Landscape Architect Austin
Austin Landscape Architects for Land Developers, Civil Engineers, Architects, and Design/Build Contractors
Evergreen Design Group is a landscape architect in Austin, TX developers, civil engineers, architects, and design-build contractors work with directly for projects across the Austin metro and the broader Central Texas growth corridor including San Antinio.
Since 2005, our full range of landscape architecture services in Austin have delivered land planning, planting design, hardscape design, and irrigation design on residential communities, mixed-use developments, commercial projects, and industrial sites throughout the region.
Our clients are project teams — not homeowners. We engage within your development workflow, coordinate with civil engineers and architects of record, meet Austin’s demanding plan review timelines, and produce construction-ready documentation that moves through the City of Austin’s development process efficiently.
Austin is one of the most regulatory-complex landscape architecture markets in Texas — and one of the most demanding in the country. The Edwards Aquifer Protection Zone, Austin’s Watershed Protection Ordinance, the Heritage Tree Ordinance, Environmental Commission review, the Imagine Austin growth framework, and water conservation requirements administered by Austin Water all create a layered regulatory environment that requires genuine local expertise to navigate efficiently. Add to that the Hill Country’s karst limestone geology, flash flood risk, and thin rocky soils, and you have a design context that penalizes landscape architects without deep Austin-specific knowledge.
Evergreen Design Group holds an active Texas landscape architect registration and is headquartered in Bluffton, South Carolina, with licensure in 43 states. As a landscape architect Austin, Texas project teams engage directly — not through a subcontracted local affiliate — every land planning, planting, tree disposition, hardscape, and irrigation deliverable is produced in-house and coordinated as a single set of construction documents.
Landscape Architecture in Austin's Development Environment
Austin's Watershed Protection Ordinance and Impervious Cover Limits
Austin's Watershed Protection Ordinance (WPO) is the foundational regulatory constraint on development across the Austin metro. The ordinance divides the city's watersheds into classified zones — Urban, Suburban, Water Supply Rural, Water Supply Suburban, and Barton Springs zones — each with distinct impervious cover caps that limit how much of a site's area can be covered by buildings, pavement, and other impervious surfaces. The Barton Springs zone, which overlaps with the most sensitive recharge areas of the Edwards Aquifer, has the most restrictive impervious cover limits in the city.
Landscape architects are directly responsible for impervious cover management at the site design level: the proportion of a site allocated to buildings vs. landscape area, the permeability of hardscape materials selected, and the configuration of open space all contribute to the impervious cover calculation reviewed during site plan approval. Landscape plans that don't account for impervious cover constraints from the earliest design phase generate costly plan corrections. We integrate impervious cover budgeting into our land planning and hardscape design process as a primary parameter, not an afterthought.
Edwards Aquifer Protection Zone: Recharge and Contributing Zones
Much of the Austin metro — and the entire Hill Country west and south of the city — overlies the Edwards Aquifer's Recharge Zone and Contributing Zone. The Edwards Aquifer Authority (EAA) regulates development in these zones with impervious cover limitations, water quality protection requirements, and in some cases prohibition of certain land uses that could contaminate the aquifer. Development in the Recharge Zone faces the most restrictive standards: impervious cover caps as low as 15–25% on some sites, and water quality treatment requirements for stormwater that may reach the karst formation.
Landscape architects on Recharge Zone projects must design site plans that maximize open space and permeable landscape area within the available site area, specify permeable paving materials that count toward the impervious cover calculation, and design stormwater management features appropriate to karst hydrology — where conventional detention pond infiltration can carry pollutants directly to the aquifer. We work in the Recharge Zone regularly and understand the constraints it imposes on site design.
Austin's Heritage Tree Ordinance
Austin's Land Development Code Chapter 25-8 establishes one of the most protective urban tree ordinances in Texas. Heritage trees — defined as trees 19 inches diameter at breast height (DBH) or greater of protected species, including live oaks, Texas oaks, pecans, elms, and others — are subject to critical root zone (CRZ) protections that restrict grading, paving, excavation, and construction within a calculated radius of the tree trunk. Heritage trees cannot be removed without City Council approval in most circumstances, and their presence on a development site can significantly constrain site layout, grading, and infrastructure placement.
Our tree disposition plans for Austin projects document existing trees, calculate heritage tree designations by species and DBH, establish CRZ protection boundaries that must be reflected in grading and civil plans, and identify trees proposed for removal with the required permit documentation. We engage with tree preservation strategy at the land planning stage — before the civil plan is set — so that heritage tree locations are integrated into site layout decisions rather than discovered as constraints after the fact.
Austin Water Conservation Requirements
Austin Water administers water conservation requirements for new development that affect irrigation system design and outdoor water use. The Austin Water Landscape Ordinance establishes maximum irrigation area as a percentage of total site area for commercial and multifamily development, requires drought-tolerant or native plant coverage in a specified percentage of planted area, mandates weather-based smart irrigation controller technology, and in some applications restricts spray irrigation in favor of drip systems. These requirements interact with the WPO's impervious cover constraints: maximizing landscape area for impervious cover compliance must be balanced against the irrigation area limits of Austin Water's landscape ordinance.
Austin's SMART Housing and Environmental Commission Review
Many development projects in Austin with environmental site features — creek buffers, wetlands, floodplain adjacency, steep slopes, or heritage trees — are subject to Environmental Commission (EC) review as part of the entitlement process. The EC reviews projects for compliance with the WPO, heritage tree protections, creek buffer standards, and other environmental code requirements, and can recommend conditions of approval that affect landscape scope. Understanding how EC review intersects with landscape architecture documentation — and producing plans that anticipate EC concerns — reduces the risk of conditions being imposed at the hearing stage.
Austin Suburban Growth Markets: Williamson and Hays Counties
Austin's growth extends well beyond the city limits into Williamson County (Round Rock, Cedar Park, Georgetown, Liberty Hill, Leander) and Hays County (Kyle, Buda, San Marcos, Wimberley). These markets are among the fastest-growing in Texas and operate under county and municipal regulatory frameworks that are distinct from the City of Austin's:
- Williamson County / Cedar Park / Round Rock: Active master-planned community and commercial development; Cedar Park and Round Rock have adopted their own landscape ordinances and tree preservation requirements.
- Georgetown: High-growth residential and commercial market with its own landscape and tree standards administered through the Georgetown Planning Department.
- Liberty Hill and Leander: Rapidly growing exurban residential markets with active master-planned community development; served by Williamson County regulations in unincorporated areas and by city ordinances in incorporated limits.
- Hays County / Kyle / Buda: Active residential and commercial development south of Austin; Kyle and Buda have adopted their own landscape ordinances; unincorporated Hays County operates under county regulations with some Edwards Aquifer Protection Zone overlay constraints.
Landscape Architecture Services We Deliver in Austin
Every service is performed in-house by our licensed professionals with no subcontracting of scope.
Land planning in Austin’s regulatory environment is a front-loaded, high-stakes activity. Impervious cover budgets, heritage tree CRZ protection boundaries, creek buffer setbacks, floodplain limits, and steep slope restrictions all constrain the buildable envelope before the civil plan begins. We work with developers and civil engineers at the pre-application stage to establish site organization that respects these constraints from the start — integrating impervious cover management, tree preservation, and stormwater feature siting into the conceptual plan before the civil design is locked.
Austin’s planting design environment is defined by thin limestone soils, high alkalinity, significant summer drought stress, flash flood risk in drainage areas, and Austin Water’s native and drought-tolerant plant requirements. The Hill Country’s native plant community — live oak, cedar elm, Texas persimmon, plateau live oak, Lacey oak, native grasses, and drought-tolerant perennials — provides the foundation for planting palettes that perform with minimal irrigation in Austin’s climate. For creek buffer and floodplain areas, riparian native species tolerant of periodic inundation and the erosive forces of Texas flash flood events are required. We document planting plans to the level of detail required for City of Austin plan review.
Austin’s Heritage Tree Ordinance is the most demanding tree protection framework in Texas. Our tree disposition plans for Austin projects are produced to meet the specific requirements of Chapter 25-8: documenting all trees, calculating heritage tree designations by species and DBH, establishing CRZ boundaries, identifying tree preservation and removal proposals, and preparing the required permit applications for trees proposed for removal. We engage with tree disposition strategy at the land planning stage to minimize heritage tree conflicts before they become entitlement constraints.
Austin’s residential development market — concentrated in Williamson and Hays counties’ master-planned community corridor — demands high-quality amenity packages. Pools, clubhouses, fitness areas, dog parks, trail systems, and community gathering spaces that reflect the Hill Country aesthetic context and perform in Austin’s climate. We design amenity packages that are code-compliant with Austin Water’s landscape ordinance, appropriate to the Edwards Aquifer context where applicable, and market-responsive to the expectations of Austin’s active buyer market.
Austin hardscape design is shaped by limestone bedrock proximity (limiting excavation depth on many sites), expansive clay soils in transition zones east of the Balcones Escarpment, high summer heat with surface temperatures that significantly exceed air temperature, and impervious cover constraints that make permeable paving an important design tool rather than an aesthetic choice. We design hardscape systems calibrated to Austin’s conditions — specifying materials and joint systems appropriate to limestone soil movement, surface temperature management, and long-term maintenance realities in the Texas climate.
Irrigation design in Austin is governed by Austin Water’s landscape ordinance requirements, TCEQ irrigation licensing requirements, and the practical challenge of designing systems that minimize water use during Austin’s prolonged summer dry periods while meeting plant establishment needs. We produce irrigation systems designed to Austin Water’s efficiency standards — incorporating smart controller technology, pressure-regulated heads, drip irrigation in planting beds, and zone configurations organized by plant water demand — with documentation coordinated with TCEQ requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions — Landscape Architects Austin
What is Austin's Watershed Protection Ordinance and how does it affect development projects?
Austin’s Watershed Protection Ordinance (WPO) is the foundational environmental regulation governing development across the Austin metro. It classifies the city’s watersheds into zones — Urban, Suburban, Water Supply Rural, Water Supply Suburban, and Barton Springs — each with distinct impervious cover caps (the maximum percentage of a site that can be covered by buildings, pavement, and other impervious surfaces). Landscape architects are directly involved in impervious cover management: the allocation of site area between buildings and landscape, the permeability of hardscape materials selected, and the configuration of open space all contribute to the impervious cover calculation reviewed by Austin Development Services. Projects that exceed the applicable cap cannot receive site plan approval without a variance.
What is a Heritage Tree in Austin and what protections apply?
Austin’s Land Development Code designates trees 19 inches diameter at breast height (DBH) or greater of protected species as Heritage Trees. Protected species include live oak, Texas live oak, plateau live oak, Shumard oak, Texas ash, bald cypress, pecan, cedar elm, American elm, and others. Heritage trees are protected by critical root zone (CRZ) restrictions that prohibit or restrict grading, paving, excavation, and construction within a calculated radius of the trunk. Heritage trees cannot be removed without City Council approval in most circumstances, and their critical root zones must be reflected in grading, drainage, and utility plans. The heritage tree designation can significantly constrain site layout, and identifying heritage trees at the pre-application stage — before the civil plan is set — is essential for efficient entitlement.
How does the Edwards Aquifer affect development in the Austin metro?
The Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone and Contributing Zone underlie significant portions of the Austin metro and the entire Texas Hill Country west and south of the city. In the Recharge Zone, development is subject to impervious cover limits as restrictive as 15–25% on some sites, and water quality treatment requirements apply to stormwater that may infiltrate to the karst formation. The Edwards Aquifer Authority (EAA) and the City of Austin’s Watershed Protection Ordinance both address Aquifer protection with overlapping requirements — projects in the Recharge Zone must comply with both. Landscape architects on Recharge Zone projects must maximize permeable landscape area, select appropriate permeable paving alternatives, and design stormwater management appropriate to karst hydrology.
What are Austin Water's landscape and irrigation requirements for new commercial development?
Austin Water’s Landscape Ordinance establishes maximum irrigation area as a percentage of total site area for commercial and multifamily projects, requires drought-tolerant or native plant coverage in a minimum percentage of planted area, mandates weather-based smart irrigation controller technology, and in many applications requires drip irrigation in planting beds rather than spray heads. The landscape ordinance is reviewed as part of the site plan approval process and interacts with the WPO’s impervious cover constraints — maximizing landscape area for impervious cover compliance must be balanced against Austin Water’s irrigation area caps. We produce irrigation and planting documentation that satisfies both regulatory frameworks.
Do you serve projects in Williamson County and Hays County outside the City of Austin?
Yes. The Austin metro’s growth is concentrated in Williamson County (Round Rock, Cedar Park, Georgetown, Liberty Hill, Leander) and Hays County (Kyle, Buda, San Marcos, Wimberley). Each jurisdiction has its own landscape and tree ordinance requirements, and unincorporated county areas operate under county regulations. We maintain current working knowledge of the landscape requirements of Austin’s major suburban jurisdictions and design to the applicable local standard for each project location — including any Edwards Aquifer Protection Zone requirements that apply in these counties.
How do we get started on an Austin project?
Contact us through our website or call our office directly. We will schedule a brief discovery call to understand your project type, site location, regulatory context — including watershed classification, aquifer zone, and heritage tree situation — and schedule, and follow up with a proposal. We are structured to engage directly within your project delivery process at the pace Austin’s development market requires.
What Makes Evergreen Among the Landscape Architects Austin Texas Developers Choose for Regulatory-Complex Sites?
Developers evaluating landscape architects Austin Texas projects require should weigh direct experience with the Watershed Protection Ordinance’s impervious cover caps, Austin’s Heritage Tree Ordinance and CRZ documentation, and Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone site planning — three regulatory layers that intersect on many Austin sites and that not every firm has navigated together. Evergreen Design Group is a licensed Texas landscape architecture firm, headquartered in Bluffton, South Carolina and licensed in 43 states, with every land planning, planting, tree disposition, hardscape, and irrigation deliverable produced in-house rather than subcontracted. That single-source structure reduces the coordination burden on your civil engineer during Austin’s plan review process.
Can Evergreen Design Group Join an Austin Project After the Civil Engineer's Site Plan Is Already Submitted?
Yes. We regularly join Austin projects mid-process, including after a civil site plan has already been submitted for Watershed Protection Ordinance or Environmental Commission review. To step in efficiently, we typically need the current civil site plan and impervious cover calculation, any existing tree survey or heritage tree documentation, the applicable watershed classification and aquifer zone, and a clear statement of the remaining review or construction-document milestones. We coordinate directly with the existing civil engineer or architect of record so our documentation aligns with work already completed rather than restarting the process.
Ready to Start Your Austin Project?
Whether your project is a master-planned community in Williamson County, a mixed-use development in East Austin, a commercial campus in Cedar Park, or an infill residential project navigating Austin’s Heritage Tree Ordinance — Evergreen Design Group brings the regulatory depth, Hill Country expertise, and documentation standards that Austin’s development environment requires.
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