Smelly Tree Upsets La Grange Neighborhood

LA GRANGE, IL – A ginkgo tree in a La Grange neighborhood creates a stench that a resident said Monday is overpowering.

At a Village Board meeting, resident Jan Zivkovich Kinsley pleaded with trustees to take action. The tree is in the village's right-of-way in the 500 block of Ninth Avenue.

During autumn, the fallen seeds from female ginkgo trees are known to cause a smell similar to that of rancid butter.

Because of the smell, neighbors are unable to hold block parties during that time and must use their air conditioners, rather than open their windows, Kinsley said.

Each year, she said, the resident with the tree in front wears rubber boots while cleaning up the seeds and power-washing the sidewalk.

"If you think I'm exaggerating what the smell is like, I have a Ziploc bag full of the seeds," Kinsley said. "I didn't bring it in tonight because I'm trying to be polite."

Last year, the neighborhood submitted a formal complaint to the public works department. The village sent out an arborist, who acknowledged the smell and stated such trees are unsuitable for a neighborhood, Kinsley said.

But the village has yet to remove the tree.

"The village has created a nuisance and made a mistake by planting these trees," Kinsley said. "This is the last straw for me. I am retired. I want to sit on my deck in the fall and not smell this stench."

Village President Mark Kuchler said the village has heard complaints about the Ninth Avenue tree, as well as others in town.

"I would like to stop the planting of ginkgo trees to avoid the error," Kuchler said.

He said he wanted an appeal process for the purpose of responding to such complaints. He said he hoped the village had such a procedure in place by spring.