Andrew Garulay, RLA

Massachusetts has a state law that requires each town to strive for 10% affordable housing. Affordable housing is defined by rent or mortgage payments that is based on a percentage of the mean income of that particular town. If that is not met, there is a program called 40B where any developer can get zoning relief if he makes 25% of the…[Read more]

This was a preliminary hearing where they discussed whethet it was going to go through a limited review process or a complete review, so the meeting was to determine what would be the issues addressed if it was determined that a limited review was appropriate. In other words, it was recommended by staff that mitigation for housing should be on the…[Read more]

I am amazed at the employee abuse stories that I have heard here. Salaried entry level positions seem to be a big part of that.

I’m not taking anyone to the woodshed. I believe in them more than some of them they believe in themselves. Distractions like unionizing unemployed people to get jobs that pay well, or co-ops that will sprout out of the thin air to share work evenly with anyone who joins, non-profits to give inexperienced people dream jobs on grant money, and…[Read more]

If you want a union, then start one. Don’t wait for someone else to do it.

We can argue about the pros and cons of unions all day, but even if you think unions are the greatest thing since sliced bread, what do you believe about “labor” in our profession? Do you think it is something anyone can be hired off of the street to do? All too many of you ever seem to do is talk about how great the profession is and how no one…[Read more]

So what is the bargaining power? We’ll stop sending you resumes unless our demands are met?
 
It just may work because some of the the firms receiving those resumes may need to burn the paper in stoves in order to heat their homes this winter.

What could be better for a profession that already has few people willing to pay for its services than to make it more expensive? What better way would there be to get more of those of you who can’t find jobs now to land jobs than to make it more expensive for someone to hire you?
 
I thought the drugs were good back when I was in school, but…[Read more]

The Hyannis example does not involve public input until the actual permit hearings. The early meetings are with staff such as town engineer, planner, water department, health department, and growth management staff.

I don’t work in a million person population, but I do work in a metropolitan area (yes, Cape Cod has an official metropolitan urban area of 50k+). The most urban place is the village of Hyannis in the Town of Barnstable. There the planing process starts with either an informal or formal site plan review. It is a review and advice on meeting…[Read more]

There is a difference between gutting a process and gutting the actual regulations. A burdensome process serves no purpose simply by being burdensome. If good results are contingent on a complex process, so be it, but if regulations can be followed in an easier process there is no point. Your post only indicates a streamlined process rather than a…[Read more]

I have not worked in a big firm, but I have to wonder whether a lot of this feeling that you need more education from the get go is from the big firm experience. Perhaps it is that there is more pigeon holing or it is too convenient to delegate tasks to others with experience than to train or work with someone on something they have not done…[Read more]

I’m getting that program and going into business designing custom place mats for themed restaurants!

You could say that.
 
Positivity comes from succeeding in having a job or being able to apply your craft. That more easily happens when we see what there is currently going on and to go toward it.
Disappointment leads to negativity. Investing borrowed money on education for, and pursuing  jobs that don’t exist leads to disappointment followed by…[Read more]

I had a good laugh a few years ago when my high end design/build friend (http://www.crossroadslandscape.com/) and his high end cabinet maker friend were complaing that “this guy is only our age and he can afford us!” .

Other People’s Property (OPP), that is what landscape architecture is all about!

Ding!  Program to Site
… on buildings under construction or re-landscapes,somewhere along the way I have developed a habit where I pause the “ideation”(if I have a clue on what that means) between the time I start measuring details on the site and finish the existing conditions plan. Then I restart and move forward with a much deeper…[Read more]

I have my opinion and respect yours as well.
Having experienced the exact same scenario in a landscaping company almost twenty years ago, I can tell you that it is all that I need to know FOR ME to draw a conclusion. Nothing positive can be gained from one employee knowing what another is making. If something is not put away it is not good, but…[Read more]

I can’t see how it can not be an impact on the environment if it went from short grasses on slopes to terraced wetlands.That is clearly displacement of habitat.There are four distinct things that I feel make us give this a pass. One is that it is assumed to be very old rather than a new exploitation. The second is that it is assumed to be done by…[Read more]

I use an IOmega EGo which is a portable 500 gig portable hard drive. It works just like a flash drive and is plug’n’play in USB port (it has two USBs in case you have an older computer that does not have enough nuggets to power it from one). It looks like a slightly shorter hard case for glasses. I think I paid roughly $70 for it at Staples.
Not…[Read more]