Tuesday, February 6, 1996

There's no dock planned at The Landings, the disputed student apartment complex going up on the southern outskirts of Gainesville next to Bivens Arm Nature Park. But a bridge is being erected.

It's not a bridge you can see, however. Rather, its presence is manifested in an unusual spirit of cooperation between environmentalists and developers, one that is designed to span the gap between ecological concerns and economic realities.

"The overall goal is to develop a win-win situation," said Mark Hostetler, a University of Florida doctoral candidate in zoology. "Too often, I think, there has been too much confrontation and not enough cooperation between the two camps, producing a situation in which one side wins, and one side loses. But I think there are ways you can work together, and one of the goals of this project is to build bridges with the developers."

Hostetler is coordinating a long-term study of the impact of The Landings at Bivens Arm -- a two phase project totaling 92 apartment units now under construction -- on the area's animal and plant communities. The 11 acre site borders the western edge of city-owned Bivens Arm park, a 57-acre combination oak hammock and marsh near the corner of SW 13th Street and Williston Road.

A team of some 18 UF graduate and undergraduate students, professors and other scientists, along with some volunteers from the general public, has been conducting studies at the site off and on since last summer. They've been surveying several categories of plants and animals to produce a data base from which to compare changes in the region over the next three to five years.

"From the censuring we're just trying to get an idea of what's out there, on the construction site and the buffer zone that separates the marsh from the development," said Hostetler, who last month helped conduct a follow-up inventory of birds that inhabit or visit the area. "The objective is to estimate the abundance and diversity of animals and plants... and to learn more about the ecological impacts of development on animal and plant communities."

Paula Cushing is with the group in charge of an arthropod survey. They're focusing mostly on the spider and ant communities, which she said seem to be good indicators of change in a disturbed habitat.

"I think it's naive for environmentalists and conservationists to think they can stop development, especially in a burgeoning state like Florida," said Cushing, a post-doctoral associate with UF's zoology department. "This project may be a bridge in opening the way for developers to be more sensitive to environmental issues, and how they can incorporate ecological principles into the developmental scheme so the impact is lessened."

Environmentalists and others have fought to stop the Landings project, fearing the apartment complex would damage the neighboring natural habitat and adversely affect traffic in the area. Opponents showed up at the site and at city commission and plan board meetings last year to speak out against rezoning that would allow the project to proceed. Some ecologists consider the site an important piece of habitat, Hostetler said, because it was believed to have served as a corridor between Biven's Arm Park and Paynes Prairie to the south.

But the city ultimately approved the project, and in early December clearing began at the nine-acre Phase I site. There, four buildings housing 80 two- to four-bedroom apartments are planned, along with a clubhouse, tennis and basketball courts and a swimming pool. Construction may start this spring on Phase II, a two-acre site off Williston Road that will feature 12 apartment units in two buildings.

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