Clearwater approves street transfer to Scientology, residents plan referendum

Attorney general’s opinion, political donations fuel controversy

The dispute over a single block of South Garden Avenue in downtown Clearwater has become a proxy for a longer-running battle over the Church of Scientology’s influence in the city, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The church first requested the street vacation in 2024, citing security needs for a planned event hall named after founder L. Ron Hubbard. The council tentatively agreed to sell the street for $1.375 million, but the church withdrew its application amid public backlash and said it planned to refile.

The fight escalated in November 2025 when Councilman David Allbritton, who had previously expressed skepticism about the proposal, emailed Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier asking for legal guidance on who owned the street. Allbritton sent the letter without consulting the city council or the city attorney, who had already issued a memorandum concluding the city owned the street.

Allbritton later told the Journal that during a meeting at the church’s Clearwater headquarters — which included David Miscavige, the church’s top leader — Scientology representatives had asked how he planned to vote and suggested he seek the attorney general’s opinion. “There was no coercion at all, but they did ask me that,” Allbritton said. The church denied suggesting he write the letter.

Uthmeier’s office responded about two weeks later with an opinion that the church likely owned the land and that the city should not require the church to pay fair market value. The opinion departed from guidelines, developed by previous attorneys general, that said the office should avoid weighing in on local government duties unless a majority of local officials requested it. Those guidelines were removed from the attorney general’s website in late 2025, according to a Journal review of site archives. Uthmeier’s spokesman said the attorney general intervened because he believed local officials had engaged in First Amendment discrimination and that the previous guidelines did not apply to Uthmeier.

The opinion came after Patricia Duggan, a wealthy Florida Scientologist, donated $1 million in 2024 to a political committee chaired by Uthmeier, then chief of staff to Gov. Ron DeSantis. The church said it does not direct parishioners’ political contributions. The church also said it did not communicate with Uthmeier’s office about his involvement.

At a June city council meeting, Allbritton cited Uthmeier’s opinion in support of the street transfer. The council approved the ordinance 3-2, drawing cheers from Scientologists in the audience.

The church owns more than 60 properties in Clearwater, according to county records, and parishioner-managed companies have purchased dozens more downtown. The 377,000-square-foot Flag Building serves as the church’s spiritual headquarters. Church spokeswoman Sarah Heller said the street closure is about security for the planned event hall and that “much of the opposition had little to do with roadway planning or downtown redevelopment and everything to do with preventing completion of a longstanding religious project.”

Residents and some local officials have expressed concern about the church’s role in shaping downtown Clearwater. “No one entity should have that much power over a city,” resident Cindy Kash said at a May council meeting. The “Save The Garden” group is pursuing a charter change that would require voter approval to vacate certain roadways, and the American Civil Liberties Union has advised them.