Baton Rouge's new commercial landscape ordinance is causing a riff between the city-parish and a handful of builders and developers who say Baton Rouge can't afford to be so green.

Though the ordinance, an update of the 1994 original, was three years and several public meetings in the making, critics argue the Metro Council's July approval was a rush to judgment because it didn't consider the views of those impacted by the changes.

Part of the Unified Development Code, the revised landscape ordinance, after a 90-day delay, is scheduled to take effect Nov. 11.

Carolyn Torrance of Salco Construction says the city-parish landscape and Tree Commission, the group that wrote the new rules, kept commercial builders out of the process to squelch dissenting viewpoints. The development community, she contends, didn't learn of the regulations until June, when the Planning Commission gave the ordinance its blessing.

Moreover, Torrance and others worry the additional landscaping requirements will dramatically, increase the cost of construction, impact the size of buildings and stifle industrial development in older sections of the parish.

"When I read the ordinance I see cost, cost, cost," said Torrance. "The city is spending everyone else's money very easily."

Commission members counter that the companies are much ado about nothing. They say there's nothing onerous about the ordinance and that the public is demanding a greener Baton Rouge.

"The changes we've made are baby steps," said commission member Dennis "Buck" Abbey, a landscape architect and associate professor at LSU. "They've made it sound like the world is falling apart."

The new ordinance not only requires more landscaping on commercial and industrial projects but also calls for larger trees and additional green space buffer zones. In addition, more trees and wider islands will be required in parking lots.

The ordinance also mandates the use of a landscape architect on sites greater than 15,000 square feet and a written certification of compliance before the issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy.

Supporters of the ordinance contend better landscaped developments--both residential and commercial--aren't just important for environmental and aesthetic reasons but also aid the city's quest to attract companies with higher paying, white collar jobs.

"The cities of the future aren't going to look like Airline Highway, they'll look like Highland Road," said Abbey. "Visit any thriving city and that's what you'll see."

While East Baton Rouge Parish is relatively green, with 45 percent of the parish covered by tree canopy, experts point out that the percentage has dropped 11 percent from a decade ago.

Trees of contention

Those upset with the ordinance are quick to point out they don't oppose landscaping requirements. Their argument is 1) builders were left out of the process; and 2) the realities of commercial construction--especially those of warehouse and industrial work--were not considered.

"This ordinance was drafted by a whole lot of people who stand to benefit from it--landscape people, landscape maintenance people and landscape architects," complained Martin Svendson, a commercial agent with Property One Inc.

Without question, landscape professionals were involved in writing the regulations, but so too were several representatives of the construction and development industry, including commercial agents George Kurz and Larry Dietz, developers Hardy Swyers, John Fetzer and Ed Kramer, and commercial landowner-developer Sid Coxe Jr.

Also involved were real estate attorneys Charles Landry and Sam Bacot, whose firms have done work with some of the ordinance's most outspoken critics.

"Maybe there were a handful of people, but they didn't get the word out," said Torrance. "They picked people who shared their agenda. They wanted to keep the opposition and those with concerns out of the debate."

Kurz, a principle of Kurz and Hebert Commercial Real Estate Inc., said there was never any attempt to work under the radar. During the three years of planning, he says, the proposal was discussed before six public bodies. A workshop, open to the public, was held months before the Metro Council approved the ordinance.

"Everyone seemed to find out about it except for this small contingent," added Stephen Shurtz, director of landscape and forestry for the Department of Public Works. "The fact of the matter is, the commission heard the concerns they've raised and said no."

The ripple effect

Particularly chafing to opponents is their belief that additional landscaping and the required use of a landscape architect, coupled with existing parking codes, will drive up construction costs and impact building sizes. Torrance said, for example, that all 8,000-square-foot building constructed under the old rules might have to be reduced by as much as 2,000 square feet to satisfy the new ordinance.

"You don't think being forced to reduce the size of a building is going to impact costs and the amount of rent you'll have to charge to recover those costs?" asked Torrance. "The result is that rents will go up and retailers will have to charge customers higher prices."

While conceding costs may increase, Shultz says opponents are overstating the impact.

"Let's say you need 30 8-foot trees at $100 a piece and an excellent landscape architect might charge you $2,500; that's $5,500 in additional cost," he says. "I don't think that's asking too much."

Certainly there will be additional costs, especially since more green space means less room for revenue-generating buildings. Abbey says the committee wanted to include ways to mitigate the impact and approached the Baton Rouge Growth Coalition, a group representing developers, for suggestions.

"We asked them to tell us what incentives they needed, but we never heard back from them," said Abbey.

As for the occupancy requirement, which stipulates that a landscape architect design and certify installation, commission members said the change was made to satisfy state law. The city, under the old ordinance, allowed landscape plans to be designed by a landscape contractor.

The state's horticulture law says only a landscape architect is permitted to provide "detailed landscape design plans." A landscape contractor is permitted only to implement plans and designs "prepared by a licensed landscape architect."

"We were breaking the law before," admits Shurtz. "Actually we're still breaking the law because we're allowing a landscape contractor to do jobs on sites under 15,000 square feet."

Without changes to the ordinance Svendson worries that new warehouse space, particularly projects that convert abandoned shopping centers, will dry up and companies will look toward regulation-friendly West Baton Rouge Parish.

"We've already driven our residential people out of the parish," he said, "and I'm concerned that things like this will start driving more of our commercial developers out of Baton Rouge."

Doing their part

Critics suggest regulations designed for specific zoning codes would make the ordinance there palatable. In other words, what might be acceptable for an office building doesn't make sense for an industrial site.

Others say the old ordinance would be fine if it were enforced, something Svendson says wasn't done because Shurtz's department was understaffed.

"That's the point of the landscape architect rule," he chided. "The city wants them to be its enforcers."

Shurtz doesn't dispute that landscape architects will make his job easier, but as for use-based regulations, he says, "Concrete is concrete regardless of what you're doing. The environment doesn't care what the concrete is being used for."

A section of the ordinance does provide for relief if a suitable landscape plan is presented to DPW. It also allows for porous paving materials, which can be used for parking near trees, to count as green space.

"A good landscape architect can design a plan that helps the builder get a better deal than what they're getting under the current code," said Abbey.

One area of agreement on both sides is this: If government is going to force the private sector to upgrade and maintain green space, then the city should do a better job of maintaining its landscaping.

"I totally agree," says Abbey. "It's not hard to mow the grass or pick up trash. What's needed by everyone is a change in attitude because it's not a real costly job."