Scientology preparing to resubmit application for Clearwater road
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CLEARWATER — The Church of Scientology is preparing to resubmit its application to acquire a contested portion of land downtown, according to a letter sent to city officials this month from an attorney representing the church.
The letter draws on opinions outlined by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier in a letter previously sent to Mayor Bruce Rector in support of the church’s forthcoming submission.
Robert V. Potter, a Clearwater attorney who addressed his July 3 letter to City Attorney David Margolis, cited Uthmeier’s assertions.
“We agree with the Attorney General,” Potter’s letter said. “The City is subjecting my client to an unlawful process that has never been imposed on an applicant in a similar situation in the history of Clearwater.”
The church wants to purchase the Garden Avenue road segment between Franklin and Court streets. It has proposed using the space for a performance hall and plaza.
The sale was tentatively approved in March, but the church withdrew its request after losing support to a counterproposal that would use the space to memorialize African American history.
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 council members and residents have expressed concern that the church has made little use of the holdings, leaving empty storefronts that have hindered the downtown’s growth.
Without using the church’s name, Uthmeier’s May 29 letter said the city could not condition a transfer of property on how the purchaser, a religious institution, has used other parcels it owns or controls.
City Council members discussed the letter at last week’s work session and agreed to officially ask Margolis to write a memorandum of opinion.
The council had discussed doing so in a meeting last month, but ultimately opted to continue to seek Margolis’ opinion in individual, private meetings.
“We need to be in a place where we’re not setting a precedent that … because somebody submits a vacation of a right of way we are forced to vacate,” council member Mike Mannino said during the July 7 work session. ”We need to understand going forward what our process looks like, and (if) this letter has affected it or changed it.”
Content retrieved from: https://www.tampabay.com/news/clearwater/2025/07/25/scientology-preparing-resubmit-application-clearwater-road/.
