L.A. desperately needs more shade. So why were 77 palm trees planted near LACMA?

This summer, at least 77 new fan palms have been planted along two blocks of Wilshire Boulevard near the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

In 2006, the Los Angeles City Council decreed that the city should limit further planting of Mexican fan palms as street trees except to fill in gaps in existing plantings.

Several upcoming construction projects, including Metro’s East San Fernando Valley Light Rail Transit Project, will further decimate L.A. trees.

This summer, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the city’s Bureau of Street Services and Metro planted 77 new Mexican fan palms on Wilshire Boulevard, mostly along the sidewalk and medians outside the museum’s new David Geffen Galleries.

Local environmentalists, who are lobbying hard for more shade trees in L.A., are decrying the deci