Cultivating an Image by Putting the Palms Back in La Palma

It’s the tiniest city in Orange County, a 1.9-square-mile dot that has little to distinguish itself from neighboring suburbs.

The city of La Palma has no Disneyland, no Little Saigon, no South Coast Plaza, no landmarks that provide a distinctive identity. There aren’t even that many palm trees in La Palma, despite the name.

But the city does have big dreams. For the last two years, it has been crafting an image-building campaign that officials and residents hope will put La Palma on the map.

The most visible of the campaign’s many steps is the adoption of the palm tree as an official symbol. That, officials say, will help bridge the ironic gap between the city’s name, which conjures up images of palm-lined streets, and the reality, which is that there is a serious dearth of palmas in La Palma.

Years ago, city old-timers recall, there were date palms up and down La Palma Avenue. But the trees were torn out because they were dropping their fruit on the street, hitting cars and causing a mess.

“It’s kind of a little joke,” said City Clerk Tami Piscotty. “People ask [about the trees]. We just got a letter from someone saying, ‘Why are there no palm trees?’ ”

While palms won’t be planted en masse, they will be added as a symbolic gesture to the city’s main entrances. And they will fill the city in picture form with 150 colorful palm tree banners lining the main streets. The palm has also been added to the city’s newsletter and many official documents issued by City Hall.

Other plans this year include:

* The La Palma Promenade: It’s now a swath of green space cutting through the city under a series of Southern California Edison electric towers. City officials plan to spruce up the greenbelt with distinctive signs, better lighting, benches and trash cans.

* Plantings: Ivy will be planted along the block walls on La Palma Avenue to hide graffiti and deterioration of walls.

* Monument signs: These marble and stucco signs with gold-leaf lettering will be added to the main entrances to the city, next to the new palms, welcoming people who drive in from Buena Park and Cerritos.

Part of the campaign is about rejuvenating a city that is beginning to show its age, said City Manager Daniel E. Keen.

La Palma was first incorporated as Dairyland in 1955. Black and white photographs in City Hall depict a vast stretch of farmland and cows, and a sketchy dirt road at what is now the major intersection of Valley View Street and La Palma Avenue.

“Our city now is getting up to where the majority of the homes and public buildings are between 30 and 35 years old,” said Mayor Kenneth Blake. “We’re just trying to modernize the look of the city with the understanding that if the city looks nice, people are going to want to move there, which keeps value up in the homes.”

Keen added that when the City Hall staff looked at La Palma, “we saw a community that had developed its image haphazardly over time. There was no real consistency from one element to another.”

They decided to turn to the private sector for help.

Hawkins Advertising and Public Relations in Newport Beach was hired in 1997 to survey residents on the city’s needs and to help create a consistent identity.

Company President Janet Hawkins said her company has been helping cities like La Palma buff their images for 15 years. In some cases, cities are trying to attract more businesses to boost their sales tax revenue. Glendale is using her firm to help attract entertainment-oriented businesses by placing ads in entertainment media and emphasizing the city’s unique character to commercial real estate brokers.

In many cases, that means keeping property values up, by keeping the city and its homes attractive and distinct. In La Palma’s case, it’s also a matter of reassuring residents that they live in a pretty nice city, she added.

“Everything Irvine promotes itself to be, La Palma has been for the last 30 years,” said Hawkins. “Very family-oriented, tons of activities for kids, adults, seniors. Impeccable maintenance of the city itself.”

Despite the density, residents here liken their city to a small town, an oasis of friendliness in the middle of highly developed suburbs. And they hope that image will be on display as people drive through here on their way to somewhere else.

“It’s like being in Mayberry, USA,” said Duane Schuster, a former mayor who served on a citizens committee that worked on the campaign. “I could walk into Ralphs, and it takes me 45 minutes to buy a loaf of bread. You know everybody.”

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Symbol of the City

The city of La Palma, which changed its name more than 30 years ago, is trying to bring city reality in line with that name. Planting palm trees at the city’s entrances is part of a campaign to help residents’ civic pride.

La Palma Particulars

Incorporated: As Dairyland, Oct. 26, 1955

Name change: To La Palma, Feb. 2, 1965

Size: 1.9 square miles

Population: Approx. 16,000

Motto: “City of Vision”

Flower: Daisy

New Icon

At the heart of drive toward civic renewal is adoption of the palm tree as the city’s official symbol. Pygmy palms are the variety that has been chosen:

Pygmy date palm

Phoenix roebelenii

This is a small, slow-growing, delicate feather palm from Laos that grows to about 6 feet. It is a houseplant anywhere and can be grown successfully outdoors in Orange County’s coastal climate zones. it likes moisture and does best in at least partial shade.

Source: City of La Palma, Times research