Planning to fail
Once the design is underway and an application is submitted to the municipality, many homeowners may become aware of restricting factors to a project budget. The bylaws for homes that are in need of extensive construction or renovation require certifications where a landscape architect or grading engineer creates a grading design. For instance, Oakville, Ont., requires an approval of grading design to mitigate storm system overload to protect urban trees and prevent damaging grading patterns from indiscriminate landscaping when planning new home environments. This authorization process requires an arborist report on existing trees, a certified grading plan, and a storm water assessment. In such cases, it is beneficial for contractors to employ a landscape designer who has knowledge of permitting and zoning policies and is experienced in grading design. The professional’s skill helps to establish designed grading and construction techniques that preserve the integrity of the design into the desired and future landscape features and also ensures they do not interfere with the greater environmental and municipal concerns while meeting the expectations of the client.
Environmentally resilient solutions
A designer’s services may not always be required. Many contractors have a background in design, or they have a flair for creative layout having developed the skill either through education or many years of on-the-job training—finding and managing design solutions. Mostly, the on-site experience suffices until the design requires approval, where the regulatory agencies need the graphic communications of the design to meet their own requirements. The complexities and demands of the application process may force many contractors to seek ways to avoid the administrative duties of municipal or conservation authority approval.
The contractor’s interest of building in an efficient and timely manner conflicts with the necessary administrative processes that are time- and resource-consuming. It has become increasingly necessary for contractors, as first response contacts to clients, to have systems in place that manage the efficiency and environmental resiliency of a project from beginning to end. At times, it means incorporating administration as a subcontract to avoid overhead charges. It is the nature of dealing with the permitting process to endure policy changes, design compromise, and certification requirements. The increasing number of these requirements makes it challenging for small- and mid-size contractors to manage every aspect of a project. The nature of all of these responsibilities can lead many into the pitfall of compromising quality for convenience. Many professionals often lose a sense of the crafted planning of a project and force the incorporation and acceptance of prefabricated solutions. These solutions, forever on the horizon from manufacturers, can offer less expensive solutions to clients and contractors and may diminish the overall value and quality of
a project.
Landscape construction professionals and designers are often able to see the homeowner’s emotional connection with nature, which is indicative of a collective need to connect with nature in built environments. The improvements to homes strengthen this connection, and the promises of environmental resiliency empower industry professionals to add value to their projects and the trade. Environmental awareness is not an element that can be used per convenience, but it is an opportunity for the professional to embrace their commitment to the craft, the industry, and their clients.
Gary van Eijk is a Ryerson graduate of landscape architectural technology. He is the owner and the principal designer at Uncommon Ground Design Group Inc., in Burlington, Ont. Van Eijk has been working with homeowners, contractors, builders, and architects in the Greater Toronto Area since 1996, and has been designing residential landscape projects in Toronto, Mississauga, Oakville, Ancaster, Muskoka, Collingwood, and the Kitchener-Waterloo regions. He can be reached via email at gary@uncommonground.ca.
