CLEARWATER — Clearwater City Council returns Thursday night to a fight over a stretch of South Garden Avenue that it voted to hand to the Church of Scientology in June, after opponents collected enough petition signatures to force the ordinance back onto the agenda.
The 6 p.m. meeting at City Hall, 200 S. Myrtle Ave., includes action on Referendum Petition 26-01. Election officials verified 7,577 valid signatures — more than the 7,067 the city charter requires — and the deputy city clerk certified the petition as sufficient on Oct. 13, FOX 13 reported.
Under the charter, council can repeal the ordinance. If it does not, the charter calls for a special election within 90 to 150 days. A pending Florida attorney general opinion on whether state law allows this kind of right-of-way decision to go to a referendum could still reshape what happens next.
What the June vote did
In June, council voted 3-2 to conditionally vacate roughly 470 feet of public right-of-way along South Garden Avenue so the Church of Scientology could connect property for its planned L. Ron Hubbard Hall, an auditorium and event space tied to the church's downtown headquarters. The transfer was approved at no cost to the church.
Supporters have argued the move improves pedestrian safety and that the church already owns much of the surrounding land. Opponents say Garden Avenue is a public route that helps relieve beach-bound traffic and is one of only a few direct ways into downtown.
"Garden Avenue is a vital public access way that relieves beach traffic and is one of only four direct access routes into our downtown core," Save the Garden campaign director Brooks Gibbs said when the group delivered its signatures.
Organizers submitted more than 10,000 signatures in September. After an earlier petition effort saw thousands of names tossed for registration problems, the group said it audited signatures against Clearwater voter rolls before filing again. The City Council agreed to send the petition to the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections for verification.
Streets beyond Garden Avenue
The dispute has spilled into other downtown streets. Council also voted 3-2 to vacate portions of Laura Street, Grove Street and an alley for a proposed $50 million EVO Entertainment Center backed by the church, with movie theaters, bowling, laser tag and an arcade. Developers have said closing those rights-of-way is needed so families can move between parking and the complex without crossing active roads.
"For the last year we've been warning the City Council that they're coming for our streets," Gibbs said after the Garden Avenue petition was filed. "It's not just Garden Avenue."
Mayor Bruce Rector has framed the core issue as who owns public pavement. "The citizens of the city of Clearwater own that street," he said during a recent debate. "It's not anyone's to bargain or negotiate with."
A Church of Scientology spokesperson previously said construction on the L. Ron Hubbard Hall site was underway after buildings were demolished and debris cleared, and argued a petition cannot lawfully undo approvals already granted. Save the Garden has disputed that reading, saying voters could still force the street back to its prior status.
What to expect Thursday
Thursday's agenda asks council to reconsider the Garden Avenue ordinance after the certified petition. Previous Scientology-related meetings have drawn large early crowds, and speakers on both sides have complained about who gets into the chambers first.
Watch for whether council repeals the vacation, leaves it in place toward a possible special election, or leans on the pending attorney general guidance before deciding how far a referendum can go.
Details drawn from the City of Clearwater Nov. 5 council agenda, Pinellas petition certification records and local reporting.