| Female Ginkgo Tree Removal Policy
(Revised November, 2005)
The Urban Forestry Administration (UFA) has established a new policy for property owners who are concerned about the yearly inconvenience caused by the offensive odor and mess associated with falling female Ginkgo tree fruit. Currently, UFA sprays these trees with a mild pesticide each spring to halt fruit development. Some residents are not satisfied with this practice because the treatment is not always effective and sometimes difficult to complete within the tight time window available; still others are concerned about pesticide use.
UFA has developed a process that will allow property owners to decide, on a block-by-block basis, if they wish to have Ginkgo trees removed, and replanted with male Ginkgo trees, which do not produce fruit. However, before any determination will be made to remove the tree the following criteria must be met:
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The abutting property owner must concur with the proposed removal.
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The tree must be a female Ginkgo tree exhibiting a current year fruit problem.
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The heaviest fruiting trees, per block, will be considered for removal first.
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No more than 20 percent of the total trees on any given block will be removed in any given year. If the problem exceeds 20 percent of the block, a removal rotation will be planned.
If the above criteria are met the process to request a tree removal is as follows:
- Submit a petition to UFA identifying the tree(s) in question, and the name, address, and contact number of all the property owners on that block. Each property owner on the block must sign to agree or disagree with the petition, and only one "vote" per property will be accepted in the final count. If a signature is not provided for a particular address, UFA will assume that the property owner(s) at this address do not agree with the petition. You may use this sample spreadsheet* to collect signatures.
- At least 60 percent of the property owners must agree with the proposed removal(s) for the petition to be considered. In the case of owner-occupied apartment buildings, a single vote from the governing body of the building will count as the vote for that property.
- Once this threshold is met, UFA will forward the petition to the elected City Council Member within the affected ward, as well as the Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC). The ANC will have 60 days to respond in writing.
- UFA will schedule the removals based on staffing levels and contract funding availability - usually within six months. Replanting will occur after removal in the next cycle's planting season.
Although UFA will continue its current practice of spraying female gingko trees each spring to retard fruit development, we hope this policy will offer an alternative for those who are not satisfied.
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