Greening the Green: Open Spaces Contributing to Sustainable Actions
March 21, 2009
Kathleen (Kathy) Garcia is the director of San Diego’s office for Wallace Roberts & Todd, LLC, a national firm which practices ecologically sensitive planning, landscape architecture and urban design. Ms. Garcia is a registered landscape architect and Fellow in the American Society of Landscape Architects. She graduated from UC Berkeley and has a Master’s degree from Harvard University School of Design.
Many of you will recognize Ms. Garcia from her service as a former San Diego Planning Commissioner if you attended Planning Commission meetings or viewed the televised broadcast on Ch. 24. She was the first landscape architect appointed to the Planning Commission. During her term Garcia advocated more sustainable alternatives on projects for livable communities. She continues to offer her time and talents to civic and professional groups. She is on the Advisory Council for WALK San Diego and in the past served on the Board of Directors for the Southeastern Economic Development Corporation (SEDC).
A Pilot Program, LEED-ND includes three WRT projects–Quarry Falls, Eastern Urban Center of Otay Ranch, and the State College mixed-use development. The pilot is a LEED certification program that sets the standard for guiding sustainable neighborhood design (the ND standing for Neighborhood Development). The goal is to encourage developers to think green when designing communities–build healthy, reduce auto usage, improve air quality, and reduce stormwater runoff.
Quarry Falls, a former sand and gravel quarry in Mission Valley, has had a lot of venting since it was introduced in 2002, but it won approval in 2008 and is considered a model for San Diego’s “City of Villages” concept. The goal is to turn the project into a vibrant mixed-use community.