CLEARWATER — The fight over a stretch of South Garden Avenue is headed to court. Save the Garden, the grassroots group whose petition forced the Church of Scientology street deal back before Clearwater City Council, has sued the city, asking a judge to make it either repeal the giveaway or put it to voters.
The lawsuit, filed this week, comes after council voted 3-2 on Nov. 5 to do neither, FOX 13 reported.
How we got here
In June, council voted 3-2 to vacate roughly 470 feet of South Garden Avenue so the church could connect property for L. Ron Hubbard Hall, an auditorium, plaza and broadcast venue estimated at $250 million. Save the Garden gathered signatures to challenge that ordinance. The Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections verified 7,577 of them, more than the 7,067 the city charter requires, and the city clerk certified the petition on Oct. 13.
Under the charter, that left council two choices: repeal the ordinance, or schedule a special election. At the Nov. 5 meeting, which we previewed here, the majority instead leaned on a Florida attorney general's office letter saying state law bars referendums on development orders and land development regulations.
What the lawsuit asks for
The suit argues the city broke its own charter. According to the group's summary of its petition to the court, it is asking a judge to declare that:
- giving away a public street is not a "development order," so the state ban on development referendums doesn't apply;
- the ordinance is an adopted ordinance voters can reconsider under the charter;
- the petition was legally sufficient as of Oct. 13; and
- the street vacation has been on hold since the petition was filed on Sept. 16.
It also asks the court to order the special election and to bar the city from issuing permits that close the street or allow private construction in it while the case plays out. The group says it expects the court fight to cost about $50,000 and is raising money for it.
"In the end, mark my words, the very guys that say they care about obeying the law are actually breaking the law right now, and a judge will tell them so," Save the Garden campaign director Brooks Gibbs told ABC Action News.
"All of our efforts are not for the hatred of Scientologists or Scientology," Gibbs told FOX 13. "It is truly for the love of Clearwater. We want to keep the streets open for the public."
What the city and the church say
City officials told ABC Action News they had not yet been served with the lawsuit and do not comment on pending litigation.
After the Nov. 5 vote, the Church of Scientology said it welcomed council's decision to reject the petition "as unlawful, in accordance with the opinion issued today by the Florida Attorney General." The church added: "The law has prevailed. L. Ron Hubbard Hall is moving forward." Construction on the project is already underway.
Why the date matters
The charter requires a special election 90 to 150 days after a petition is certified. Counting from Oct. 13, that window runs from about mid-January to March 12, 2027. That's why the group is asking for a fast ruling: if a judge sides with it too late, the window the charter sets could close.
This isn't the group's first trip to court. It sued over an earlier petition effort in federal court and dropped that case in July after a judge denied a preliminary injunction.
We'll follow the case and update when a hearing is set.