A Lawrenceville neighborhood is taking actions to evict one of its newer residents.  It’s a three-and-a-half foot alligator that’s taken up residence at Dunlin Lake.

Neighbors first spotted it late last summer, but the reptile is too small for the Department of Natural Resources to remove.  So, the homeowners association has hired an experienced trapper that plans to relocate it.

Don Houchin can sometimes stand in his backyard and spot the gator swimming on the peaceful lake that includes a fountain and families of geese.

“It hasn’t really be much of a nuisance to the neighborhood... it’s pretty docile, doesn’t seem to be real aggressive at this point,” he tells WSB’s Sandra Parrish.

But Houchin realizes the gator will only get bigger, and then there’s the problem of those who feed it.

“If you’re going to feed an alligator, then he’s eventually going to start assuming that humans are associated with food,” he says.

Houchin says speculation is the gator used to be someone's pet and was dumped in the lake.

A trapper with Southeastern Reptile Rescue plans to be in the neighborhood next week.