FAIRHOPE, Ala. — Edwin Skinner pointed at the dozen orange ribbons hanging from limbs and branches of the live oak tree towering behind his antique shop on Section Street.

“I first saw them about six to eight weeks ago,” he said, of where the tree will be cut to make way for a Hampton Inn on property being developed by Fairhope Hospitality Group LLC.

He bought his business in September 2005, and then learned that the city had apparently approved the hotel’s site plan.

Recenty, the city has asked new questions about the impact of the proposed hotel on the tree. The tree has a diameter of 54 to 59 inches, making it a “significant tree” with enhanced protections under city law, according to reports prepared by two arborists. Such trees require additional review and procedures before they can be cut, trimmed or removed.

After explaining how the construction flags got him asking questions, Skinner pointed to the tree’s large canopy hanging over his store.

“I was alarmed at finding that the east side could not be disturbed,” he said, referring to a Sept. 25 City Council meeting, which seemed to endorse a report by Formwalt’s Tree Service of Mobile and requested by the developer, to mainly cut limbs and branches on the west side of the tree.

Skinner said he was concerned that pruning only one side would make the tree unbalanced, possibly killing it, causing it to fall on his building.

After that meeting, Skinner contacted adjacent property owner Susan Davis, who owns Fairhope Newstand next to his antique store.

“I called Gary (Ickes) that night on his cell,” she said, referring to the owner of Ickes Tree Service of Silverhill. “He came out that Wednesday and did a very thorough job.”

He prepared a report at her request, she said, giving a second opinion about the tree, and how the interests of all property owners could be considered when deciding how to protect the tree.

Those two reports and responses by the hotel developer to the city’s recommendations were the subject of a sometimes heated meeting of the city Tree Commission on Friday, Oct. 12.

The meeting was called by Jennifer Fidler, city horticulturist and public works director, pursuant to the city’s tree ordinance, which requires both her review and approval, as well as of the city planner, of site plans affecting existing trees prior to the issuance of building permits. It was part of a process that included an Oct. 8 memorandum and briefing to the City Council at a work session before the council meeting that night.

“In summary, in light of the City Council recommendations and guidance, I see no other choice but to abide by the city’s governing body and approve the site plan,” Fidler’s memorandum states. “I would request all recommendations presented in Forwalt’s, Ickes’ and my letter to be followed, except the recommendations that would ‘kill’ the project.”

At the Oct. 12 meeting, a letter from Charlie Bassett of Fairhope Hospitality Group was discussed, outlining his response to the city’s recommendations, including how to cut the limbs and protect the tree during construction of the hotel.

Bassett spoke loudly several times during the meeting when Ickes and others discussed making changes in the design of the hotel, such as raising the foundation over the root plate of the live oak.

“Then you’ll have a constituency rise up against the height variance needed for that,” he said. “If you delay it that much, this project goes away. It’s that simple.”

The Tree Commission took no action at the meeting, but Fidler was asked to prepare a Memorandum of Understanding based on the discussion that day about how plans for protecting the tree and enforcing them would proceed. Skinner and Davis, who attended the meeting and raised their concerns about the impact on their buildings, were told that their signatures would also be required on the document.

“I’m going to wait and see it before I decide whether to sign,” Davis said of the Memorandum of Understanding. “But I really believe that the hotel is the only thing that will save downtown Fairhope.”

Bassett said barring any more delays, construction of the hotel will start in November and be ready for occupancy in November 2008. He said construction of the adjacent parking deck, which will not take as long to build, will not start until after the Christmas shopping season.

Several people at the Oct. 12 meeting asked why they were hearing about the tree two years after site plans were approved.

“The city planner at that time did approve the site plans,” Fidler said, explaining how the site plans were approved without her review and acceptance. “But the problem was that no one realized at that time how big the tree really was, more than 100 feet in girth.”

Stankoski suggested that a panel be created to determine what happened and why, in order to learn from any mistakes that happened.

“If we’re going to be a tree city, we need to do it right at the start to be fair to everybody,” he said.