My Built Environment: Good, Bad, and Really Ugly

Hey I passed! The actual test was nothing like all the practice ones I took. I can’t say it was easier or harder, just different. Anyway, no more testing for awhile…

Today is the day of the big LEED test. I think I am ready, I have been studying and cramming for the last two weeks, and my head is full.

Most of you probably know that Colorado finally passes a licensure law this year for Landscape Architects. Colorado was one of only two states in the nation that did not license Landscape Architects. Anyway, the law was passed this year in June, and it state that everyone had to be licensed by January 1 in order to call themselves Landscape Architects. Problem is, the licensure applications wern’t made available until late October. At first I didn’t think much about it, but when they became available I thought it would be fun to get license #1, or at lest in the top 10. So I hauled butt, got my application together, got my references, got my transcripts, paid the fee, fedexed it to the state, and had it back into them in 4 days.

Then nothing….for over 6 weeks.

I saw online that several other professionals had become licensed, but nothing on mine.
So this week I started calling people. First I called the phone number on the web page. Of course, that doesn’t allow you to talk to a real person. Then I called the director of the whole thing, since I had his card. He had someone else call me back, and who left a message. She gave me the email address of the person to contact. So I emailed her Wednesday morning…and never heard back. Finally, yesterday I was able to get hold of the program director directly, explained everything. I could tell he was not pleased. 5 minutes later I finally get a call back from the person who was handling my application. Since mine was the first one she had gotten, she had questions on it (more from the general process), so she set it aside…then forgot about it.

So it was only because I raised a fuss, that my application is being approved at all. Fortunately, there are no issues with my application, and it will be approved, but why did I bother to rush to get it in, only to be penalized for it. Arrggghhhh.

I have been spending all of my spare time the last couple of weeks studying to take the exam to become a LEED accredited professional. For those of you who don’t know, LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. Currently, this is all the rage for public and commercial buildings. In very simplified terms, it is a way to design buildings, and the site around them more sustainibly that traditional practices. All kinds of things are looked at such as energy consumption, daylighting, off-gassing, material selections, landscaping etc. Projects have to earn a certain number of points to achieve various certification levels. Of course, the higher the certification level, the more “green” the building is. This all has positive merits of course, and is the way things should just be done. It should be the standard, rather than an option.

Anyway, this is no easy test to study for. This is a complicated program, and the test itself is not open book. I don’t think I have studied so hard since I took my licensing exam way back when. The test is this Friday, so I will let you know how I do. Fortunately, you do get the results right away.

I thought I would take a few minutes to update everyone on the progress of my development project. My partner and I have have been spending a lot of time over the course of the last few days looking at layout options, sorting out how much property we are actually purchasing, and looking at performas. The idea we are shooting for is to do something a little different than the norm. We don’t want to plop a street through the middle of the property, and place lots lots on both sides, instead we want to create a community. We want to have the homes face outdoor spaces that are created by the homes themselves. We want the garages accessed by alleys, with the fronts of the homes facing greenbelts. Our inspriation are the projects created by The Cottage Company. I have included a picture here from one of their projects.

Last week, before Thanksgiving we had a meeting with the county. This will be an interesting project, as it will be entitled in the county, but since it is within the growth management area, we have to follow city rules. We are also under the guidance of the northwest sub-area plan. In general, I think the county is supportive of our idea, but it will take some variances as the county hasn’t seen a project quite like this. I have taken there comments in mind and have continued refining our concept plan to keep the spirit of what we want to do, but make it a little easier to entitle. The biggest comment we had was for the need for a public street access for the project. I wasn’t totally surprised by this, but was hoping we could get away without a public street.

I will keep you all informed of the progress.