Not Everyone Swayed By New Palms : Landscaping: A row of California fan palms planted along Broadway has some residents and business owners outraged. The man who put them there says they will grow out and add character to the area.
In the eye of a landscape architect, they were an accent of floral beauty to help revive the hodgepodge facade of the city’s Civic Center drag.
But the row of California fan palms that just sprouted along several blocks of Broadway have struck a few beholders as being atrocious.
One Broadway business owner found the nearly 3-feet-thick palms so ugly she broke into tears Tuesday, imploring the City Council to remove them.
“I can’t tell you how frustrating this experience is,” sobbed attorney Nida Brown, who owns a two-story office building and retail stores along Broadway. “I never cried in my life in public. . . . The trees are grossly unsightly, please take them out.”
Some residents and a member of the Glendale Beautification Advisory Council thought so, too, and joined Brown in asking the city to remove the palms that line the south side of Broadway.
“They’re unattractive and take up too much space on a narrow street like Broadway,” said Lucy Taliaferro Yarick, a member of the Glendale Beautification Advisory Council. “I personally would like to see all the palm trees removed.”
Besides Yarick and Brown, two others complained about the trees to the City Council on Tuesday.
Landscaper Lawrence Moss defended the trees, saying people sometimes react negatively to something new. He said when the palms grow out, they will be beautiful and add character to Glendale.
Council members made no response to the critics’ pleas.
George Miller, public works director, said he was surprised by the outcry. He said landscape plans listing recommendations for the fan and other palms were shown last year to a few members of the advisory committee, including Yarick. The committee raised no objections then, he said.
Yarick, however, said that she had no complaints because the plans did not specify which palms would be planted and their appearance was completely unexpected.
Brown’s voice trembled with emotion as she told city officials that one of the trees, directly in front of her building, blocked the front view of the street.
She blamed the construction project for her decrease in revenue. She said that three of her tenants have stopped paying rent and two others want their rent reduced because of the construction, she said.
City Manager David H. Ramsay said he will meet with the public works staff and discuss what to do with the trees. One option may be to remove the palm in front of Brown’s business, he said.
The city began a beautification project a few months ago, between Louise Street and Glendale Avenue, to revitalize the downtown area and attract more visitors.
