Hello :)
I had a sour cherry tree on my front lawn which my city deemed as a nuisance tree and cut it down. I imagine the roots are still alive and keeping since I now have close to 15-20mini trees sprouting every couple of weeks. When I tried to pull them out the entire root would come out and I'd have to cut it off and repatch my lawn. I managed to do this to many of the trees this summer, in the process I believed I would be killing the roots, but I guess not entirely, since the trees continue to sprout. The city left the stump of the tree and will be coming back to grind it down, but it is still a stump. How can I stop the roots from sprouting trees? Preferably without pesticides? How do I permanently kill this tree?
Thank you kindly,
Sara

Drill numerous 3/4" holes in the stump. Fill them with "stump remover" a jar of powder, available at most hardware stores. The product contains potassium chloride. It will dry out the stump and allow it to be burned out to the root tips! The fire created is more like burning a charcoal fire. It is a dull glow overnight. The next morning...all gone! Another remedy i've been told is to put "drano" in the holes. This will kill the roots and rot the stump over a period.

Why put yourself at risk?

Since the city started this, let them finish it. I don't know what type of governmental structure you live with, but if you have to, call up the mayor, explain what happened, and ask when the crew will be back to finish the job.

Keep calling till something's done, it's a lot easier than fooling with chemicals or fire.