I strongly support continued regulation and licensure for Landscape Architects in Virginia. The education requirements from accredited colleges and universities, apprenticeship under professionally licensed and practicing landscape architects to begin the road to licensure, intense testing and continued education are a testament to the complexities and professionalism of the subject matter undertaken by this professional license. 

Landscape architects directly impact public health, safety, and welfare. The last six months have put additional visibility and pressure on public open spaces, trail networks, parks, and pedestrian circulation due to the coronavirus pandemic exposing the critical need for safe, well designed spaces to promote and protect the health and wellbeing of all citizens. Licensure is the most appropriate form of regulation to ensure that the public is adequately protected (both physically and monetarily) by ensuring that professionals are qualified by virtue of education, experience, and examination. Licensure of landscape architects ensures that untrained individuals are prevented from engaging in professional practice that significantly impacts public health, safety and welfare.

Landscape architects also ensure safety through direct interpretation and application of regulatory building codes, zoning codes, development standards, environmental regulations and public policy initiatives. Landscape architects provide essential services to numerous industries across all sectors of the marketplace. Consistent with licensure standards for other major professions, Landscape Architect licensure ensures that these industries can rely on receiving a level of designed care and quality that only comes from the aforementioned education, training and continuing education. Landscape architects are relied upon for complex services that require highly technical skills, making it difficult for prospective clients to evaluate the competency of professionals. Licensure as a measure of competence can assist consumers in identifying appropriate professionals for design services. The scope of landscape architectural practice includes site plans, development plans, grading plans, vehicular roadways and pedestrian systems design, stormwater and erosion control plans, and the siting of buildings and structures, all work that localities and federal agencies require to be sealed by licensed professionals. Consequently, the scope of landscape architecture overlaps with other licensed design professionals including architects, engineers, and land surveyors.

Without licensure, landscape architects would likely be prohibited from leading multidisciplinary teams. Currently, landscape architects serve as the prime consultants on projects where they coordinate and administer the services of engineers, architects, and land surveyors. Without licensure, landscape architects will be unfairly disadvantaged in the marketplace. Oftentimes, federal, state, and local contracts require the work to be completed by licensed individuals. Virginia landscape architects would be excluded from federal, state, and local work in Virginia that requires licensure.

For the protection of the public and economic well-being of Virginia's landscape architects and for all landscape architects working on projects in Virginia, I strongly urge the Board of Professional Occupational Regulation to support continued licensure of landscape architecture.