After Clearwater Mayor Bruce Rector hit the gavel to end a City Council meeting Thursday evening, the audience in the Clearwater Main Library erupted in applause and cheers.
Scientology members had lined up outside the library several hours before the meeting started and packed the council chambers. They came in anticipation of the council’s vote on a request from the church that the city vacate a portion of South Garden Avenue downtown.
The council two weeks ago gave initial approval. Thursday’s 3-2 vote in favor of the request closed out deliberations that have been ongoing for more than a year.
Looming over the decision was the Florida attorney general, who last year warned the mayor against making discriminatory comments on the dais and said the church most likely owns the road — and could ask for it without paying.
“You will not hear one of us say that this vote that we place tonight has anything to do for or against the Church of Scientology,” council member Mike Mannino said. “This vote is simply on the merits of vacating a right of way.”
Council members David Allbritton, Ryan Cotton and Mannino voted in support. Mayor Bruce Rector and council member Lina Teixeira voted in opposition.
While the city has officially decided to give the street to Scientology so the church can close it off for a long-planned event hall, a group of local residents remains concerned with the church’s ownership of downtown real estate. The city’s deliberations over South Garden Avenue sparked an attempted ballot initiative and a lawsuit.
Clearwater Police Chief Eric Gandy said an estimated 2,000 people attended the meeting Thursday. The council had to discuss how to adjust access to the building, because after it reached capacity, people looking to speak on the issue were unable to get inside.
Scientologists had gathered at the library hours before the meeting, and during public comment they shared stories about their connection to Clearwater, the church and a need to close off the road for safety concerns.
Members of the Save the Garden Coalition, which formed last year to pitch an alternative proposal for the road, also gathered at the library hours before the council convened.
The group last year began gathering signatures for an ordinance that would require voter approval before the city could give away public rights-of-way downtown. Although the group gathered more than 8,700 signatures, the city said an insufficient number of signatures on the petition were verified.
With representation from the American Civil Liberties Union, the group is suing the city over the decision. The group said Thursday it is launching another referendum attempt, seeking to put the ordinance the council approved to vacate South Garden Avenue up to voters.
“The 10 of us who were allowed in here to speak, who also showed up over six hours ago but were effectively pushed out of this meeting, do not in any way appropriately represent the opposition to this motion,” Save the Garden member Jill Gibbs said during public comment.
Another member of Save the Garden, local business owner Tonatiuh Tello, is also planning to take legal action against the city. He is seeking an injunction against Clearwater’s vacation of South Garden Avenue and an official determination of who owns the street.
“I know there’s an attorney general opinion,” Jose Estigarribia, who represents Tello, said during public comment. “But that’s not a judicial determination. That’s not binding.”
The City Council initially approved the church’s request for South Garden Avenue in March 2025. At that time, the city had negotiated a purchase and sale agreement for the roadway.
Scientology withdrew its request after council member Allbritton said he would not vote in favor at a second reading, despite being one of three “yes” votes initially. A lawyer representing the church then contested the city’s ownership of the roadway, but the city’s former attorney disagreed.
But Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said the church most likely owns the road and had the right to ask for it without paying. Uthmeier weighed in after Allbritton asked for his opinion. Rector brought up the concern at a work session Monday and again Thursday evening.
“I think it’s a mistake to move forward vacating the street without a court determination of who owns the street,” Rector said. ”I think we owe that to our citizens and taxpayers."
Pinellas County Commissioner Chris Latvala, whose wife is running for City Council, posted on Facebook that the city should wait to vote on the request. The county is moving its headquarters out of downtown Clearwater and this week released a request for negotiations for multiple properties spanning roughly 25 acres.
“The Clearwater City Council should delay their decision on Garden Ave. until the Pinellas County Commission develops a plan for our property,” he wrote. “Proposals could very well include rerouting Court St. as well as including City properties which the City Council is well aware of. There are City Properties that are part of the RFN.”
The City Council still has to vote on an additional vacation request from the church for two streets, an alleyway and a city-owned parcel for a proposed entertainment center downtown.
“We voted today,” Rector said. “We’ll move on, and we will move forward as a community.”
