I strongly support the continued licensure of Landscape Architects by the state of Virginia.

There is a reason why licensure is a requirement to protect public health, safety, and welfare. In Virginia, there are, sensibly, two prerequisites to take the licensure exams to become a Landscape Architect. One is the degree and the second is three years of experience working under a licensed Landscape Architect. I work in a large federal design office with a myriad of different project types that demand landscape drawings and specifications for reasons including erosion control, pedestrian safety, reducing heat island effect, and stormwater management. There are regularly design decisions that not only impact the success of the project, but impact the safety of people both using and maintaining those landscapes.

How can clients contracting landscape architectural services be assured a site design that is safe and healthy without some minimum standard of knowledge and commitment to the profession that licensure demands?

Lack of licensure also has impacts on the marketplace. Licensure for Landscape Architects allows them to lead multidisciplinary teams, become partners in design firms, and compete for federal, state, and local work that requires licensure. Removal of licensure for Landscape Architects decreasing competition for design service contracts, ultimately favoring the remaining licensed professions at the expense of the taxpayer.

There is no question that Landscape Architecture licensure should continue in Virginia.

-Dylan