While the Church of Scientology seems set to continue expanding its "spiritual headquarters" in downtown Clearwater, a citizen campaign is racing to reverse the city council's decision enabling their latest development.
The council twice cleared the way for Scientology's long-proposed L. Ron Hubbard Hall, both times by a 3 to 2 margin.
The decision requires the city hand over a block of South Garden Avenue for the church's long-proposed L. Ron Hubbard Hall, an all-glass auditorium and plaza.
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In response, grassroots group Save the Garden is racing against time to collect over 7,000 signatures on two petitions. One would undo that decision, the second would require similar proposals have to be voted on by the public in the future.
Their opposition centers around what's seen as the church's five-decade, outsized presence in downtown Clearwater, which some residents say stalls downtown revitalization efforts and small business development.
Save the Garden campaign manager Brooks Gibbs said the Clearwater City Council is choosing the "dangling carrot" of potential private investment over public interest.
"They're willing to give up core public assets like Garden Avenue," Brooks said. "So, it's always the promise of something great in exchange for more land. That's the game Scientology plays."
One volunteer, who wished to remain anonymous, was a young adult when the Church of Scientology came to town. In 1975, she said the Church's Flag Service Organization bought the Fort Harrison Hotel and the historic Clearwater Bank Building "deceitfully," using the moniker United Church of Florida.
"For a while, there was a lot of pushback against them, and then people became apathetic," she said. "With this last vacation request, we just said, 'That's enough; we're going to fight it.'"
Property rights versus public interest
The church, individual parishioners and linked organizations own an estimated 200 downtown Clearwater properties, and the Tampa Bay Times found three-quarters of those holdings are tax-exempt.
One Clearwater resident stopped outside the East Community Library to sign both petitions, and he cited those tax loopholes as a key reason.
"The problem with Scientologists is they pay no taxes and require all these services from the city," he said. "They're just sucking the life blood out of people who are paying their way."
The Clearwater City Clerk threw out over half the signatures on a previous ballot amendment petition — some signatories weren't registered voters, so volunteers are making sure to watch that closely this time around.
Save the Garden is also intent on preserving Clearwater's Black history, proposing a walking tour and public commemorative park on the section of South Garden Avenue in question.
"The Garden" was a Black-owned business hub from the 1880s through the mid-20th century.
Nearby Cleveland Street is a designated Community Redevelopment Area, a low-income taxing district open for investment proposals.
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There are currently 17 soon-to-be-vacant, Pinellas County-owned properties in downtown Clearwater.
Save the Garden volunteers said the Board of County Commissioners should prioritize affordable housing and community spaces when considering what to do with those buildings.
"They're always making decisions in favor of developers," one woman said. "People are going to be suspicious."
A Church of Scientology spokeswoman told WUSF the Flag Service Organization only launched its downtown development activities after the city government's own revitalization efforts failed.
"Clearwater has never experienced this level of coordinated private redevelopment or attracted this caliber of tenants," she said. "Those are the developments that are transforming Clearwater today."
Concerns are also swirling around the Cleveland Street Alliance, a Scientology-affiliated real estate coalition currently championing an EVO Entertainment complex downtown.
The $50 million family entertainment center would include the world's largest movie screen, an arcade, laser tag and bowling.
Laura Street, a mile and a half miles from the potential L. Ron Hubbard Hall site, is currently closed for that project. One resident said she'd met mail carriers who now pay $60 a month in parking so they can get to work on time.
Uthmeier weighs in
In May 2025, the Church withdrew its first right-of-way transfer request for South Garden Avenue amidst public backlash.
That July, the Tampa Bay Times reported on a memorandum from then-City Attorney David Margolis, who said the city owned the street and the church would have to pay fair market value for the property.
While the church's real estate proposal is already robust, parishioners, speaking at public comment periods at ensuing meetings, insisted the L. Ron Hubbard Hall is a necessary gathering space to protect Scientologists from religious discrimination.
City Council member David Allbritton, who twice approved the street handover, criticized Save the Garden and other critics for pointing out the historic nature of the block.
"They're bringing the Black card," he told WUSF, adding that those opponents have ideological motives stemming from their dislike of Scientology.
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"You may not like some religions. That's fine — but they have a right to be here, like any other church."
At the Church's urging, Allbritton asked Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier for his opinion in November 2025.
Uthmeier, also cautioning the city against making its decisions based on "religious animus," said Scientology "likely owned" the block. He cited 1922 records showing property owners on either side of the road own the ground beneath.
Margolis had acknowledged this, but he concluded that the city still had rights to the road since it had maintained it for at least four years.
"Why does James Uthmeier have a role in what goes on in our city council?" another resident questioned.
She pointed to campaign finance records showing Patricia Duggan, a Republican and Church of Scientology megadonor, gave $1 million to the Florida Freedom Fund, a PAC Uthmeier chairs.
