Records of the Friends of Lake Alice

Collection

Identifier: MS Coll. 144

Staff Only

Scope and Content

The Records of Alice's Friends contain legal and administrative records, mostly related to the organization's 1996 to 1999 challenge against the University of Florida's plan to build married and graduate student housing on the shores of Lake Alice. The collection is primarily paper based, and it includes the organization's petition against the building plans, legal documents and notes, and letters and correspondence with local and state officials. The organization also kept notes on their research, including correspondence with environmental and bat experts. Also included are materials used for community outreach, including original drawings and flyers for rallies. There are publications and newspaper articles-both original and photocopied-dealing with Alice's Friends' challenge and the importance of Lake Alice to the local community. Photographs and slides show the site, as well as rallies organized to preserve the area.

Dates

Creation: 1953 - 2005
Creation: Majority of material found within 1997 - 1999

Creator

Tanzer, Kim. (Person)

Access

University Archives collections are available for research. Portions of the collections may be restricted due to the requirements of applicable state and federal laws, including but not limited to FERPA and HIPAA, and in accordance with best practices as defined by the Society of American Archivists.

This collection contains restricted financial records and mailing lists, including email addresses. Folders 26 and 27 are restricted; researchers should consult with University Archives staff before using these folders.

Biographical/Historical Note

Alice's Friends, sometimes called the Friends of Lake Alice, was formed in June 1994 in Gainesville, FL in response to the University of Florid's plan to move student housing to the shore of Lake Alice. The organization was headed by Ary J. Lamme, III, a geography professor at the University of Florida, and it included University faculty and students, nearby Golfview Neighborhood residents, and Gainesville residents. They held rallies protesting the construction plans; although the University initially chose not to move existing housing to the site, site 2-22 was soon designated to be used for "Family Housing" in the 1995 Campus Master Plan. In 1996, Ary Lamme filed a petition on behalf of himself, the residents of Golfview Neighborhood Association, and Alice's Friends, challenging the University's construction plans. From 1996 to 1999, Alice's Friends garnered grass roots support, took legal action, and proposed alternative uses for the site that would preserve the environment-including the colony of bats living in the bat house onsite-and best serve the area's natural beauty. The dispute was referred from the Metropolitan Transportation Planning Organization to the Gainesville City Commission and the Alachua County Commission, and ultimately to the Florida Cabinet in Tallahassee. Alice's Friends' efforts were successful, and on December 8, 1998, the Cabinet and Governor Lawton Chiles ruled in Alice's Friends' favor.

Sources:

Alice's Friends. "Chronology of Events Concerning UF Site 2-22/4-22, Also Known as Bat House Field." 1998. TS, Records of Alice's Friends, University of Florida Archives.

Extent

2 Linear Feet (2 Records Boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Alice's Friends' administrative records and notes, as well as newspaper clippings and legal documents. The collection mostly relates to the organization's successful challenge against the University of Florida's 1995 plan to build student housing on the shores of Lake Alice.

Location

University of Florida Smathers Library Building.

Acquisition Information

The collection was created by Kim Tanzer. Alice's Friends' Board agreed to donate collection and their records, and Kim Tanzer gave her own personal documents as well. The University Archives is the repository for Alice's Friends' records and will continue to receive their annual Board minutes.

Processing Information

Arrangement and description of the Records of Alice's Friends Collection was done by Hannah Glynn from August to December of 2018. The collection cannot be fully appraised without a Deed of Gift; only immediate preservation issues were removed. Post-it notes were removed and all text was transferred to the page in brackets.