S. Department of State in support of their efforts to design and construct secure U.S. Embassies and Consulates all around the world.  Our design work must be 100% U.S. Code-compliant, for the public's health, welfare, and safety, because every U.S. Embassy property is a small piece of the United States of America.  

These contracts specifically require a Registered landscape Architect to seal the relevant parts of the site design plan sets. This requirement is in addition to other specific registered specialties (10 each) along with a list of some additional 17 credentialed design specialists.

If our existing Virginia PLA licenses are reduced to Certifications we will no longer be qualified to work on our existing federal contracts, let alone future federal projects; thus deleting my main source of business and forcing me to close my firm.

Also, AST Cowen Design Group, LLC is qualified to offer Landscape Architecture and Civil Engineering services via a firm license complying with the following Virginia legal structure:  The Code of Virginia / Title 13.1 Corporations / Subsection 13.1-1111.

If Landscape Architects are de-regulated and no longer licensed by the Commonwealth of Virginia then the legal interpretation of the above-referenced subsection of the Virginia Code would mean that I, as a non-licensed professional landscape architect, and sole owner of the firm, could no longer be a qualified owner of a professional engineering  firm in Virginia. Again, forcing me to close my successful business.

The de-regulation and de-licensing of Landscape Architects in the Commonwealth of Virginia will have huge repercussions to my firm, and likely others.  Basically, this action will force the closure of my 15-year-old business.  Unemployment will result and reduced tax revenues would harm our communities and the Commonwealth.

I hereby respectfully request the the Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, Certified Interior Designers and Landscape Architects continue to regulate and license Landscape Architects.

Respectfully submitted,

Alisa S. T. Cowen, PLA

/ acowen@cowendesigngroup.com / www.cowendesigngroup.com / 703-477-5205 /