Tree falls, dispute stands in Aurora neighborhood

After spending the winter in Florida, Bob Ballou and his wife, Pat, first heard the rumor when they returned in May to their upscale Aurora neighborhood.

A year earlier, the Ballous began battling their homeowners association to remove a 12-foot Austrian pine that obstructed the view from their back deck of the ninth green of the golf course at Stonebridge Country Club.

When the tree died, rumors began circulating it was poisoned. Bob Ballou, a retired Fortune 500 executive, emerged as a suspect.

"We were just getting out of our car and a neighbor ran over and said, 'The tree died, and you're being blamed.'æ" Ballou recalls.

Three months after the finger-pointing began, in a neighborhood dispute that later sparked a lawsuit, Ballou said he has proof the pine wasn't purposely harmed.

He sought out four tree experts, two of whom he paid, who agreed the pine died from improper planting, too much mulch and excessive moisture. Those factors caused it to rot, the experts found, which attracted boring insects and birds, or sap suckers, whose feeding deprived the pine of nutrients.

Though they couldn't rule out poison without lab tests, the experts said they did not find any obvious signs after examining a 6½-foot stump of the dead pine.

"To me, it's highly unlikely that it was poisoning," said Suzanne Abbott, a certified arborist with Abbott Tree Care Professionals in Wayne.

"Most trees that die from poisoning would also kill the insects feeding on it and there was a lot of insect activity," she said. "The tree also had been in poor health for a while. I don't know of any poison that kills slowly."

The Ballous moved into the 950-home Stonebridge subdivision's newest neighborhood -- The Village -- in July 2005. Ballou said he paid $560,000 for a townhouse that abuts the golf course.

A Stonebridge Community Association rule states that landscaping within 30 feet of golf course property cannot stand higher than 4 feet.

Fifteen months ago, Ballou said the pine had grown to above the view from his deck. So, after months of discussion, he and two neighbors last summer petitioned the association for its removal. He argued the pine, which wasn't in original landscaping plans, violated the rule.

Ballou said he offered to foot the bill for its removal.

Instead of issuing a decision, Stonebridge Board President Alex Conti referred Ballou to a sub-association board that governs The Village neighborhood.

Conti declined to comment, but in an Aug. 28, 2006, e-mail, he told Ballou all 19 neighborhoods must follow the 30-foot rule. He told Ballou in the e-mail that the main board would make a final determination.

One month later, Ballou made a second presentation, this time to the other board. Without explanation, his request was denied in a letter.

Weeks later, Ballou and his wife left for their winter home in Florida. They returned in May. Conti still hadn't responded. So, Ballou filed a lawsuit July 6 asking a judge to enforce the 30-foot rule.

The association's lawyer argues the tree is grandfathered because it was there when the developer turned over the subdivision to the homeowners association. Ballou's attorney countered that the rule existed since the mid-1980s at the start of Stonebridge and, thus, should be followed.

But before the suit was filed, rumors circulated that Ballou killed the tree. The Village's board issued a June 7 letter telling homeowners the vandalized pine would be replaced in the same spot at a cost of $2,000 to $5,000.

"The trunk has been drilled and a foreign toxic substance has been poured into it," the letter stated. "Toxic material also ran into the pond used for watering the golf course and has created contamination concerns."

A police report was filed. A $250 reward was offered. The letter didn't name Ballou. But neighbors such as Ron Bartkowski said they witnessed the rancor, including during a June 29 gathering on Ballou's deck when another homeowner shouted threats.

"Everyone seems to be finger-pointing at the Ballous," said Bartkowski, who issued his own letter to neighbors in opposition of replacing the pine at such a steep cost. "It's a shame people don't have anything better to do."

Robert Sergent, the Stonebridge Golf Club general manager, said rumors of pond contamination and dead fish are false. Ray Hughes, president of The Village's board, as well as other committee members, declined to comment.

"We really aren't interested in trying this in the newspaper," Hughes said.

The dead pine was cut down July 25. As it was being hauled off, Ballou snagged a large stump to show experts -- who explained the "drill" holes were made by sap suckers.

When asked why he would go to such lengths, including hiring a lawyer and experts, Ballou said the dispute is no longer just about a tree.

"It started out to be a simple matter of making them follow their rules," he said. "It got personal when we were subjected to threats, slander and defamation.

"We had friends who have stopped talking to us. We're not going to be forced out for fighting for our rights as homeowners to enjoy a golf course view. That's why we bought here."

The lawsuit is back in court later this month. DuPage Circuit Judge Bonnie Wheaton is presiding.