A blogger who calls himself Los Angeles City Nerd posted this piece on his Web site on March 6, 2006. Where he got some of his information we do not know, because he did not cite all his sources. Shame, shame.
Annexation of Palms
On the same day that 168 square miles of the San Fernando Valley annexed itself to Los Angeles, four square miles of the county community of Palms did the same.
It was a year after a failed attempt in the small community caused the petition to be gerrymandered to exclude the strongest opponents (a practice that still occurs today!).
What makes it truly interesting is that there was a cry the following year, not from the Valley, but from Palms — saying that the annexation to Los Angeles would not benefit the community. For 10 years, a battle went on, stalling much-needed public works projects like resurfacing and sewer construction.
In 1925, it was finally settled, paving the way (pun intended!) for the long-awaited improvements.
Later, in 1966, again the controversy of annexation swirled around the small Westside community of Palms. Residents and business people proposed to annex 40 acres of Palms to Culver City. The area was bound by Venice & Washington, east of Overland. By this time, the L.A. City Council and LAFCO [the Local Agency Formation Commission] had to approve the proposal before it could go for a vote of the people.
This annexation debate that swirled around Palms for the last 90 years comes up again in the form of the Neighborhood Council boundaries of the Palms NC related to those of the Mar Vista NC.
Currently, the community of Westside Village is within the boundaries of the Mar Vista NC but feels it would be better served by the Palms NC.
It seems that Palms has the distinction of being sought by all for almost a century!
What's in Palms that so many have missed? Is it the Museum of Jurassic Technology or the Ivy Substation (in L.A. but leased to Culver City in 1987 for 10 years with a 10-year extension)? [Editor's note: Actually, it was a 40-year lease, which will expire in 2027.)
Maybe it's the community's desire to get their own park — everyone wants to be able to say they did it. (Yes, there is no park in the Palms community, technically.) [Editor's note: Actually, the vest-pocket Woodbine Park east of Motor fills that lack for the folks who live in the area or sleep in the park overnight.]
(By the way, what ever happened to the Palms Chamber of Commerce, formed in 1907? Did it go the way of the Echo Park Chamber?)
