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THE
HISTORY
La
Palma is all that its founder hoped it wouldn't
be.
A
group of dairy farmers launched the city as "Dairyland"
in 1955 in an effort to keep their land from tract-home
developers. The farmers agreed that Dairyland
- agricultural since the mid-1800s - should stay
that way.
They
zoned their city to excluded housing developments,
and the area continued to be dominated by cows,
chickens and strawberry fields.
But
by the mid-1960s Dairyland farmers decided their
land had become too valuable to remain wholly
agricultural. They changed the city's name to
La Palma in 1964 and drafted a master plan with
well-defined residential, commercial and industrial
areas. Developers were welcomed.
Today,
people completely have crowded out La Palma's
livestock. The only dairy cow left in town is
on the city seal.
Housing
tracts cover much of the city, which, covering
only 1.76 square miles, is the smallest in Orange
County in terms of land size. Small shopping centers
dot the streets, and there is a modest industrial
park. City staff members say they expect a wealth
of new jobs and sales tax revenue to be generated
by Centerpointe La Palma, a business industrial
and recreational complex in the northern part
of the city.
Although
the days of sweet milk and jumbo eggs are gone
in La Palma, some residents say one thing hasn't
change: their pride in their city.
To
show their town spirit, La Palma holds more seasonal
events than some cities several times its size.
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