Park benches will soon return to Selby Five Points Park, and city officials say they may even bring in more seating connected to local cafes. Sarasota city commissioners on Monday voted unanimously to reintroduce benches, more than four years after the last ones were taken out in an effort to deter vagrants from congregating there. “Just get the benches back,” said Sarasota City Commissioner Suzanne Atwell, “and we will see what happens.” Atwell, who was part of the vote in June 2011 to remove the last of the benches, said the decision was made then because individuals using the benches made it impossible for other residents to enjoy the park. Now, the city has several projects in the works aimed at activating the park with greater pedestrian activity.

City Manager Tom Barwin said he has already spoken with some adjacent businesses, notably a Starbucks location facing the northeast corner of the downtown park, about bringing tables and seating. That’s a very different approach than the city has taken on such issues in the past, not just in terms of treatment of the homeless but also when expanded al fresco dining generated controversy of its own. Barwin asked that the commission allow time for city staff and private sector partners to experiment with different uses of the park.

The decision to restore seating comes as opinion among some neighbors living near the park has also shifted. Peter Fanning, chair of the residents’ committee for the Downtown Sarasota Association and former president of the Downtown Sarasota Condominium Association, said the benches have stayed out longer than anyone anticipated. Meanwhile, homeless individuals have continued to use the park, but instead have laid on and trampled upon the grass there instead. “We need to reassert the rights of taxpayers who want the park for something more than dogwalking,” he said. Fanning also felt a greater way to deter problems was to have law enforcement present more often.

But much about the future of Five Points remains up for debate. Commissioner Susan Chapman said what parks throughout the city truly need is more planned positive uses. “This is not just about benches and just about seating,” she said. “The problem with the parks is there is no recreation or activation programming.” Having that sort of use, she said, will deter illicit activity like drug transactions and loitering. But Commissioner Shelli Freeland Eddie said some residents may not welcome the noise and environment of constant programming either. “Some people just want a place to sit and read and don't need activities,” she said. “They just need peace and air. I hope that is part of the equation.”