CLEARWATER, Fla. — Clearwater City Council gave the green light Thursday night for the Church of Scientology to take over a short city street that’s key to building L. Ron Hubbard Hall, a 3500-person venue named after its controversial founder.
The decision came after more than an hour of public comment that councilmembers cut short. Hundreds of Scientologists and dozens of their critics once again packed the downtown library where council meetings are held.
“My wife and I have personally contributed millions of dollars toward the L. Ron Hubbard Hall since the inception of this project because we believe in what it will mean for future generations of parishioners and for downtown Clearwater,” said Scientologist Stu Sjouwerman, the billionaire tech founder of KnowBe4, the world’s largest integrated security awareness training and simulated phishing platform. “It’s the completion of a vision that has been discussed for decades and the final piece to complete [Scientology’s] downtown campus.”…