CLEARWATER — City Council members agreed June 25 to seek a legal opinion on what terms they can attach to the proposed sale of city-owned land downtown to the Church of Scientology without opening themselves to legal liability.
The request comes after Florida’s attorney general sent a letter to the city’s mayor last month, cautioning him against placing conditions on the sale based on “discriminatory motives.” In his letter, James Uthmeier said doing so would be unconstitutional.
Uthmeier said the state is not looking to get involved in a land transaction. At the same time, without using the church’s name, he said the city could not condition the transfer on how the purchaser, a religious institution, has used other parcels it owns or controls…