California Landscape Architect Bus. & Prof. Code § 5615 Attorney Fee Petition Mechanics: LATC License Verification at latc.ca.gov as Primary Welch Anchor (THE ONLY § 5615 Landscape Architect Page — DISTINCT FROM Civil Engineer PE § 6730, Licensed Architect § 5536, and CSLB C-27 Landscaping Contractor § 7028; ASLA Code of Professional Ethics 2019 Edition Advisory [PURE KETCHUM]; CLARB Model Landscape Architecture Practice Act 2024 Edition Advisory [PURE KETCHUM]; TWO PRIVATE STANDARDS ON ONE PAGE), CCP § 1021.5 Private Attorney General Mandatory Attorney Fees

Statutory Framework: Bus. & Prof. Code § 5615 and LATC Landscape Architect License — Scope of Practice, LATC Licensing Requirements, ASLA Code of Professional Ethics [PURE KETCHUM], CLARB Model Practice Act [PURE KETCHUM], and CCP § 1021.5 Mandatory Attorney Fees

California Bus. & Prof. Code § 5615 — administered by the California Landscape Architects Technical Committee (LATC), a separate licensing authority within the California Department of Consumer Affairs — defines the practice of landscape architecture to include the analysis, planning, design, and administration of land areas for the purpose of achieving functional, preservational, and aesthetic outcomes; specifically, the practice includes site analysis, site design, site grading and drainage design for landscape purposes, planting design, hardscape and paving design, outdoor structure and furnishings design, and the preparation of construction documents for any of these elements on any project where the cost of the work exceeds $12,000 or any public right-of-way project regardless of cost. Any person who performs these services in California, offers to perform them, or uses the title “landscape architect,” “licensed landscape architect,” or any substantially similar designation without a valid LATC license commits unlicensed landscape architecture practice under § 5615; that violation is actionable under CCP § 1021.5 when the litigation vindicates a public interest in landscape architect licensing protecting California property owners, public agency project beneficiaries, persons with disabilities relying on ADA-compliant accessible route designs, and the general public from the consequences of incompetent or unaccountable landscape architecture practice. The primary Welch anchor for any § 5615 fee petition is the LATC License Verification database at latc.ca.gov, which permits public license number and name searches confirming whether the respondent holds a valid, current LATC Landscape Architect license in California.

ASLA CODE OF PROFESSIONAL ETHICS (2019 EDITION) ADVISORY — THE ONLY PAGE IN THE FEE-PETITION-MECHANICS SERIES WITH AN ASLA CODE OF PROFESSIONAL ETHICS ADVISORY — PURE KETCHUM: The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA, founded 1899, Washington DC) is the national professional membership organization for landscape architects; ASLA promulgates the Code of Professional Ethics governing professional conduct standards for landscape architects in practice. The ASLA Code of Professional Ethics (2019 Edition) is the primary private professional conduct standard applicable to landscape architecture practice in California. Key ASLA provisions applicable to § 5615 fee petition matters include: (1) Section 4.1 — professional competence standard requiring that ASLA members shall practice landscape architecture only within the geographic jurisdictions and subject-matter areas where they hold the competence and credentials to practice; specifically, members shall not practice in any jurisdiction without holding the required license for that jurisdiction; a person practicing landscape architecture in California without a valid LATC license violates Section 4.1 regardless of whether they hold a landscape architect license in another state, regardless of ASLA membership, and regardless of claimed professional experience; the Section 4.1 duty to hold required jurisdiction-specific licensure is non-delegable; (2) Section 4.2 — supervision of unlicensed personnel standard requiring that any licensed LA who employs unlicensed drafting personnel, designers, or other technical staff working under the licensed LA’s direction must exercise direct and active supervision of all unlicensed personnel; the licensed LA bears full and undivided professional responsibility for all work product produced by unlicensed personnel working under the licensed LA’s direction; unlicensed drafting personnel may prepare drawings, produce construction documents, and perform technical tasks only under direct supervision with the licensed LA reviewing and approving all design decisions before those decisions are reflected in any document delivered to a client or submitted to a public agency; a supervisory arrangement in which an unlicensed person makes final design decisions regarding drainage calculations, ADA accessible route geometry, or grading design without licensed LA review and approval violates Section 4.2; (3) Section 5.1 — professional seal standard requiring that all construction documents for California landscape architecture projects — including plans, specifications, and design details submitted for public agency permit approval or delivered to clients for the purpose of project construction — must bear the professional seal, wet signature, and date of the LATC-licensed Landscape Architect responsible for the work; documents without a valid LATC seal do not establish professional accountability for the design and do not satisfy the ASLA Section 5.1 professional seal requirement; electronic submissions must comply with LATC-approved digital seal and signature protocol. The ASLA Code of Professional Ethics creates no statutory fee-shifting; it is a PURE KETCHUM advisory.

CLARB LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT LICENSURE EXAMINATION CONTENT OUTLINE AND MODEL LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE PRACTICE ACT (2024 EDITION) ADVISORY — THE ONLY PAGE IN THE FEE-PETITION-MECHANICS SERIES WITH A CLARB MODEL LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE PRACTICE ACT ADVISORY — PURE KETCHUM: The Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards (CLARB, founded 1961, Reston VA) is the private nonprofit organization representing the landscape architectural registration boards of all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Canadian provinces; CLARB develops and administers the Landscape Architect Registration Examination (LARE), the national licensure examination required for initial landscape architect registration in California and virtually all other U.S. jurisdictions, and promulgates the Model Landscape Architecture Practice Act as a framework for state landscape architecture licensing statutes. The CLARB Model Landscape Architecture Practice Act and Licensure Examination Content Outline (2024 Edition) are the primary private regulatory framework standards governing the scope and practice standards of licensed landscape architects. Key CLARB provisions applicable to § 5615 fee petition matters include: (1) Section 3 — scope of landscape architecture practice definition specifying that the practice of landscape architecture includes site analysis and assessment, site design, site grading and drainage design, planting design, hardscape and paving design, and the preparation of construction documents for any of these elements on any private project costing more than $12,000 or any public right-of-way project regardless of cost; this scope of practice requires a state-issued landscape architect license; a person who performs any of these services in California without a valid LATC license commits unlicensed landscape architecture practice regardless of any other professional credential they may hold, including civil engineer PE, architect, or CSLB C-27 contractor licenses; (2) Section 6 — continuing education requirement specifying that California licensed landscape architects must complete 24 Professional Development Hours (PDH) per 2-year renewal cycle, including a minimum of 1 PDH hour in ethics and a minimum of 1 PDH hour in health, safety, and welfare (HSW) topics; a licensed LA who allows their LATC license to lapse by failing to complete the required continuing education, or who renews with falsified PDH records, commits a Section 6 continuing education compliance violation that subjects the licensee to LATC disciplinary action; for fee petition purposes, a Section 6 compliance gap — confirmed through LATC license verification showing an expired, lapsed, or suspended license status — establishes the unlicensed practice status of an otherwise credentialed LA whose California license is not in good standing; (3) Section 9 — seal and signature requirement specifying that all landscape architecture documents submitted to California public agencies for permit or approval purposes must bear the wet signature and LATC-approved seal of the responsible licensed California LA; electronic submissions must use a LATC-approved digital seal and signature protocol; documents submitted without a valid LATC seal are not properly authenticated and do not satisfy the California public agency submission requirements under CLARB Section 9; a California public agency that issues a permit for landscape architecture construction documents lacking the required LATC seal acts in error, and the resulting construction may not be code-compliant. The CLARB Model Landscape Architecture Practice Act creates no statutory fee-shifting; it is a PURE KETCHUM advisory.

Three-Track Harm: Contra Costa County Drainage Swale Underdesign Parking Lot Flood Retail Tenant Business Interruption ($285K), LAUSD Accessible Route Cross-Slope 3.8% vs. 2.0% ADA Maximum DOJ Complaint Mandatory Remediation ($195K), and San Diego Unsealed Plans Permit Denied Stop Work Order Licensed LA Redesign Required ($95K)

• CONTRA COSTA COUNTY COMMERCIAL OFFICE CAMPUS UNLICENSED LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT LATC VERIFICATION ABSENT ASLA SECTION 4.1 UNLICENSED PRACTICE DRAINAGE SWALE DESIGNED FOR 10-YEAR STORM EVENT ONLY RATHER THAN 25-YEAR STORM REQUIRED BY CONTRA COSTA COUNTY GRADING ORDINANCE CLARB SECTION 3 SCOPE VIOLATION PARKING LOT FLOODED DURING HEAVY RAIN SEASON GROUND-FLOOR RETAIL TENANT FLOODED TENANT BUSINESS INTERRUPTION LOSS AND LANDLORD LIABILITY $285,000 LATC COMPLAINT FILED. A Contra Costa County commercial real estate developer retained an unlicensed person to perform landscape architecture design services for a multi-building commercial office campus, including the design of surface drainage swales to convey stormwater from paved parking areas to the municipal storm drain system. LATC License Verification at latc.ca.gov confirmed that the person performing landscape architecture services held no valid LATC Landscape Architect license. The unlicensed designer, in violation of ASLA Section 4.1’s requirement that landscape architects practice only within jurisdictions where they hold the required license, prepared drainage swale design calculations and construction documents without a LATC license. The drainage swale was sized based on a 10-year design storm event return period, which produced a swale cross-section with a design capacity of approximately 8.4 cubic feet per second (cfs); however, the Contra Costa County grading ordinance and the applicable County drainage design criteria required all drainage facilities serving commercial parking areas to be designed for the 25-year storm event, which would have required a swale capacity of 14.2 cfs for the drainage basin area. The CLARB Section 3 unlicensed practice violation was compounded by this fundamental drainage design deficiency that a licensed landscape architect familiar with Contra Costa County drainage design standards would have identified. During a wet-season heavy rain event that did not exceed the 25-year recurrence interval, the drainage swale overflowed its banks and directed stormwater directly into the parking lot grade drainage low point adjacent to the ground-floor retail tenant spaces. The retail tenant sustained $185,000 in business interruption losses and inventory damage; the property owner incurred $100,000 in emergency remediation costs, landlord liability claims, and engineering redesign fees required to bring the drainage system into conformance with Contra Costa County drainage standards. A LATC complaint was filed documenting the ASLA Section 4.1 unlicensed practice, the CLARB Section 3 scope of practice violation, and the ASLA Section 5.1 unsealed construction document submission; total harm $285,000.
• LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT PLAYGROUND EXPANSION AND ACCESSIBLE ROUTE RENOVATION UNLICENSED LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT NO LATC LICENSE CLARB SECTION 9 DOCUMENTS UNSEALED AND UNSIGNED ACCESSIBLE ROUTE CROSS-SLOPE INSTALLED AT 3.8% VERSUS 2.0% MAXIMUM REQUIRED BY ADA 28 CFR § 36.302 ON ENTIRE MAIN ACCESSIBLE ROUTE CONNECTING MAIN CAMPUS ENTRANCE TO PLAYGROUND AREA DOJ ADA COMPLIANCE COMPLAINT FILED MANDATORY REMEDIATION OF ENTIRE ACCESSIBLE ROUTE SURFACE $195,000 REMEDIATION AND SETTLEMENT. The Los Angeles Unified School District engaged an unlicensed person to perform landscape architecture design services for a playground expansion and accessible route renovation project at an elementary school campus; LATC License Verification at latc.ca.gov confirmed no valid LATC Landscape Architect license for the person performing design services. The unlicensed designer prepared construction documents — in violation of CLARB Section 9’s requirement that all landscape architecture documents submitted for public agency permit approval bear the LATC seal and signature of the responsible licensed CA LA — without any LATC seal or signature; the documents were submitted to LAUSD for project approval and to the City of Los Angeles for grading permit purposes without any LATC authentication. The accessible route design specified a cross-slope of 1:26 (approximately 3.8%) for the primary accessible route connecting the main campus entrance to the playground and outdoor activity areas. The ADA Standards for Accessible Design (28 CFR § 36.302, incorporating the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design, Section 403.3) establish a maximum cross-slope of 1:50 (2.0%) for accessible routes; the designed cross-slope of 3.8% exceeded the ADA maximum by nearly double, creating a surface that was non-compliant with federal accessibility requirements for persons using wheelchairs, walkers, or other mobility aids. The non-compliant accessible route was installed as designed throughout the 387-linear-foot primary accessible route connecting the main campus entrance to the playground. Following project completion, a parent of a student using a motorized wheelchair filed a DOJ ADA compliance complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice Disability Rights Section, documenting that the as-built accessible route rendered the playground inaccessible to the student. DOJ investigation confirmed the cross-slope measurements, confirmed the absence of any LATC-sealed construction documents, and issued a compliance directive requiring LAUSD to remediate the entire main accessible route to achieve cross-slope of 2.0% or less throughout. Total mandatory remediation, project investigation, and ADA compliance settlement costs: $195,000.
• SAN DIEGO COMMERCIAL CENTER PARKING LOT LANDSCAPE AND IRRIGATION PROJECT UNLICENSED CONTRACTOR PERFORMING LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE SERVICES WITHOUT LATC LICENSE CLARB SECTION 3 SCOPE VIOLATION DESIGN SERVICES EXCEEDED CSLB C-27 CONTRACTOR SCOPE CITY OF SAN DIEGO REFUSED PERMIT APPROVAL FOR UNSEALED PLANS CITING ABSENCE OF LATC LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT SEAL ASLA SECTION 5.1 SEAL VIOLATION STOP WORK ORDER ISSUED REDESIGN BY LICENSED LA REQUIRED $95,000 DELAY COSTS AND REDESIGN. A San Diego commercial shopping center owner retained a CSLB C-27 Landscaping Contractor to perform parking lot landscape renovation services; the C-27 contractor, in addition to bidding the installation work, also prepared landscape architecture construction documents including planting plans, irrigation design, hardscape paving layout, and grading plans for the parking lot landscape areas. LATC License Verification at latc.ca.gov confirmed that no person at the C-27 contractor’s firm held a valid LATC Landscape Architect license; the construction documents were prepared entirely by unlicensed personnel. The C-27 contractor submitted the unsealed construction documents to the City of San Diego Development Services Department for landscape plan check approval as part of the commercial building permit process. The City of San Diego plan check reviewer rejected the submittal, citing the California requirement that landscape architecture construction documents submitted for public agency permit approval must bear the seal and signature of a LATC-licensed Landscape Architect under Bus. & Prof. Code § 5615 and CLARB Section 9; the unsigned and unsealed documents failed this requirement entirely. The plan check rejection triggered a stop work order on the grading and hardscape installation work that had already commenced under a preliminary authorization, suspending all landscape work pending receipt of properly sealed documents. The commercial center owner incurred $95,000 in combined delay costs (contractor standby time during redesign period, lost tenant rental commencement dates delayed by stop work order), redesign fees paid to a LATC-licensed landscape architect to review and revise the deficient documents, and re-submittal and re-inspection fees. A LATC complaint was filed against the C-27 contractor documenting the CLARB Section 3 scope of practice violation, the ASLA Section 5.1 seal omission, and the unlicensed landscape architecture practice under Bus. & Prof. Code § 5615.

Distinct From Civil Engineer PE (Bus. & Prof. Code § 6730), Licensed Architect (Bus. & Prof. Code § 5536), and CSLB C-27 Landscaping Contractor (Bus. & Prof. Code § 7028, C-27 Classification)

• DISTINCT FROM Civil Engineer PE (Bus. & Prof. Code § 6730 — California Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists (BPELSG)) — A California Civil PE license authorizes the practice of civil engineering, including site grading and drainage engineering from a civil engineering perspective, roadway design, utility system design, and structural calculations; a California LATC Landscape Architect license authorizes the practice of landscape architecture, including planting design, landscape aesthetics, outdoor space planning, streetscape design, park and campus master planning, and site design for projects driven by landscape character, habitat, and outdoor human experience: California courts have held that the two licenses cover overlapping but distinct professional domains; a Civil PE who designs the storm drain system for a commercial parking lot performs civil engineering; a Landscape Architect who designs the drainage swales, bio-retention features, and planting integrated with that same parking lot performs landscape architecture; performing landscape architecture practice — including planting design, hardscape layout, or landscape construction document preparation — without a LATC license violates Bus. & Prof. Code § 5615 regardless of Civil PE credentials; the two licenses are issued by separate California DCA boards (BPELSG for Civil PE; LATC for Landscape Architect), are required by separate statutes (§ 6730 vs. § 5615), and a § 5615 fee petition requires confirming absence from the LATC license database at latc.ca.gov, not the BPELSG PE license database.
• DISTINCT FROM Licensed Architect (Bus. & Prof. Code § 5536 — California Architects Board (CAB)) — A California Architect license authorizes building design, interior architectural design, and site design in immediate proximity to buildings as part of a building project; a California LATC Landscape Architect license authorizes the practice of landscape architecture on public parks, streetscapes, campus master plans, trail systems, and large-scale landscape projects where the design effort is primarily landscape architecture rather than building architecture: the California Architects Board and LATC are separate California DCA licensing boards with distinct enabling statutes (§ 5536 for Architect; § 5615 for Landscape Architect) and distinct scope regulations; an Architect who designs the entry plaza landscaping immediately adjacent to an office building entry may be acting within building architecture scope; an unlicensed person who designs the planting, grading, and drainage of a public school playground or a public park without a LATC license commits landscape architecture unlicensed practice under § 5615 regardless of Architect license credentials; the two licenses require separate applications, separate examinations (ARE for Architects; LARE for Landscape Architects), and separate continuing education compliance; a § 5615 fee petition requires LATC license verification, not CAB Architect license verification.
• DISTINCT FROM CSLB C-27 Landscaping Contractor (Bus. & Prof. Code § 7028, C-27 Classification — California Contractors State License Board) — A CSLB C-27 Landscaping Contractor license authorizes landscape construction services: the installation of plant materials, irrigation systems, grading pursuant to existing plans prepared by a licensed LA, and hardscape installation; a C-27 license does not authorize the practice of landscape architecture — specifically, it does not authorize the preparation of landscape architecture construction documents, the performance of drainage design calculations, the preparation of accessible route geometry, or any other design activity constituting landscape architecture practice: a C-27 contractor who prepares landscape architecture construction documents without a LATC license violates Bus. & Prof. Code § 5615 regardless of C-27 credentials; the two credentials are issued by different California agencies (CSLB for C-27; LATC for Landscape Architect), govern entirely different professional activities (construction installation vs. design practice), and are required by different statutes (§ 7028 for C-27; § 5615 for Landscape Architect); a C-27 license held by the defendant does not defeat a § 5615 fee petition targeting unlicensed landscape architecture design practice, because the C-27 license expressly does not authorize the design activities at issue.

Billing Gaps 1–3 Summary (13.25 hrs/yr = $3,975–$6,625/yr)

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