Professional Practice

Public Practice: Regulation and Compliance

Shirley Chisholm State Park. Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates. Client: New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation | ASLA 2022 Professional Honor Award  >

Public Practice Landscape Architecture: Regulation & Compliance

Government agencies and institutions are responsible for the creation, approval, and enforcement of regulations to implement a given law in order to protect individuals, property, and the environment. The preparation of regulations involves research, planning, community engagement, and review and approval by the governing bodies. Several principles for preparing and enforcing regulatory requirements include:

• Regulatory requirements are based on a specific law and designed to carry out the intent of those laws.
• Regulations are based on stakeholder input to ensure all constituents have an opportunity to provide their concerns or support regarding the proposed regulation.
• Stakeholder engagement is conducted to determine best practices, identify a range of options to address the implementation of a law’s intent, and cost-benefit analysis.
• The regulatory development process is utilized to determine the most appropriate solutions including regulations, ordinances, and design guidelines.
• Once adopted, regulations are enforceable through municipal and other governmental zoning review processes

Public practice landscape architects play an integral role in regulation and compliance through their efforts to:

• Support agency efforts to establish rules that govern development and operations in the built environment including regulations, ordinances, design guidelines and specifications
• Conduct community engagement to assess public sentiment regarding the effectiveness of regulations and their enforcement
• Proactively respond to current trends through industry standards research
• Conduct cost-benefit analysis (costs of regulatory implementation)
• Plan and manage regulatory implementation processes through leadership coordination and stakeholder engagement
• Manage, coordinate, and conduct enforcement and application of regulatory requirements and other permitting processes.

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