Clearwater seeks clarity on possible downtown road sale to Scientology
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CLEARWATER — City Council members agreed June 25 to seek a legal opinion on what terms they can attach to the proposed sale of city-owned land downtown to the Church of Scientology without opening themselves to legal liability.
The request comes after Florida’s attorney general sent a letter to the city’s mayor last month, cautioning him against placing conditions on the sale based on “discriminatory motives.” In his letter, James Uthmeier said doing so would be unconstitutional.
Uthmeier said the state is not looking to get involved in a land transaction. At the same time, without using the church’s name, he said the city could not condition the transfer on how the purchaser, a religious institution, has used other parcels it owns or controls.
The Tampa Bay Times has documented that entities associated with the church have acquired more than 200 properties downtown and left many of them inactive. Some residents have expressed concern that the church has made little use of the holdings, leaving empty storefronts that have hindered downtown growth.
Individual council members have voiced sympathy with those concerns and have sought to have the church make public its plans.
Council member Ryan Cotton, who brought the attorney general’s letter to the June 25 meeting’s agenda, said he contacted David Dewhirst, Uthmeier’s chief of staff, to gauge the level of concern. Cotton said Dewhirst stated the letter “was to be taken very seriously.”
“He clarified that the attorney general’s office letter pertains solely to concerns about discrimination,” Cotton added. He said Dewhirst indicated the attorney general’s office was not intending to involve itself in city property transactions otherwise.
Mayor Bruce Rector noted the letter was addressed to him and not the city. It referenced remarks he made during prior discussions of the land sale that the letter said could be considered discriminatory.
Rector has noted that the church’s property purchases have led to a divide in the community and that it has grown its footprint enough.
He said he also spoke with Dewhirst on June 24, for the third time since he heard he would be receiving the letter. Rector said the same information Cotton provided was communicated to him.
The city tentatively voted in March to sell a segment of Garden Avenue to the Church of Scientology. But the church withdrew its request after a newly formed group, Save the Garden Coalition, offered a proposal to use the land as a memorial to African American history.
Content retrieved from: https://www.tbnweekly.com/clearwater_beacon/article_fc4c3eeb-43b8-4999-aaa1-7743b6682620.html.
