In Clearwater’s latest clash over downtown turf, a citizen coalition says it has gathered enough signatures to trigger a public vote on a proposed street sale to the Church of Scientology. If the tally checks out, Clearwater voters would have to sign off before the city could vacate or sell the stretch of South Garden Avenue between Court Street and Franklin Street.
Organizers with the Save The Garden campaign say they turned in the petition sheets on Tuesday, March 17, 2026, and met the legal threshold to qualify, according to WTSP. Volunteers have been collecting signatures in person for months, pitching the effort as a way to keep the street in public hands. Campaign leaders say the initiative also envisions a memorial garden and heritage trail along the corridor.
What the petition would change
The proposal is framed as a charter amendment that would shift power over downtown right-of-way from the City Council directly to voters. If it passes, any move to vacate a downtown street would have to be approved at the ballot box instead of handled solely through a council vote. The Save The Garden campaign argues that change would safeguard public space and the city’s history while blocking private consolidation of downtown streets. Those goals and the draft ordinance text are posted on the campaign’s website, according to Save The Garden.
The land sale at the center of the fight
At the heart of the battle is a request from the Church of Scientology Flag Service Organization to vacate and purchase the southern portion of South Garden Avenue, roughly a 0.65-acre strip, as part of plans for an entry plaza and performance hall. That request has moved through the usual process, showing up in ordinance filings and in a surplus-sale packet on the City Council agenda under Ordinance 9812-25 and File ID#25-0263 in the city’s legislative record. The application and supporting documents are available through the City of Clearwater legislative files.
Next steps: verification and timing
The city clerk now has to review the petition sheets and decide how many signatures are valid before the measure can officially qualify for a ballot. Local reporting earlier set the qualifying threshold at about 7,100 valid signatures, roughly 10% of registered Clearwater voters, and noted that volunteers had been gathering signatures in person for months. If the clerk confirms that the campaign hit the mark, the city will schedule the question for a municipal ballot, a process described in local coverage by FOX13.
Church response and context
The vacate-and-sale effort has already had a bumpy ride. Council agendas show the ordinance advancing through hearings alongside the related sale paperwork, then being pulled while city staff and attorneys looked at title issues and conditions. The Church previously withdrew its request ahead of a scheduled council vote in May 2025 while it gathered additional information, and the matter has remained active in city files since. Those moves, along with the current filings, are documented in the City of Clearwater legislative record…