Residents in Florida are furious after city leaders approved a measure to shut down a public street and transfer control of it to the Church of Scientology, despite months of community opposition.
In Clearwater, thousands of people have added their names to a petition opposing the handover of a block of South Garden Avenue to the religious organization, following a tight 3-2 vote on June 18.
The roadway has been the subject of heated debate for more than a year, after the Church of Scientology revealed plans to incorporate the block into a large event venue named for its founder, L. Ron Hubbard.
But Save The Garden, a grassroots group formed by Clearwater residents, is now pushing back against the decision, arguing the street acquisition is another step in expanding the church’s influence over the city.
The Church of Scientology already controls more than 200 properties across Clearwater’s downtown district, according to WUSF.
Many locals say a large number of those buildings remain empty, leaving parts of what was once a lively downtown feeling deserted.
Among the church’s most prominent holdings is its sprawling headquarters, one of Clearwater’s largest buildings, which sits along South Garden Avenue.
The proposed event hall appears to be an extension of that already expansive campus, while church members have argued that permanently closing the street would improve safety for the auditorium.
A block of South Garden Avenue in Clearwater, Florida, was approved to be closed and handed over to the Church of Scientology after months of pushback from locals.
The religious group owns over 200 properties in Clearwater including their massive headquarters that borders the road
But the battle over the block is only part of the underlying debate over Clearwater’s future as Scientology increases its grasp on the city.
‘We stand here not to discuss a street or to debate policies but to decide what Clearwater is and who it belongs to,’ downtown bar owner Tonatiuh Tello said at a city council meeting.
‘For too long the city has been shaped by hidden hands, silent deals and the system that thrives on secrecy.’
Save The Garden last updated their petition signature count to more than 9,000 on Instagram about two weeks ago.
Councilman Ryan Cotton, who voted to approve the street closure, believes that fighting needs to end to help revitalize downtown.
‘I think it’s time that we find a way in our city to unite, to accept each other for our differences, to find beauty in those, to build on our commonalities and our shared interests,’ Cotton said.
‘And make Clearwater the most unbelievable, beautiful city that we all know it can be.’
When the Church of Scientology originally attempted to acquire South Garden, they requested the area be vacated in exchange for $1.3million.
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However, Save The Garden proposed $1.6million in a counteroffer and promised to build a memorial to black-owned businesses that helped build the area and promised to finish the construction in half the time.
Following the filing of the Save the Garden lawsuit which sought a preliminary injunction to stop the project, the request was denied by the federal court, which concluded: ‘Because the plaintiffs have not carried their burden of persuasion to show a substantial likelihood of success on the First Amendment claim or the charter claim…’
In a statement to the Daily Mail, the Church released a statement.
‘The suggestion that the Church is somehow ‘taking over a public street’ is simply incorrect. The Church has owned the underlying property for decades. The City voted to vacate a public right-of-way so that construction can proceed on a unified development consisting of L. Ron Hubbard Hall and L. Ron Hubbard Park.
‘The project was approved only after extensive public hearings, months of review and a vote of the Clearwater City Council. The subsequent federal lawsuit seeking to block the project was rejected because the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate any substantial likelihood of success on their claims.
‘This project represents approximately a quarter of a billion dollars of private investment in downtown Clearwater. L. Ron Hubbard Hall will serve as the international convocation hall for Scientology’s ecclesiastical headquarters, while L. Ron Hubbard Park will create a new public green space immediately adjoining it. The project was designed as one integrated development, making the vacation of the right-of-way both a practical necessity and an important public safety measure.
‘Rather than focusing on sensational characterizations, the real story is that one of the largest private investments in Clearwater’s history is moving forward after years of public review and approval.’
Church of Scientology disclosed plans to use the block for a massive event hall named after founder L. Ron Hubbard and stressed to the City’s council that the area would help make the auditorium safer
The battle over the block is only part of the underlying debate over Clearwater’s future as Scientology increases its grasp on the city (A local pictured speaking to city council in April of 2025)
In 2025, Councilman David Allbritton, who initially was skeptical of the religious group’s move to close the street, wrote a letter to Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Allbritton asked who owned the street, whether it was Clearwater or the Church.
Uthmeier, who sits on a political committee that received a $1million donation from Patricia Duggan, a wealthy Florida Scientologist, according to campaign-finance records cited by the outlet, determined that the church likely owned the land beneath the South Garden.
Uthmeier’s spokesman told the Journal that Uthmeier weighed in on the dispute because he believed officials had engaged in First Amendment discrimination.
Several previous Florida attorneys general followed a guideline that weighing in on the duties of a local governmental body should be avoided unless a majority of members requested it.
According to the outlet, those guidelines were removed from the attorney general’s office website after appearing there as late as November 2025.
Uthmeier’s spokesman said that guidelines developed by previous attorneys general don’t apply to Uthmeier, and were removed as part of a website cleanup.
The Daily Mail has reached out to the Church of Scientology, Save The Garden, Councilman Cotton, and Attorney General Uthmeier for comment.
