Residents, city council members, and Church of Scientology have been locked in a tug of war on parts of the road in downtown Clearwater since city leaders voted in March to approve temporary approval of the sale of the land to the church.
The church requested that the city buy a street owned in May after the group provided a counter proposal commemorating African-American history. What seemed like a hyperlocal debate over the future of Scientology’s downtown footprint has attracted the attention of Florida Attorney General.
James Usmierer last month wrote to Clearwater Mayor Bruce Rector about the sale of part of South Garden Avenue. Despite never using the term “Scientology” in his letter, he wrote that comments made by the president during a recent city council work session suggested a “unconstitutional” stance on the church.
“My role as the state’s chief justice officer will force you to warn you with this example because discriminatory motivations seem to contaminate council decisions,” Uthmeier’s letter states. “If discrimination forms the basis for a decision to refuse or limit restrictions on recognition, such a decision would violate Florida law.”
He wrote that he learned that his office had agreed to vacate the land on the condition that the church was developing other downtown properties.
The company linked to the Church of Scientology has purchased at least 200 properties within downtown Clearwater since 2017.
Residents and city council members oppose the church’s buying more land say Scientology’s property is an empty storefront that has hampered the growth of downtown.
The mayor of Clearwater said the facts in the Attorney General’s letter were wrong. He learned that a letter was coming from Uthmeier’s office, he said, but he didn’t know exactly what it would say.
This week, the president said he spoke to Uthmeier’s office to explain the situation and correct the assumptions.
“We are not the enemy in this,” the president said. “It’s a local issue. They’re not going to be involved in local issues, but they’ve received complaints.”
The president doesn’t know who sent the complaint, but he has an idea, he said.
The Attorney General’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Danaya Wright, a professor of constitutional law at the University of Florida, said the city council must make decisions that are in the best interest of the community. Selling publicly owned land to private companies requires careful care.
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“I don’t think (the city) has an obligation to turn backwards to give them open land,” Wright said.
The city council must assess how the entity uses other property and what taxpayer benefits are, she said.
“If you make a commitment about development and then you don’t do that, that’s related information,” Wright said.
Brooks Gibbs, part of the Save the Garden Coalition, has proposed a plan to commemorate African-American history at Clearwater, and has issued a statement in response to a letter from the Attorney General.
“We will meet with city officials to discuss the next steps to continue to fully utilize the streets for Clearwater citizens, while keeping the garden monument alive through public-private partnerships,” Gibbs wrote. “We continue to move forward with determination.”
The president said that Uthmeier’s office had not taken any action.
And now, cities don’t intend to do that either.
“It’s an active street,” the president said. “I don’t think there’s a desire from the city council to open the streets for whom.”
