Clearwater City Council approves giving street to Church of Scientology to build L. Ron Hubbard Hall

Clearwater, Florida — Clearwater City Council gave the green light Thursday night for the Church of Scientology to take over a short city street that’s key to building L. Ron Hubbard Hall, a 3500-person venue named after its controversial founder.

The decision came after more than an hour of public comment that councilmembers cut short. Hundreds of Scientologists and dozens of their critics once again packed the downtown library where council meetings are held.

“My wife and I have personally contributed millions of dollars toward the L. Ron Hubbard Hall since the inception of this project because we believe in what it will mean for future generations of parishioners and for downtown Clearwater,” said Scientologist Stu Sjouwerman, the billionaire tech founder of KnowBe4, the world's largest integrated security awareness training and simulated phishing platform. “It's the completion of a vision that has been discussed for decades and the final piece to complete [Scientology’s] downtown campus.”

This is not the church's first attempt. In 2025, Scientology withdrew a similar application shortly before a final city vote, saying it intended to revise and resubmit the proposal. It did exactly that in 2026.

Critics argue that South Garden Avenue is public land and should remain open to everyone. They believe transferring the roadway would further consolidate Scientology's already extensive influence over downtown Clearwater. The church and affiliated entities own a large share of downtown property. Many former Scientologists who showed up at the meeting say the church commits human rights abuses and uses child labor.

“I was born into this mess, and let me tell you something,” one speaker said. “It destroyed everyone I know, their families, my family, everybody.”

In late 2025, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier issued an opinion siding with Scientology's position that the church could pursue its planned development and that the city lacked certain grounds to block it. That opinion strengthened the church's case but did not automatically settle the matter politically.

Thursday night, three councilmembers, David Allbritton, Mike Mannino, and Ryan Cotton said they were supporting the vacation request because they are routine and have never been rejected.

“We've seen 43 vacation applications over the years, 56 right-of-ways vacated, and zero were denied,” Mannino said. “Zero in the history of our city.”

It was granted by a 3-2 vote, with Mayor Bruce Rector and councilmember Lina Texiera dissenting, citing city staff concerns outlined in an internal review document.

“Substantial concerns identified by residents, multiple city departments, professional staff, and our own adopted planning policies,” Texiera said.

The document, called a Department Approval Checklist, had many staffers raising questions about the request, including whether traffic would be negatively impacted and utilities disrupted.

The controversy resonates because Clearwater is unlike most American cities. Scientology's international spiritual headquarters, known as Flag Land Base, is located downtown, and the church has spent decades acquiring surrounding properties. The organization's presence has shaped local politics, development debates, and community identity since the 1970s.

Council will vote again on the request in two weeks, but the vote is not expected to change. A stipulation of approval is that the church build the hall within six years.