Landscape Technician I

Under direction, assist with day to day oversight of City contracted park, street tree, and landscape maintenance activities and services; performs related duties as required.

The Landscape Technician will manage one (1) of the City's four (4) landscape maintenance contract areas which consists of approximately 6.5 million square feet of landscaped areas, including ten (10) parks. This position is essential to the effective operation of the Public Works Department Landscape Division. A day in the life of a Landscape Technician begins with reviewing work orders and prioritizing tasks for the day, ensuring that maintenance activities align with contract specifications and City standards. The morning may involve field inspections of parks and landscaped areas, checking for irrigation issues, soil erosion, or plant health concerns, followed by coordinating with contractors to address necessary repairs or improvements. Throughout the day, the technician responds to citizen requests, investigates complaints, and creates work orders to ensure timely resolutions. They may attend meetings with City staff, community organizations, or boards to discuss ongoing projects and provide updates. Plan checking and record-keeping are also key responsibilities, requiring the technician to review landscape and irrigation plans, document findings with photos and reports, and maintain GIS-based work records. As the day wraps up, they ensure all assignments are documented, prepare for upcoming inspections, and communicate any urgent issues to the appropriate teams, contributing to the City's overall landscape quality and public satisfaction.

The employee must have the ability to:

• Participate in the coordination of the City's street tree program; research and recommend tree species; identify possible tree problems and diseases; recommend planting and removal of trees.
• Perform daily field checks of the City's landscaped areas and maintenance contractors to ensure compliance with contract specifications.
• Manage work requests/orders as they pertain to assigned area of responsibility, including but not limited to review, determining priority of work, routing, and resolution.
• Perform field investigations regarding citizen requests/complaints; create work orders to ensure remediation.
• Perform plan checking and related record keeping on landscape and irrigation plans; perform inspection of landscaped areas for compliance with acceptance standards, required maintenance, and removal/replacement.
• Prepare presentation materials including charts, graphs, and visual aids; write reports; may participate in administrative studies in areas outside the scope of regular duties; maintain monthly work records and photographs of park projects and maintenance activities using field-based work order and GIS systems.
• Work closely with City staff, Boards and Commissions, Community Organizations, residents, businesses, volunteer groups, etc. Able to attend community meetings and events as needed.
• Provide temporary and vacation relief in similar occupational fields as necessary.
• Communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of work.
• Perform any other tasks or functions deemed necessary to the daily operations of the employer, and
• Other duties as assigned: This position is always evolving. Therefore, employer reserves the right to modify this job description as necessary.

THE ABOVE LIST OF ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS IS NOT EXHAUSTIVE AND MAY BE SUPPLEMENTED AS NECESSARY BY THE EMPLOYER.

WORKING CONDITIONS: Position requires prolonged sitting, standing, walking on level and slippery surfaces, reaching, twisting and turning while entering and exiting a motor vehicle or on foot within the City limits. Incumbents may be required to lift objects weighing up to 25 pounds. The position requires near, far, and color vision. Incumbents work in all weather conditions, around moving traffic and frequently deal with irate members of the public.

EXPERIENCE AND TRAINING GUIDELINES:

• A combination of experience and training that would provide the required knowledge and abilities is qualifying. The incumbent must have knowledge of:
• Park and landscape design; * Basic principles of park planning and maintenance.
• Trees, plants, and turf which can be grown in the arid climate methods to resolve grading, draining, erosion, irrigation, and traffic problems.
• Park facility design
• Methods and procedures for implementing and evaluating providers of contracted services;
• Computerized maintenance management systems.

Ability to:

• Prepare, analyze, interpret maps, and/or evaluate conceptual plans, drawings, bid specifications, reports, legal property descriptions, and engineering records; Recognize tree problems and diseases.

• Calculate angular, linear, area measurements, and compute volumes and quantities.
• Analyze the maintenance costs, benefits, and liabilities of landscape plans.

Experience: A minimum of two (2) years of experience in landscape design, park planning, or maintenance. At least one year of experience inspecting/assisting with contract management related to grounds management or commercial landscape maintenance is preferred.

Education: Graduation from high school or equivalent and completion of twenty-four (24) semester units of upper division college coursework with a major in landscape architecture, horticulture, or park maintenance. Substitution of education and experience may be made on the basis of twelve (12) semester units for one (1) year.

Licenses/Certification: Possession of, and continuously throughout employment, a valid California Class "C" Driver's License or equivalent. Independent travel throughout the area may be required.

Required Question