Understanding Grounds and Landscape Services Levels

This page explains how UC Davis Grounds and Landscape Services determines service levels and what those levels mean for the care and maintenance of campus landscapes. 

To help facilities organizations evaluate and communicate maintenance capacity, APPA—the international association for educational facilities professionals—developed a set of industry-recognized service levels that describe the condition of facilities and landscapes based on available staffing and resources. These standards provide a common framework for understanding what customers can reasonably expect under different operating conditions.

Grounds and Landscape Services maintains the Davis campus's outdoor environment, including an urban forest more than 26,000 trees, lawns, planting beds, irrigation systems, sports turf, outdoor gathering spaces and other landscaped areas. Like many areas of Facilities Management, Grounds is balancing staffing and budget challenges while supporting a growing and increasingly complex campus.

As a result, work is prioritized to protect public safety, regulatory compliance and essential campus operations first, while routine landscape maintenance and beautification activities may take longer to complete. The information below explains what each APPA service level means and how UC Davis' current level of service translates to the care of campus landscapes.

APPA Service Levels

• Level 1: Showpiece Landscape

• Customer Service & Response Time:
  Landscape requests are addressed promptly, often within days. Routine maintenance is completed before issues become noticeable.

  Customer Satisfaction:
  Campus landscapes consistently exceed expectations. Building occupants and visitors take pride in the appearance of campus and recognize the high level of care invested in outdoor spaces.

  Preventative Maintenance:
  Landscape maintenance is fully proactive. Turf, trees, shrubs, irrigation systems and planting beds are maintained according to best practices with virtually no backlog.

  Maintenance Mix:
  The majority of work focuses on planned maintenance and landscape enhancement rather than responding to problems. Seasonal planting, pruning, irrigation adjustments and beautification projects are completed on schedule.

  Landscape Conditions:
  Lawns and sports turf areas are lush, trees and shrubs are expertly maintained, planting beds are weed-free and healthy, irrigation systems operate efficiently, and outdoor spaces consistently present a polished appearance comparable to a botanical garden or premier public garden.

• Level 2:  Comprehensive Stewardship

• Customer Service & Response Time:
  Most landscape service requests are completed within a week or two. Routine maintenance is consistent, with only minor scheduling delays.

  Customer Satisfaction:
  Campus landscapes are well maintained and attractive. Most customers view outdoor spaces as clean, healthy and well cared for.

  Preventative Maintenance:
  Most scheduled landscape maintenance is completed on time, including mowing, pruning, irrigation inspections and seasonal planting.

  Maintenance Mix:
  Preventative maintenance remains the primary focus, although some reactive work is required due to weather, equipment failures or seasonal demands.

  Landscape Conditions:
  Lawns are regularly maintained, shrubs and trees are well cared for, weeds are generally controlled, irrigation systems function reliably and outdoor custodial tasks are completed routinely. Minor imperfections may occasionally be visible but do not significantly affect the overall appearance

• Level 3:  Managed Care

• Customer Service & Response Time:
  Most requests are addressed within several weeks, though response times may increase during peak growing seasons or periods of high demand.

  Customer Satisfaction:
  Customers generally find campus landscapes functional and pleasant, though they may notice deferred maintenance or areas needing additional attention.

  Preventative Maintenance:
  Between 50% and 75% of recommended landscape maintenance is completed on schedule.

  Maintenance Mix:
  Staff balance planned landscape maintenance with an increasing number of reactive requests. Preventative work is adjusted as staffing and workload require.

  Landscape Conditions:
  Grass is routinely maintained but may occasionally become overgrown. Weeds appear more frequently, shrub pruning may be delayed and seasonal color displays are reduced. Irrigation repairs and outdoor custodial work may take longer, resulting in visible but manageable maintenance needs.

• Level 4:  Reactive Landscape Maintenance

• Customer Service & Response Time:
  Most landscape requests are addressed only after higher-priority work has been completed. Response times may extend for months depending on available staffing and seasonal demands.

  Customer Satisfaction:
  Customers increasingly notice deferred landscape maintenance, slower response times and declining appearance in some areas. Expectations may not align with the level of service current resources can support.

  Preventative Maintenance:
  Between 25% and 50% of recommended landscape maintenance is completed on schedule.

  Maintenance Mix:
  Staff focus primarily on work that protects public safety, supports critical campus operations and prevents further damage. Routine landscape maintenance is completed as staffing and workload allow.

  Landscape Conditions:
  Vegetation management becomes increasingly reactive. Weeds are more noticeable, mowing cycles may be extended, shrubs and trees may not be pruned according to ideal schedules and irrigation repairs may be delayed. Outdoor custodial work, litter removal and hardscape cleaning may also occur less frequently, contributing to a more worn appearance. While the landscape remains safe and functional, aesthetic quality declines as maintenance backlogs grow.

• Level 5:  Crisis Response

• Customer Service & Response Time:
  Landscape services are limited almost entirely to emergencies, immediate safety hazards and work specifically directed by university leadership.

  Customer Satisfaction:
  Customers experience significant deterioration in landscape conditions and understand that only the highest-priority safety issues are being addressed.

  Preventative Maintenance:
  Routine preventative landscape maintenance has effectively ceased.

  Maintenance Mix:
  Nearly all available staff time is devoted to emergency response, hazard mitigation and addressing conditions that present immediate risks to public safety.

  Landscape Conditions:
  Large maintenance backlogs are evident throughout the campus. Turf becomes overgrown, weeds are widespread, irrigation failures remain unresolved for extended periods, shrubs and trees receive minimal routine care and outdoor custodial services are limited. The landscape remains focused on maintaining basic safety and accessibility rather than appearance or long-term landscape health.