Deputy Bangkok governor Asawin Kwanmuang and Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) officials yesterday held talks with residents of the Mahakan Fort community, asking them to vacate their homes but pledging to consider their demands.
Mr Asawin said he would further discuss the community's demands with city officials today.
The talk were suggested last Friday by a sub-panel on the Committee for the Conservation of Rattanakosin and Old Town as a step to evict the remaining residents.
The panel gave the go-ahead to the BMA to bulldoze the century-old community to pave the way for a public park.
The approval must be carried out under the condition that authorities convince residents to leave the area so the city can proceed with the park, Sakchai Boonma, from the Department of Public Works said.
If residents agreed to vacate their homes, demolition work will start next month.
In the initial stage, authorities plan to tear down around 40 homes where the owners have already received full compensation, he said, adding other homes would be demolished once agreements with the owners are reached. Mr Sakchai said around 20 affected residents have registered with authorities to relocate to apartments provided by the National Housing Authority.
Earlier, a group of residents who have been affected by the BMA's plans petitioned members of the old town committee, asking for permission to stay.
Bovornvate Rungrujee, who chairs the sub-panel, said the body decided to allow the BMA to pursue its plans after last Friday's meeting.
The fate of the Pom Mahakan community had been sealed, said Mr Bovornvate, as the plans to turn the fort into a public park date back to 1960.
Mr Bovornvate said the sub-panel made the decision based on information which was presented by BMA officials, saying City Hall based its claims on the Land Reclamation Act which allows the state to use plots for public purposes such as the park.
Mr Bovornvate personally doesn't agree with the BMA's plans to build the park in a closed site behind the fort's wall, citing security issues.
Architecture lecturer Chatri Prakitnonthakan, who conducted research on the community in 2006, said the BMA meeting with the community yesterday was "only a cosmetic step to legitimise the eviction plan".
Mr Chatri said the sub-panel could oppose the BMA's planned eviction if they found the city conservation and development master plan archaic.