Complaint Information
The Kentucky Board of Landscape Architects (the “Board”) is the state agency through which the practice of Landscape Architecture in the Commonwealth of Kentucky is regulated. See Kentucky Revised Statutes Chapter 323A, and Kentucky Administrative Regulations Title 201, Chapter 10 for specific pertinent laws and regulations.
The regulatory scheme applicable to the practice of Landscape Architecture was established by the Kentucky Legislature to protect the public by: ** creating relevant minimum requirements of education, experience, and competency for those individuals who seek a license to practice the profession of landscape architecture in the Commonwealth;
** creating, as well, a system of regulatory oversight of the licensee’s continued participation in relevant education following licensure, as well as his or her actual practice of the profession; and
** creating a method of enforcing the statutory probation against the unlicensed practice of the profession of landscape architecture, as well as the unlawful representation by an unlicensed individual that he or she is a licensed landscape architect.
Should an individual wish to file a complaint with the Board alleging that a person has violated some part of the statutory scheme regulating the practice of landscape architecture, or has engaged in the unlicensed practice of landscape architecture in the Commonwealth, please send or deliver a written complaint setting out in as much detail as possible, all matters relevant to the complaint. Please sign the complaint, and include all contact information - name, address, phone number(s), email addresses, etc., of person filing the complaint.
The complaint will be reviewed to first establish that the alleged violations are within the Board’s jurisdiction, and if so, to then initiate an investigation of the matter further.
Please be advised that complaints can take substantial time to investigate, and resolve. Complaints may be resolved after the completion of the investigation, by dismissal, by agreement reached with the subject of the complaint, or following the completion of the administrative hearing process pursuant to the provisions of KRS Chapter 13B, should the matter go to litigation.
While all investigations are confidential until concluded, the person who filed the complaint will be informed by the Board as to the ultimate disposition of the matter when that occurs.
What is beyond the jurisdiction of the Board
The Board has no authority to resolve contract disputes, design issues, financial matters, or allegations of fraud, between a licensee and a client; those matters are civil in nature and are within the exclusive jurisdiction of Kentucky’s Judicial Courts, or in Federal Court, if appropriate. However, if criminal or civil wrongdoing is established in any of those courts of justice, include a certified copy of the Court’s adjudication order with the complaint and the Board will review the matter.
Additionally, in the resolution of any complaint, the Board does not have the authority to require restitution or recoup money or fees, nor does it establish, set, or review costs and fees for professional services rendered by a licensee. The Board does not mediate disputes between the Landscape Architect and his or her client, and cannot order the Landscape Architect to effect a remedy to some act or omission. The Board’s role is to discipline the license of the individual.
Public Records
Pursuant to the provisions of Kentucky’s Open Records Act, KRS 61.870 to 61.884, while investigations are ongoing, those matters are not available for review by the public; however, once a matter is resolved, the records are, subject to limited exceptions, open to inspection by the public. The complaint that initiated the investigation would be available to the public at that time, with personal information appearing on that complaint, redacted pursuant to KRS 61.878.