Lawn to Garden: Landscape Design Assistance Program
The Long Beach Utilities is proud to announce a new opportunity for our local landscape designers to participate in a new landscape design reimbursement pilot program.
In July of 2018, LB Utilities began accepting applications for its new Lawn-to-Garden Program. This new program was designed with the objective of enhancing the value of the program to customers and the community while achieving environmental benefits in addition to water conservation. While the design requirements of the original Lawn-to-Garden program will remain intact, there are a few new core design requirements that will come into effect for all projects with applications submitted after July 1, 2018.
Effective July 1, 2018, the Lawn-to-Garden Program will require the following in all designs:
- a stormwater retention feature
- hydrozoning of plant material
- drip irrigation (with exceptions made for certain plants)
- 10% of plants listed must be flowering or California native plants
With the additional design requirements in place, the LB Utilities will be offering its customers an additional reimbursement to seek a certified landscape designer/architect/contractor to provide professional design services for their Lawn-to-Garden projects. This reimbursement will provide LB Utilities customers up to $1,500 dollars or the cost of the design.
Effective October 1, 2019:
- Reimbursement structure will be on a per square foot basis based on the customers eligible conversion area
- There will be a minimum $500 reimbursement for all eligible projects
- Eligible designs/projects beyond the minimum reimbursement of $500 (greater than 1000 square feet), will receive an additional $.50 per square foot towards the cost of their design
- Design Reimbursement will have a maximum reimbursement of $1,500.
Customers will still need to provide a copy of their invoice for their design from one of the designers on our list of verified landscape professionals for verification purposes.
For your customers to receive this reimbursement, the landscape professional providing the design must submit an application along with a proof of credentials to the Long Beach Utilities to be placed on Long Beach Water’s list of certified landscape professionals.
The following items must be submitted to be eligible for certification within the Long Beach Utilities’s Lawn-to-Garden design assistance reimbursement:
- Application Form
- Proof of one of the following: C-27 California Landscaping Contractor License, Horticulture certificate or equivalent (determined at the discretion of LB Utilities), Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD) certification, American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) membership or ReScape California certification.
- Copy of Business License
- A portfolio of 3 past project examples (design and photos) indicating quality of work
Once your application has been processed and your credentials have been verified, you will be placed on the LB Utilities list of certified landscape professionals. Customers seeking assistance and reimbursement for a design will be informed to seek out landscape professionals from this list. The Long Beach Utilities will not schedule or arrange any appointments between customers and landscape professionals.
Customers will be required to submit an invoice from the landscape professional for the full cost of the design in order to receive their reimbursement. Once final inspection of the project is complete, the Long Beach Utilities will send an incentive check for the Lawn-to-Garden project as well as the design assistance reimbursement of up to $1,500 to the homeowner. Only homeowners who receive design services from a design professional on our certified list will be eligible for the design assistance reimbursement.
Apply as soon as possible to ensure that your name is on our list. If you have any questions regarding our new program, please contact Dani Luna Lima at dani.lima@lbwater.org or (562) 570-2455.
The Long Beach Utilities appreciates your service and the continuation of your contributions to helping make water-use efficiency and environmental awareness a way of life in our great city.
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