Do Palm Trees Belong In Los Angeles?

"Two weeks ago, the City Council unanimously passed a motion to limit the planting of palms on city streets and medians. The city's Department of Public Works has declared that the palm...is not a tree at all but a lowly species of grass...Others have defended L.A.'s palms on the grounds that they are emblematic of the city and give us a much-needed sense of place. I disagree...Rather than a sense of place, palm trees give us a sense of placelessness...They are all about pretension. And, if nothing else, L.A. is among the most pretentious of cities."