ROSSMOOR : Resident Must Keep Aphid-Infested Tree

Directors of the Rossmoor Community Services District have denied a request by a resident to remove an aphid-infested ash tree in front of his house.

The directors voted 3 to 1 Wednesday to deny Robert Quaid’s request to cut down the tree, which he said has attracted aphids secreting a black, glue-like substance that has made the sidewalk in front of his Hedwig Road house slippery and dangerous.

“Trees are very important to this community,” said John Hunt, president of the five- member board, which runs this unincorporated community. “The policy is not to cut down a tree unless it’s dying.”

Hunt, however, cast the lone vote against the motion to deny Quaid’s request because he said it did not include a provision to buy equipment that could be loaned to residents seeking to wash the sticky substance from their driveways and sidewalks.

Director Joyce Bloom was absent.

Quaid had told the directors he was worried he would be held liable if someone were to fall and get hurt after stepping on the substance, which sticks to the soles of shoes and is hard to remove.

Three of Quaid’s neighbors on Hedwig Road have also complained to the district about the aphid droppings.

But Bill Sheldon, the district’s general manager, said the problem is common in Southern California at this time of the year. He said that a county arborist determined the tree was healthy and there was no reason to remove it. He said that the aphid secretion is sticky, but not slippery, and can be washed off with soapy water.

Quaid said he is not against trees, only this particular tree.

“What’s this love affair with this tree?” he asked. “I don’t think that it’s right that a tree is more important than the residents.”