JEREMY RAPPOPORT

Jeremy Rappoport is a practical, experienced, college educated horticulturist, certified arborist, landscape contractor, construction and development professional with over three decades experience managing, supervising and consulting on landscape, arboriculture, horticulture and land development issues. Mr. Rappoport’s analytical abilities and problem solving skills enable him to comprehend pertinent data and critical issues. His credentials as a certified arborist and tree risk assessor, C-27 landscape contractor, professional horticulturist and former director and superintendent for land development companies and homebuilders support his expert opinions. Decades of experience provide the training to convincingly communicate his opinions in simple, decisive, and easy to understand language.

Areas of Expertise

• Certified arborist
• Certified tree risk assessor
• Tree inventories
• Tree risk and health assessment
• Tree construction, preservation and mitigation plans
• Tree appraisals, replacement cost, trunk formula, cost of cure methods
• Best management practices
• Landscape design, contracting, and maintenance issues
• Irrigation design, operation, construction, maintenance issues

• Plant material design, selection, location, maintenance issues
• Grading, soil subsidence, retaining wall, drainage, water intrusion
• Landscape and biologic mitigation
• Landscape contractor, arborist, land development standard of care
• Industry, municipal and trade association standards
• Land development, entitlements, sub-division map issues
• General contractor and subcontractor conflicts, standard of care

Expert Consulting Services

Mr. Rappoport consults for defendant and plaintiff attorneys on landscape, arborist, horticulture, and land development issues. Cases typically involve satisfaction or failure to meet the professional or industry standard of care, in some cases failure to adhere to jurisdiction or industry standard(s).

• Plaintiff and defendant cases involving trees trespassing property lines. Cases required tree health or tree risk assessment and subsequent report.
• Plaintiff and defendant cases over tree valuation requiring tree appraisal reports.
• Plaintiff suing a developer for losses due to the sale of a fraudulent final map determining developer standard of care processing entitlements.
• Lawsuits for personal injury due to tripping hazard caused by sprinkler heads and valve boxes, determining industry standard of care.
• Personal injury and loss for selection, placement and maintenance of trees and shrubs in a city street median, determining standard of care.
• Landscape contractor and owner standard of care for permitting.
• Property loss involving general contractor – landscape sub-contractor dispute, determining industry standard of care.
• Soil subsidence, erosion, drainage and grading issues causing property damage, standard of care, industry standards and municipal codes.
• Property loss, tree appraisal involving replacement cost, trunk formula and cost to cure appraisal methods, determining standard of care.
• Landscape contractor and owner standard of care for traffic control during construction.

Commercial & Residential Consulting Clients:

• Certified arborist sub-consulting services to Estrada Land Planning and the City of San Diego for Torrey Pines street improvement project.
• Certified arborist sub-consulting services to Kimley-Horn & Associates, the master Civil Engineering firm for the SANDAG project South Bay BRT Design, including tree inventory and assessment, best management practices and recommendations.
• Wholesale, retail and liquidation appraisal for Links Nursery, a 91 -acre wholesale palm and desert ornamental container tree grower located in Thermal, California. An independent inventory and valuation of the existing nursery stock was required for bank financing purposes.
• Beta Engineering, design build general contractor for the Suncrest Substation, a portion of the SDG&E Sunrise Power link Project. Provide certified arborist consulting for native oak tree construction preservation, tree inventory, risk and health assessment, field monitoring, observations, supervision, best management practices, specifications and final report.
• Campland on the Bay, a privately owned fifty-acre RV campground located adjacent to Mission Bay, San Diego. Provide certified arborist consulting services and 1,150-tree inventory and mitigation program.
• Cassidy Turley Property Management. Provide site-consulting services for commercial properties including retaining wall and storm drain flooding issues.
• Private 1.5-acre estate in Beverly Hills, CA. Provide landscape and construction management consulting services.
• Tree health and tree risk assessment arborist report on neighboring trees for a residential client in San Diego, CA

Significant Prior Achievements

Director of Land Development for K. Hovnanian Homes:

• Managed, supervised and motivated a team of direct reports for multiple land development projects throughout Southern California.Projects included developing raw, entitled land and blue top lots for single and multi family subdivision housing.
  • Created a field land development construction department, eliminated $700K in annual construction management consultants.
  • Supervised and mentored a team of eight direct reports.
  • Developed pro-forma development budgets for land acquisition.
  • Responsible for tri-annual budget updates with the Regional President.
  • Satisfied conditions to obtain Tentative and Final Maps.
  • Procured professional consultant contracts.
  • Contract administration, change orders and invoice approval.
  • Developed critical path development schedules.
  • Owner liaison with jurisdictional agencies.
  • Coordination and negotiation with offsite neighbors.

Director of Operations for Starwood Santa Fe Valley Partners LLC:

• Supervised daily operations for development and construction of The Crosby Estate in Rancho Santa Fe, an 800-acre master planned, 440 private custom lot community and The Crosby National Golf Club, a PGA style private golf course, for Starwood Santa Fe Valley Partners LLC.
  • Created transparency in scrubbing and managing a $290M budget.
  • Procured and managed a team of professional consultants.
  • Assembled bid packages, created spreadsheets and purchased sub-contractor construction contracts.
  • Developed, managed and maintained construction schedules.
  • Owner liaison with jurisdictional agencies for entitlement issues.
  • Member of the Crosby HOA and Crosby Design Review Committee reviewed and approved submittals for proposed custom estates.
  • Integrated activities of five merchant builders into the Crosby master planned community and design guidelines.
  • Supervised transplanting, boxing and reintroduction of 75-60”-120” large specimen trees throughout the community.
  • Managed restoration and biologic mitigation of degraded vernal pools, endangered Manzanita species, upland, and riparian habitats.

Grading and Landscape (Offsite) Superintendent for Continental/D.R. Horton Homes:

• Supervised the daily activities of site subcontractors in developing Rancho Carrillo, an 800-acre master planned community in Carlsbad, California. As an offsite superintendent, supervised construction sub-contractors in trades including:
  • Mass and precise grading improvements.
  • Sanitary sewage systems, potable and reclaimed water systems, storm drainage systems.
  • Dry utility infrastructure systems including gas, electric, telco, CATV, security and fiber optic systems.
  • Street and road improvements including sub-grade, balance, base and pavement, curb, gutter and sidewalk.
  • Retaining and freestanding masonry walls and wrought iron fencing.
  • Security automatic gate operating systems.
  • Common area, public and private landscape and irrigation improvements.
  • Monument entries and enhanced flatwork/carpentry/masonry improvements.
  • Biologic mitigation projects under jurisdiction of the Army Corp of Engineers and State of California agencies.
  • Managed inspection and conveyance of common area parcels to the Home Owner Association.
  • Represented the Baldwin Company (as an employee) in small claims court as a defendant versus a homeowner plaintiff alledging defective slope planting and irrigation, court found in favor of the defendant.
  • Mediated a construction defect case involving settlement of a double-stacked 25’ high structural retaining wall with consultants, contractors and agency representatives saving $200K in legal expenses for K. Hovnanian Homes.
  • Resolved an environmental dispute with agency representatives resulting in an environmental agreement and issuance of building permits, providing $35M in sales revenue for K. Hovnanian Homes.
  • Founded Landscape Horticultural Services, #436000, a full service landscape design-build, consulting, construction, and maintenance-contracting firm, San Diego, California.

Professional Experience

Education

Bachelor of Science in Ornamental Horticulture from California State Polytechnic University Pomona, Cum Laude, emphasis in landscape architecture and landscape contracting. Graduated 06/14/1980.

• Molder Brothers Landscape Contracting Scholarship, spring of 1980.
• Elise Bachelor Horticulture Scholarship, spring of 1980.
• Senior thesis: design, procurement, and construction of a research greenhouse for the Cal Poly Agronomy department, 6/14/1980.

Licenses/Certifications

• C-27 California State Landscape Contractor, #436000 3/19/1983
• ISA Certified Arborist WE-9083A, 11/21/2009
• PNC-ISA Certified Tree Risk Assessor, #CTRA 1220 6/21/2011
• California Certified Small Business (SB) #1665480
• Certified A & E Bench Consultant for SANDAG #216240
• Small Local Business Enterprise Certification (ELBE) #13RD0848

Specialized Training

• Tree Risk Assessment In Urban Areas and the Urban/Rural Interface, Dunster, J. 2009, Silverton Oregon, Pacific Northwest Chapter, International Society of Arboriculture, 6/20/11-6/21/11
• Eucalyptus Tree Identification and Biology, Dr. Matt Ritter, California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo, CA. San Diego Museum of Natural History, 12/15/2011
• Palm Tree Management for Southern California, a seminar sponsored by the Professional Tree Care Association of San Diego, The City of San Diego Parks and Recreation Department, The University of California Cooperative Extension
• Trees Make Dollars and Sense, The Role of the Appraiser, a seminar sponsored by the Inland Urban Forest Council (IUFC), 6/13/13

Presentations & Publications

• Green Infrastructure – New Tools for Measuring the Value of San Diego’s Urban Forest. Center for Sustainable Energy California, San Diego, CA. Title: “Trees in the Urban Landscape, How Tree Selection, Location and Cultural Requirements Influence Tree Benefits and Risk” 08/10/2011
• The Arboricultural Consultant, Issue Three, 2011, by the American Society of Consulting Arborists: Trees and Litigation: Considerations for Defendant and Plaintiff Cases.
• PTCA (Professional Tree Care Association of San Diego) May 2012 Newsletter
• “Construction Development vs. Oak Trees – Can the Two Co-exist?”

Associations

• Forensic Expert Witness Association (FEWA)
• International Society of Arboriculture (ISA)
• Professional Tree Care Association of San Diego (PTCA)
• California Landscape Contractor Association (CLCA)
• American Society of Consulting Arborists (ASCA)

Website & Directories

• Company website: www.landscapeexpertwitness.com
• TASA.net (Technical Advisory Service for Attorneys)
• ForensisGroup.com
• HGexperts.com
• Expertwitness.com
• Linkedin.com
• Merchantcircle.com