San Diego’s city council will be considering a proposal this month that would establish new citywide landscaping regulations. The proposal will set up detailed guidelines for all landscaping projects in the future, as well as any existing projects.

According to Bob Stover, long time industry professional and advisor to The Landscape Architect and Specifier News, San Diego’s proposal is a dangerous one, not for the contractors, but to other landscape professionals.

“What I see happening if that ordinance goes through is this Number one, the growers are going to suffer quite extensively when they are limited as to what they can grow,” said Stover. He pointed out that a new grower wouldn’t face any problems because his inventory would generally be smaller and he could simply grow the acceptable plants.

Stover noted the fact that an established grower with a large inventory won’t have it that easy. The grower may have millions of dollars invested in standard plant material and suddenly he has no market to sell his product.

“Number two,” according to Stover, “If the city is going to have a required plant pallet and it’s going to be supervising and controlling the installation, there will be no need for a landscape architect.” The city will simply ask where the property is located, show the contractor a list of acceptable plants, and hand the contractor a completed plot plan.

The Landscape Ordinance, originally introduced at the recommendation of the San Diego Planning Department because of expressed desire from the city council and public for “increased and improved landscaping,” will require the establishment of a Landscape Review Board that would approve all landscape plans and regularly inspect all sites to insure compliance of all new standards.

Once a landscaping plan is approved by the committee, its installation would be monitored by a Special Landscape Inspector. The inspector would be certified and hired by the city).

The proposal is broken down into three major categories:

– Landscaping, which would define appropriate designs and mandate the extent of required landscaping in relation to the various types and designs of development projects.

– Yard Definitions, which would show a number of diagrams that will indicate the portions and to what extent a project will require landscaping.

– Technical Supplement, which would list specific guidelines showing types of trees, shrubs, groundcovers, irrigation systems, soil, maintenance and installation standards, and an outline of inspection and enforcement procedures.

Included on the recommended list of plants are: Weeping Myal, Carrotwood, Indian-Laurel, Kaffir Plum, Jacaranda, Melaleuca, Olive, Pine Trees, Fern-Pine, Brazilian Pepper, Brisbane Box, Evergreen Elm, Palms, Bottlebrush, Natal-Plum, Rock Willow, Rose of Sharon, Pfitzer Juniper, Privet, Celestial Bamboo, Australian Firethorne, Hawthorne, Star Jasmine, Virurnum, and Xylosma.

Planting considerations such as drought tolerance, erosion control, fire resistance, slope, spread, spacing, growth rates, and flowering criteria will be covered by the ordinance. Special emphasis would be placed on soil preparation, soil types, testing and analysis, and soil gradinq.

Special Landscape Inspectors would be responsible to ensure proper landscape permits were obtained. They would also observe the installation of landscaping projects to make certain the project conforms to all new standards. The inspectors would also provide inspection reports to the city, report discrepancies to the city, submit final reports certifying conformance and perform follow-up checks after a project is completed.