A controversial sign displayed at Gainesville's Union Street Farmers' Market during the last few weeks has been removed.
The sign stated that certain picnic tables in the Downtown Community Plaza were reserved for paying customers on Wednesdays during market hours.
However, local homeless regularly gather at those tables.
A compromise was reached Tuesday between homeless advocates and Farmers' Market representatives while mediators from the Gainesville Police Department oversaw the meeting.
As a result, the sign will not be displayed again.
Homeless advocate Pat Fitzpatrick said he believes the sign was used to relocate the homeless from one of their usual spots.
Charlie Lybrand, director of the Farmers' Market, said the sign was there to allow patrons a place to sit and eat the food they bought at the market.
Lybrand said businesses should have a right to promote their products, and that the sign was not intended to be discriminatory.
As part of the compromise, vendors from the Farmers' Market are allowed to "respectfully" ask people to leave the food court area if they are not spending any money, said Joe Jackson, UF legal services professor.
The condition is that they must do it in a respectful manner without singling people out because they look homeless, Jackson said.
