Dear Florida Chapter Members, Fellows, and Associates:
Welcome to Part Seventeen of my report series, ‘ASLA Membership’, telling you just a few notes from our national organization over the last month. If you ever have a question about anything in my reports or would like to share your opinions with me regarding these issues, please contact me at Trustee@FLASLA.org.
Trustee, FLASLA
GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS
***The Transportation Enhancement Issue is brewing in Washington, D.C. Please stay alert for more information and actions required. Now would be the perfect time to subscribe to the Advocacy Network if you haven’t already!***
Just as the 2012 state legislative season began, the New Hampshire House of Representatives took up legislation to deregulate Landscape Architecture and several other professions. Although it had some strong support in the House, the bill was narrowly defeated. As legislatures convene across the nation, Chapters are remaining vigilant.
ASLA’s Bill Tracking service is your window into legislation impacting Landscape Architects. ASLA monitors legislation in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Congress on issues like professional regulation, contracting for professional services, stormwater management, transportation and much more.
Complete Streets legislation continues to receive bipartisan support. Republican Congressman Frank LoBiondo (NJ) has signed on as a cosponsor of H.R. 1780, the Safe and Complete Streets Act. The measure now has 18 co-sponsors and ASLA is working to have a national Complete Streets policy signed into law.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced funding availability for the 2012 Environmental Justice Small Grants Program. Proposals for awards of up to $25,000 are due by February 29. For more information visit the Small Grants Program page.
PR AND COMMUNICATIONS
January 25 was the public announcement of the first three projects to achieve SITES certification. SITES is a partnership of ASLA, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Texas at Austin, and the U.S. Botanic Garden. The projects are:
Novus Headquarters Campus (3-star certification): commercial project in St. Charles, MO.
The Woodland Discovery Playground at Shelby Farms Park (1-star certification): park in Memphis, TN
The Green at College Park (1-star certification): campus green at The University of Texas at Arlington.
The profession received coverage in the Huffington Post, ABCNews.com, SFGate, Christian Science Monitor, CNBC, Reuters, SFGate, AECCafe, and Planetizen.
PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
Professional Practice Manager, Liz Guthrie, participated in a meeting of the Design/Planning/Development Assistance Roundtable Meetup (DPDAM) hosted by the American Architectural Foundation (AAF). The participating organizations and federal agencies provide technical assistance on design, planning and development-related projects to local governments in the United States. Staff project managers met to share information about key initiatives from each organization and discuss how to maximize opportunities for collaboration.
RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
ASLA 2012 professional awards program deadline for entries is Friday, February 3 and for submissions is Friday, February 17.
