Save the Garden, a group formed last year after the Church of Scientology sought a right-of-way transfer from the city for a project it had been planning, has submitted 8,000 petitions to the Clearwater Clerk’s Office for verification, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
The petitions seek a city ordinance that would establish new protocols for public right-of-way transfers. Under the city charter, the Clerk now has 20 days to verify the petitions. If the petitions are verified successfully, the issue will head first to the City Council for consideration. If the City Council decides not to move forward with the proposed ordinance, the matter would then head to voters to decide.
The petition’s proposed ordinance would require voter approval of public right-of-way vacations in the city’s Downtown Community Redevelopment Area, which includes the site the Church of Scientology had sought. Voters would be asked to approve such vacations in either a regularly scheduled municipal election or in a special referendum.
At issue is a now defunct proposal for the city to sell a portion of South Garden Avenue to the Church of Scientology for $1.375 million with the intent of closing that portion of the street. The church owns adjacent property and wants to build an auditorium and park. The church sought to shut down that area of the street because leaders say it’s not safe to have vehicle traffic between the two projects.
The Church has since withdrawn its petition for the portion of Garden Avenue, but previously indicated it could refile.
The issue has drawn attention from on high, with Attorney General James Uthmeier twice weighing in.
First, Uthmeier sent a letter to Mayor Bruce Rector warning him that making a decision based on discriminatory reasons — because the petition was from the Church — would violate state law. Uthmeier then sent another letter in response to City Council member David Allbritton’s inquiry into who owns land under the portion of South Garden Avenue at issue.
Uthmeier’s second letter, sent in December, fully sided with the Church, indicating that they own the land.
Under the proposed ordinance regarding public land vacations, the transfer request would have to be publicly needed, such as to improve transit or for stormwater management. It would block right-of-way transfers of ownership or that would establish exclusive use by any private or religious entity, language clearly meant to include the Church of Scientology, which owns a significant amount of land in downtown Clearwater, many of which remain vacant.
