The Church of Scientology broke ground Saturday, Aug. 1, on L. Ron Hubbard Hall, the $250 million all-glass auditorium and public plaza that will occupy the block of South Garden Avenue the Clearwater City Council transferred at no cost on June 18.

The ceremony, confirmed by social media posts from the church's Flag Service Organization, puts shovels in the ground on a project that has divided downtown Clearwater for more than a decade. Under the ordinance the council passed, the church has six years to open the building.

Meanwhile, the grassroots group Save the Garden is racing to collect roughly 7,000 valid signatures by Sept. 16 to force a citywide referendum on the street transfer. And early voting in the Aug. 18 council primary for Seat 5 begins Saturday, Aug. 8, in a race where the transfer has become the defining issue.

How the council approved the street transfer

The council voted 3-2 on Thursday, June 18, to vacate a roughly 470-foot stretch of South Garden Avenue between Court and Franklin streets. Council members David Allbritton, Ryan Cotton and Mike Mannino voted yes. Council member Lina Teixeira and Mayor Bruce Rector voted no.

The road had been appraised at approximately $1.4 million, but the city transferred it at no cost after Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier issued a legal opinion concluding the church most likely owns the land beneath the roadway. Council member Allbritton had individually requested that opinion.

WUSF reported the church owns more than 200 properties in downtown Clearwater, many of them vacant. Former City Attorney David Margolis argued the city still had rights to the land since Clearwater maintained the road since the early 1920s.

Mayor Rector told WUSF after the June 18 vote that he remains convinced Garden Avenue is important for downtown's future growth and that closing the street serves no public purpose.

Save the Garden's petition drive faces a Sept. 16 deadline

Save the Garden's first petition attempt failed in April when the city clerk rejected close to 5,000 signatures because a committee member was not registered to vote in Clearwater. The group relaunched and now has until approximately Sept. 16, the 90-day charter window from the June 18 ordinance adoption, to hit the signature threshold.

The deadline is firm.

"My biggest concern is the overall precedent that that's really setting — that any time we need to vacate a public road for a private organization, whether it's Scientology or somebody else, that five people on City Council are going to make that decision without actually hearing what Clearwater residents want," Save the Garden volunteer Lauren Golden told 10 Tampa Bay on July 25.

The group is also pursuing a second petition that would require future transfers of public property to private organizations to go before voters.

Street transfer becomes central issue in Seat 5 primary

The street transfer has become the central dividing line in the Seat 5 race to replace Teixeira, who is not seeking reelection. All three council members who voted for the transfer have endorsed Sam Wilson, 26, a former congressional staffer who leads fundraising with more than $20,000 raised. Former council member Mark Bunker, 70, has said he would have voted no. Businessman Kevin R.T. Laughlin, 67, told Creative Loafing Tampa that giving away a downtown street when expansion is needed is a mistake.

Early voting runs Aug. 8 through Aug. 16. If no candidate clears 50%, the top two advance to a runoff on Tuesday, Nov. 3.

Journalist Tony Ortega reported on his Underground Bunker blog on Aug. 1 that Scientology leader David Miscavige is simultaneously pursuing multiple new "Ideal Org" projects worldwide, though it is unclear whether any additional facility involves Clearwater.

Residents can verify their voter registration and find early-voting locations through the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections.