The Church of Scientology says more than 7,000 people turned out for the Aug. 1 groundbreaking of L. Ron Hubbard Hall on South Garden Avenue, a figure the organization is publicizing as the $250 million project moves forward and opponents race to collect enough petition signatures to force a voter referendum.

The attendance claim appeared in a post from the official @Scientology account on Aug. 4, and from the Cleveland Street Alliance, a Clearwater-based organization associated with the church, on Aug. 5. Cleveland Street Alliance described fireworks illuminating the Clearwater skyline as the crowd gathered to break ground. No independent crowd estimate from city officials or police has been published.

The number is not trivial. Save the Garden, the grassroots coalition opposing the project, needs approximately 7,000 valid signatures by around Sept. 16 to trigger a city charter referendum on the council's June decision to vacate the block. As of July 16, City Council Seat 5 candidate Mark Bunker's campaign website cited more than 8,000 signatures collected, though it is unclear how many have been verified as valid registered voters.

How the street was handed over

The Clearwater City Council voted 3-2 on June 22 to vacate one block of South Garden Avenue and transfer it to the church at no cost. Council members David Allbritton, Ryan Cotton and Mike Mannino voted yes; Councilwoman Lina Teixeira and Mayor Bruce Rector voted no.

That decision reversed an earlier March agreement under which the city would have received $1.3 million for the street. The deal was scrapped after Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier issued a non-binding opinion concluding the church likely already owns the land beneath the roadway.

"I remain convinced that Garden Avenue is important for our future growth, our continued growth of the downtown core," Mayor Rector said at the June 22 meeting, when he cast his dissenting vote. "There's no public purpose served by closing the street."

Under the ordinance, the church must open L. Ron Hubbard Hall within six years and keep it accessible to the public. Scientology attorney Robert Potter told WUSF in June that the hall "will be pedestrian-friendly" and will add green space to downtown.

Election and petition deadlines ahead

The project's future is tangled with two approaching deadlines. Early voting for the Clearwater City Council Seat 5 primary begins Aug. 8 and runs through Aug. 16, with Election Day on Aug. 18. Three candidates are on the ballot: former council member Mark Bunker, former congressional staffer Sam Wilson and businessman Kevin R.T. Laughlin. Outgoing Councilwoman Teixeira, who voted against the street vacation, is not seeking re-election.

Save the Garden, which describes itself as a movement to protect downtown land and create a public memorial honoring the Black community that once thrived there, has until approximately Sept. 16 to submit verified signatures. If the petition succeeds, Clearwater voters would decide whether to uphold or reject the council's street vacation.

The church owns more than 200 properties in downtown Clearwater, many of which sit vacant, according to Creative Loafing Tampa Bay reporting that cited Tampa Bay Times data.