ASLA Grant Proposals Are In

?The San Diego Chapter has received a record number of proposals this year for the 2010 Community Grant. The Grant awards $5,000 to one worthy submittal, and is intended to educate and enhance the community on landscape architecture and/or environmental issues. It is available to all regional nonprofit community organizations.

Grant evaluation and selection by our Executive Board are expected by late September. The ASLA San Diego Community Grant was established in 1997 as a result of the Chapter's commitment to the local community. The grant may be used for landscape amenities, design, construction or maintenance.
Still a relatively new program in its 11th year, the grant program received ten proposals, the highest number yet.
The 2010 Proposals from various organizations include:

• La Jolla Wall Street Post Office Beautification - La Jolla Town Council
  
• The Water Wise Zoo - La Jolla Country Day School/Kindergarten
  
• The Rancho Bernardo Fire Wise Demonstration Garden - RB United
  
• The Famosa Slough Trail Improvements - Friends of Famosa Slough
  
• The Front Façade and Public Art Space - Casa Familiar
  
• Explorer Elementary Charter School Garden Design & Improvements - Explorer Elementary Charter School
  
• Xeriscape Inspiration Garden - Fallbrook Woman's Club
  
• Garden of P.R.O.M.I.S.E - The Coastal Academy and Solutions for Change
  
• The Olivewood Gardens and Learning Center - International Community Foundation Center
  
• Wisteria Cottage Lawn Renovation and Water Conservation Project - La Jolla Historical Society

Previous grant award winners have included:
2009 Albert Einstein Academies
2008 Fallbrook Garden Club
2007 San Ysidro Business Association
2006 Point Loma High School Foundation
2005 La Jolla Town Council

Stewardship Committee Going Strong

The ASLA Stewardship Committee has been active on several efforts over the summer to promote sustainability in the region.

In June, ASLA held a joint meeting with CLCA to promote the use of recycled water in the landscape. Members of the San Diego County Water Authority and various other water retailers offered information and answered industry questions pertaining to recycled water connections, and the effects of recycled water on plant materials and soil quality.

The Stewardship Committee appointed a task force (Kasia Trojanowska and Michelle Landis) to explore policy direction and set strategies for supporting 'Green Vendors'. The task force is planning a 'Green Dialogue' event in the first part of 2010 to showcase green vendors, have them highlight their products, and have landscape architects express their needs and expectations for green products. This event will be a mutual effort to 'raise the sustainability bar' for our chapter.

Members of the Stewardship Committee (Jon Wreschinsky) are instrumental in the planning efforts for the ASLA Design Awards Program, scheduled for December. The program will, for the first time, recognize the sustainable design efforts of ASLA Members.

The Stewardship Committee is continuing its outreach and advocacy goals with on-going coordination with Cuyamaca College, helping formulate the direction of its 2010 'Sustainable Urban Landscapes' forum.

As Chair of the Committee, Marian Marum has attained her LEED AP credential, and continues to serve as the ASLA liaison to the following related groups:

• AIA’s Committee on the Environment
  
• USGBC’s Advocacy Committee
  
• San Diego Regional Sustainability Partnership’s Energy & Water Committee

Member of the Stewardship Committee (Ruth Stafford) is working with the 'Sustainable Sites Initiative' leaders and will share what she has learned from ASLA National Conference in Chicago last month.

Anyone wishing to learn more about or participate on the Stewardship Committee should contact Marian Marum at (619) 992-9533 marian@marumpartnership.com.

Seeking Suggestions for Health & Transportation/Built Environment Web Forum

The Public Health Institute www.phi.org is planning a Web Forum on the application of policy change strategies to the upcoming reauthorization of the Transportation Bill (SAFETEA-LU). The built environment is considered a key contributing factor to health and illness, particularly obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Public health advocates had some success with modifying provisions of the Farm Bill as a means of preventing obesity & chronic disease. This Web Forum, an activity of the California Health Strategies Collaborative, will focus on how lessons from the advocacy experience with the Farm Bill can be applied to the built environment. SAFETEA-LU offers an opportunity to address the epidemic of obesity and diabetes in our communities.

The Public Health Institute is seeking suggestions regarding outreach/advertising efforts in California for a Web Forum scheduled for late June/early July. We are eager to have a broad array of stakeholders in dialogue, particularly individuals who are not public health practitioners, sharing their viewpoints on how transportation policy/practice can support the goal of increasing physical activity. If you have suggestions or input regarding this matter, please contact Star Tiffany at the Public Health Institute.

Star Tiffany
Research Associate
California Health Strategies Collaborative
Public Health Institute
555 12th Street, 10th Floor
Oakland, CA 94607-4046.

San Diego County Invasive Ornamental Plant Guide

This Guide is produced and distributed by the San Diego Chapter of the American Society of the Landscape Architects (SD/ASLA) and the San Diego Chapter of the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) for the primary purpose of educating landscape professionals and the general-public regarding the cultivation, selection, use and management of non-native and/or invasive flora in San Diego regional landscapes.

It is understood that this Guide is of special importance in the "urban interface": areas where natural vegetation and man-made landscapes come into close contact. It is not the intent of the authors to add unnecessary constraints or to discourage the planting of a broad selection of native and non-native species where it is unlikely that their presence would have any effect upon indigenous plant populations or habitat. This Guide is provided solely as a reference document and is not intended for regulatory purposes.

To download the Plant Matrix, click here.

For additional information on invasive plants, please view the following links:

• The Nature Conservancy: http://nature.org/initiatives/invasivespecies/
• California Invasive Plant Council (Cal-IPC): www.caleppc.org
• Invasive Plants of California¹s Wildlands (publication), by Randall & Hoshovsky: http://groups.ucanr.org/

Independent Practitioners Committee

Working on your own? Need to bounce an idea off someone besides your pet or spouse? Need a book on something special, but don’t want to spend the money on it right now? Have an issue with your practice that you need some advice on? Want to discuss and share issues, ideas, and gain support from your peers in a supportive group setting?

The San Diego Chapter of ASLA is forming an Independent Practictioners Committeee (IPC) to combine resources (i.e. experience, expertise and physical resources) that will benefit the individual group members. The IPC will meet or connect via email/conference call to cover topics such as business development (marketing), technical issues, design, client issues, insurance, employees and project issues. Depending on the group interests, the group could be used as a “pooling of resources”. These shared resources would be available to each group member upon agreement of each member.

The committee is open to ASLA members that are practicing as individuals or up to a three person firm. The IPC committee will be structured with a chairperson to schedule and start the meetings. Committee members will provide topics of interest and the Chairperson will schedule topics into the committee calendar. The committee will determine the actual structure of meetings that best fits its members. Meetings could be structured as round table or workshops and coordinated to not conflict with ASLA Chapter events/programs.

An initial meet and greet was held on April 3 to discuss the formation guidelines and gauge member interest. If you are interested in joining the IPC send your contact information to John H. McGee, Jr. ASLA IPC Committee Chairman at john@mcgeela.com

?Water Conservation Committee Developing Local Policy Statements

?The SDASLA Water Conservation Committee has been hard at work developing a series of policy statements. Three statements on Regionally Appropriate Landscape for San Diego County, Use of Turf Grass in the San Diego Region and Vegetative Erosion Control were approved by our Executive Committee in February and will be posted on the Chapter website at www.asla-sandiego.org at the Education link. Members are encouraged to review and comment on the statements as they will be circulated to local decision makers in the coming months to encourage their adoption. Other statements are being developed to address the following areas: Golf Course Water Conservation; Reclaimed, Recycled, Repurified Water; The Value of Native Plants; HOA Water Conservation; and the Value of Trees are being reviewed for approval by SDASLA’s Executive Committee in March and April. Member comments on the statements should be sent to ASLASD@sbcglobal.net.

The role of the Planning Commission is to strike a balance between private benefit and public good and lead the community in defining the land use goals and objectives for the future. The Commission is the decision maker on many land use projects or serves as an advisory board to the City Council on the remainder. Typical projects that are under consideration by the Planning Commission at this time are land use proposals in Mission Bay Park and Balboa park, developments in Carmel Valley or infill projects throughout the city.

The Planning commission is also taking the proactive role in leading the update of the City's General Plan, and is currently formulating the Strategic Framework Element for City Council presentation on November 21. The Planning commission meets every Thursday in the Council Chambers of City Hall, all meetings are open to the public and noticed.

For additional information, visit the web site.

The Design Review Board serves as the Planning Commission for all projects within, and policies or regulations which impact the Village Redevelopment Area. Many of the issues addressed are reviewed within the context of enhancing the pedestrian experience for the residents of Carlsbad and the visitors who frequent the area. Issues include:

a. What constitutes compatible redevelopment;
b. Urban design;
c. Streetscape design;
d. Street trees;
e. Signage design and programs;
f. Community themes;
g. Parking design and requirements;
h. Historic preservation;
i. Development compatibility;
j. Mixed-use development concepts;
k. Transit / transportation systems and programs

The Southeastern Economic Development Corporation is the development corporation that represents the Redevelopment Agency of the City of San Diego for planning and implementing redevelopment in Southeastern San Diego. Its jurisdiction stretches over seven square miles from Sherman Heights to Encanto south of the Martin Luther King Freeway (94) within the City of San Diego.

The Development corporation uses a twin-pillar strategy: redevelopment and economic development as intricately linked and simultaneous activities designed to produce a wider array of opportunities for the residents and business owners in southeastern San Diego. Using tax increment financing, developer participation and other funding sources, the Development Corporation is charged with both housing and economic revitalization, and is balancing quality jobs with new housing.

It has just adopted a multifamily Housing Guideline strategy to assist in the good design of multifamily housing within the neighborhoods, helping to eliminate the fear of density and support affordable housing. Its Board of Directors is made up of local and community leaders and professional expertise with a dedication to redevelopment.

For additional information, visit http://www.sannet.gov

The City has established a Design Review Board to review projects within the Old Town Planned District Ordinance to enforce the directions of the ordinance and the design controls of private property development, so that the ambiance of Old Town is maintained in its pre-1873 character. Within the one-square mile area, the Board has advisory capacity of all development except those within State property (Old Town State Park and CalTrans property). The Board is made up of community interests and design professionals.

For additional information, visit http://www.sannet.gov

The Port of San Diego Public Art Committee meets monthly to review proposals for public art projects as well as memorials.

For additional information, visit the web site.

Citizens Coordinate for Century 3 also known as C3 is San Diego's oldest non-profit, non-partisan civic organization dedicated to issues of the environment and urban form. C3 was originally formed as a grass-roots organization and has evolved into a well-respected activist group offering positions relating to the urban and natural environments and the political and physical forces that come to bear on them.

The Board of Directors meets monthly to review pending issues and projects as well as sponsoring community educational forums regarding design and the environment. C3 is serving as a watchdog to the various development activities taking place within the region as well as both the City's and County's general Plan updates. It authored the model for accommodating our region's population with its publication of "Towards Permanent Paradise" in 1999, as a follow-up to the seminal text "Temporary Paradise" by lynch & Appleyard in the 70's.

To become involved with C3, breakfast meetings are held on the third Thursday of every month. Membership is $50/year. For additional information, contact the Citizens Coordinate for Century 3, P.O. Box 121028, San Diego, CA 92112-1028 or call (619) 232-7196 for a membership application and information.

The Town Council's purpose is to promote the civic, educational, cultural and commercial activities, as well as the general welfare of the community of Clairemont. The objective of the Council is to advocate on behalf of the community, facilitate discussion of community issues, take a stand as authorized by the membership, communicate those views to the appropriate organizations, and sponsor programs which benefit Clairemont.

The Citizen's Advisory Board was established in March 1999 and meets every-other month. Other members of the Board include representatives from: San Diego Association of Realtors, San Diego County Apartment Association, San Diego Chamber of Commerce, Building Industry Association San Diego, San Diego Taxpayers Association, League of Women Voters, and the Sierra Club, among others. The Board is charged with representing the best interests of the citizens and water ratepayers of the City of San Diego. The Advisory Board reviews planned expenditures, department organization, service delivery methods, and the implementation of the $773 million dollar Capital Improvement Program to ensure that the funds are expended in a responsible manner, and quality water service continues to be provided to City residents.

Recently, the Advisory Board has been reviewing water resource planning issues relating to the update of the Strategic Plan for Water Supply for San Diego. In addition, the Strategic Plan has targeted an aggressive program for increasing water conservation efforts. City staff and consultants are collecting information from the Advisory Panel as well as interested groups such as the California Landscape Contractors Association (CLCA) in developing strategies for increasing water conservation over the next several years.

The City of San Diego Park & Recreation Design Review Committee's main concerns and issues have been equally divided between functional concerns and aesthetic issues. Recent hearings have addressed the following:

1. Fire and brush management and fire safety, and their direct impacts on the designs;
2. Erosion control and site drainage and their impacts on adjacent sites and downstream environments;
3. Basic aesthetics relative to human scale and people places; the creation of "neighborhoods"; and developing sense of place.

Members were prepared for the subject as a result of previously receiving a 03 October memo from Mike Stepner and Nick DeLorenzo including the following documents:

• It's a Zoo Out There, C3 President's Column by Tom Anglewicz
• Draft Position Paper by Terry Barker
• Report to Zoo Working Group on the 12 August Charrette by Steve Estrada

Terry Barker provided background information about the Position Paper. The writing was based on the premise that all options are valid but a pro/con listing is desired to establish a conclusion. A proposed Design Council listing of recommendations concludes the Paper.

Comments by those in attendance:

• Balboa Park is one of the jewels of San Diego and, therefore, the final report must offer a bold vision statement about its destiny. In the meantime, the Design Council should generate and publish policy statements and graphics to help guide the direction of Zoo expansion, Balboa Park and greater Downtown. Principles and strategies need to be identified. Some could be lifted from the Charrette. Graphics are often more powerful than text to explain an idea.
• Parking is an issue that occurs on every project. The volume required to serve the Zoo is huge, but it should be located for all Park users.
• Transit is needed to tie all the projects and districts. This could be an effective means of shuttling people through the Park in lieu of everyone driving. A transit spline along Park Boulevard could be extended to the Bay.
• A Committee was formed to establish the Design Council position consisting of Tom Anglewicz, Terry Barker, Jack Carpenter, Joyce Cutler-Shaw and Geraldine Forbes-Isais. They will work independently of the Zoo Working Group.
  
  MAYOR'S CONFERENCE
  This conference is scheduled for 29/30/31 November and the Design Council is needed to hold Downtown tours. The format is to ask mayors from different parts of the country to discuss ongoing projects that are not working properly.
  
  CITY OF SAN DIEGO TRAFFIC CALMING POLICY
  A 1996 Design Council letter offered the City help in formulating a Traffic Calming Policy as an extension of the Street Design Manual. Current City policy does not encourage calming. A policy needs to be oriented toward pedestrians. Some calming devices are particularly difficult for the disabled. A Roger Showley article in the Union-Tribune discussing streets and sidewalks versus pedestrians was distributed.
  
  TWELVE GAMING HALLS
  Jack Carpenter recommended that the Indian Tribes and their spokesman, Richard Ledford, be asked to discuss the effect of the proposed gaming halls on the environment. Of particular concern is the traffic impact on existing roads, the use of the land adjacent to the Indian Reservation and the change to the character of the backcountry. Consolidation of the halls would relieve some problems. A County of San Diego report on the subject is being developed.
  
  MIDWAY AIRCRAFT CARRIER MUSEUM
  Jack Carpenter also reported that the Design Council Committee set up to review the carrier subject came to a draw on every critical issue, i.e. -- location, parking and size. The committee consisted of Bill Chopyk, Victoria Hamilton, Linda Moreland and Jack Carpenter.
  
  Comments today included:
  
  
  • They Navy represents a large part of San Diego's history and could add to tourism as part of a "clean industry."
  • The ship could focus the role of women in industry during World War II as "Rosie the Riveter."
  • Interesting idea but is the Downtown waterfront location appropriate for a large ship?
  • A prominent position is needed in order to obtain a volume of paying visitors to support ship maintenance.
  • This issue is scheduled to be heard by the Coastal Commission in November.

MTDB UPDATE
The staff is in the final stage of a two-year study with four different scenarios; one of which, will be selected by the MTDB Board for further study.

CITY OF SAN DIEGO
A recent presentation dealt with the funding sources of public utilities that are involved in long range planning.

COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO
Presentations are scheduled for the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors between now and January which will show less density and population between the old and new General Plans.