Clearwater group fights downtown road transfer to Church of Scientology

Clearwater, Florida — The fight over a street in downtown Clearwater heads back before city leaders on Thursday night. Opponents of the city’s decision to give part of South Garden Avenue to the Church of Scientology say they’ve gathered enough signatures to put future land transfers before voters.

Leader of the church plan to turn that portion of the road into an event hall. Plans are able to move forward with plans after city council voted to transfer the piece of road to the church.

Some members of the Clearwater community are determined to overturn the decision. A petition created by the group ‘Save the Garden’ has more than 10,000 signatures and has been submitted to the city.

Members of the group say the section of Garden Avenue is an important roadway that needs to be open to the public. Campaign Director Brooks Gibbs explains, “It is only one of four streets that gets us into the downtown core off of a state road. This is a vital throughway. No matter what Scientology says.”

Gibbs and other members of the group also want voters to have a say on future transfers of public land in the downtown area. Council members are expected to discuss the petition during their meeting Thrusday.

Council is also set to vote on a request from the Church of Scientology to close portions of additional streets downtown for special events. Leaders with the church did not immediately respond to requests for comment.