Professional Registration to Practice Landscape Architecture

arrangement of shared responsibilities between the civil engineer and landscape architect is usually satisfactory to both; the landscape architect can fuss over and resolve the less clear considerations involved in the preliminary or schematic design phase of a project, then transfer the detail and specification preparations to the engineer, whose production processes are more efficient once key design decisions have been resolved in the earlier phases by the landscape architect.

This does not mean that the landscape architect stops at the preliminary phase of site-grading design. Very often the landscape architect’s contract with a client will include a scope of work to prepare all aspects of a project’s grading requirements. By education, followed with internship, professional experience, and licensure, a landscape architect is qualified to prepare grading plans for almost any situation; however, he or she may be limited administratively by state licensing laws that delimit scope of responsibilities of the design professionals. Landscape architects, for instance, can prepare the full set of grading plans for a 125-acre golf course, but may have limited responsibility on an interstate highway project that might include some grading associated with detail landscape planting or a special non-roadway feature (for instance, the design of a highway rest stop). Questions of professional liability (involving professional design or errors and omission insurance) may limit a landscape architect’s involvement. The professional practice insurance industry often influences the design work and responsibilities of the various professions. In actual practice, the responsibilities of the various professions working together on a project are negotiated and defined during the contract negotiation phase, before the actual design work begins. These negotiations often are initiated as the project design team comes together, with the lead design firm managing if not dictating the responsibilities: shared or otherwise.

profeSSionaL reGiStration to practice LandScape architecture

Courses in grading and drainage are a required part of any landscape architecture or other related curriculum. This requirement is for university landscape programs that seek and maintain accreditation status. One of

the requirements to become a licensed landscape architect is for the candidate to have earned an accredited landscape architecture degree, either a four- or five-year degree in the case of a bachelor’s degree, or a three-year master’s degree. Each state registration law governing landscape architecture licensure may have other requirements, including a specified number of years working under a licensed professional. The Landscape Architecture Accreditation Board (LAAB) is a national board authorized under guidelines promulgated by the U.S. Department of Education. It is the body that establishes the requirements and criteria for achieving accreditation through an onsite evaluation process whereby a team of assigned evaluators determines if the standards for accreditation have been met. One of the requirements of accreditation1 is that a landscape architecture curriculum (bachelor’s or master’s) offers instruction in grading and drainage, and that this instruction leads—in the evaluation of student work—to prescribed levels of mastery of grading and drainage topics.

table 2.1 Steps toward Licensure

the GoaL To be able to practice as and/or call oneself a landscape architect and to be paid for services rendered To be eligible to take the LARE licensure exam how to aChieve the GoaL 1. A test called the Landscape Architecture Registration Examination (LARE) must be passed in order to be eligible for state licensure to practice. The LARE is developed and administered by the Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards.2 Landscape architecture licenses are issued by each state. 2. The candidate must meet the following requirements: 2.1 Earned an accredited degree in landscape architecture 2.2 Satisfied the minimum years of internship under an approved list of licensed professionals such as landscape architect, architect, or engineer 2.3 Have a satisfactory police record, such as not having committed a felony, and meet other legal criteria (e.g., no record of noncompliance to child support)

1 Accreditation standards include the subject areas grading and landscape technology, design and planning, history, plant materials and design, and professional practice. There a range of subset subjects to each of these subject areas. 2 The LARE is a national examination administered by individual states but developed by the Council of Landscape Architecture Registration Boards. The examination contains a set number of sections that include: planning, design, grading and drainage, professional practice, history, and one or more specialized requirements specific to each state. For instances, Alaska requires the candidate to have successfully passed a course in arctic engineering, states in the West may require a section of specialized irrigation and plant material knowledge related to drought-tolerant conditions.

The questions and subject matter contained in the LARE test are selected to evaluate whether or not the candidate has the minimum level of knowledge, experience, and competency to prepare designs that protect the health, welfare, and safety of the public. This means that the successful candidate has the knowledge necessary to create designs that will not cause harm to individuals or the public. The LARE tests the candidate’s knowledge of pertinent design standards, zoning and land utilization requirements such as structure setbacks, vehicular circulation requirements, national and state mobility standards (ADA), and other areas of knowledge considered standards of professional care. In other words, there is a body of knowledge including rules and design standards that every professional landscape architect must know, and must know how to apply when he or she prepares designs. The initial body of knowledge is learned in school in such courses as grading, design, and professional practice. A substantial amount of additional information is learned during the internship and pre-licensure phase of one’s professional development and career. The necessary information is learned from teachers, professional mentors, and continuing education, and from experience working for and with others.

the seCtion oF the Lare exaMination that tests GradinG CoMpetenCy inCLudes the FoLLowinG eLeMents3:

• Prepare Existing Conditions Plan • Prepare Demolition and Removal Plan • Prepare Site Protection and Preservation Plans (e.g., soil, existing features, existing pavements, historic elements, vegetation) • Prepare Erosion and Sediment-Control Plan • Prepare Layout and Materials Plan • Prepare Grading Plan • Prepare Storm Water Management Plan

3 www.clarb.org/Candidates/Documents/CLARB-LARE-2012-Exam-Specifications.pdf

Once the candidate has successfully passed the LARE and has acquired registration in one state, in order to practice in another state he or she must acquire registration in each additional state through a process of reciprocity. In the United States, professional licensure is required by each state to practice landscape architecture, engineering, medicine, law, contracting, and the like. In other countries, a national requirement enables one to practice in any province or region. An interesting development for the member countries of the European Union (EU) is close to finalization. Individuals who have graduated from the equivalent of an accredited university professional program in one EU member country will be able to practice their profession in any of the EU member countries. The legal and liability environment of these countries, unlike that in the United States, allows for the universal acceptance of a recognized professional degree. In our case, the federal constitution implicitly acknowledges states’ rights to administer individual professional licensure and associated laws.