Some Oak Harbor city officials seem all-too-eager to weaken protections for our namesake Garry oak trees in an effort to keep a developer happy.

The most recent tree under attack is an inconvenience for the developer of a proposed 36-unit residential and mixed-used project downtown on Fidalgo Avenue.

To the developer’s credit, they have taken steps to protect the oak tree to some extent, coming up with a plan to prune away four of its six stumps. But critics point out correctly that this goes well beyond the common understanding of “pruning,” and could well jeopardize the life of an otherwise healthy tree.

The city’s ordinance to protect Garry oaks seems pretty clear in outlawing any such extensive pruning. At this juncture, the hearing examiner is pondering the proposal and whether it runs afoul of the tree ordinance. His decision will come early next year, but we can’t see how he can avoid ruling that the pruning as proposed goes too far.

It’s unfortunate the situation has come to this point. City staff erred in telling the developers that such extensive pruning was permissible. The intent of the ordinance is to protect trees, not let developers hack away at them to meet some ideal development plan to maximize profits.

Just about a block away is the city’s most famous oak tree located at the post office. Once slated to be cut down, the city council had second thoughts and decided to save it, investing thousands of dollars in road work, sidewalk work and landscaping to benefit the tree. And it seems to have worked. The tree looks healthier than it has in years and it has survived recent windstorms intact. The effort made to save the post office tree should have sent a message to city staff that we’re serious about saving Garry oaks in Oak Harbor.

Fortunately, in this case the developer’s heart is in the right place. They’re willing to listen to reason and express support for keeping this particular tree alive. And their project is otherwise just what this community needs: A residential building that will bring new life to downtown, ease somewhat the pressure to further subdivide the countryside, and boost the city’s tax base.

The mayor must show some leadership on this issue. Bring the developers and our save-the-trees community together to work out a plan where we can have both the tree and the development. And she should tell city staff that in the future developers should be told immediately that we have a tree ordinance and we’re going to enforce it, rather than helping them find ways around it.