ASLA, once again pitted Licensed Landscape Architects against the building industry and even common sense by opposing the bi-partisan WOTUS ruling, praised by the National Association of Home Builders.

Wow . . . A great thing just happened . . . The mostly polarized US Supreme Court ruled unanimously against the EPA's overreach with the WOTUS act infringing on personal property rights. The rare 9-0 Bi-Partisan decision was immediately praised by the National Association for Home Builders, as the wording had been ambiguous, and that ambiguity was presenting unconstitutional roadblocks to the permitting process and further exasperating the shortage of affordable housing.

This good news comes as interest rates are slowing investment and demand, and inflation and increasing construction costs have narrowed margins, causing many developments to pause.

 
This is also good for private land ownership, and a great opportunity for Licensed Landscape Architects to support the industry. Something everyone, including all nine SCOTUS members, can celebrate and agree on while providing an opportunity to showcase the ability of Licensed Landscape Architects to design projects, and making sure the ruling is acted upon in a sober and responsible manner.

Good news . . . Right? Well . . . Not according to ASLA/HQ, who promptly spoke out against the building industry and the bi-partisan Supreme Court, denouncing the decision as an afront to 'science' and government control. HQ has once again Branded ASLA Members as extreme anti-building-industry and anti-private-sector, and now anti-constitutional environmentalists. I guess that's better than being Melissa McCarthy's hedge-clipper, but unfortunately, this poor ASLA Branding just keeps happening . . .

ASLA/HQ can't keep polarizing the industry and membership with extreme political ideology . . . It's time to focus on things we all agree on and start Branding Licensed Landscape Architects as responsible leaders in the development industry . . . ASLA is not a club for woke tree-huggers. That's the Sierra Club's job.* ASLA is a business organization, designed to promote Licensed Landscape Architects as rock solid leaders . . . Worthy of multi-million-dollar budgets . . . Sober, stable professionals who can work with developers and help them prosper, and upon whose shoulders the public's health, safety, and welfare rests.

Remember . . . Landscape is the original Green Industry. Maybe it's time to hold back on the woke ideology a little, and start fixing the Licensed Landscape Architect Brand in this serious, competitive, multi-billion-dollar Building Industry.

God Bless . . .

George Schmok, Publisher
gschmok@landscapearchitect.com


* btw I am a card carrying member of the Sierra Club and have been for decades