Clearwater Council Hears Competing Plans for South Garden Avenue; No Vote in Work Session

Church of Scientology representatives and a coalition calling itself Reconnect Clearwater presented competing proposals for the future of South Garden Avenue during a May 12 Clearwater City Council work session, and councilmembers asked for more written detail before a formal decision. The work session did not include a vote; councilmembers said an official vote is scheduled for the May 15 council meeting.

The issue centers on a city process to vacate (sell) a section of South Garden Avenue to an adjoining property owner. Sarah Heller, representing the Church of Scientology’s Cleveland Street Alliance, showed a video of ongoing and proposed Cleveland Street projects and said the church’s plan includes an auditorium and a public park that, she said, “could not be built without this road.” Heller told councilmembers the hall and park are a single project and that closing the road is necessary for safety and design.

Why the question matters: Councilmembers repeatedly framed the decision as a trade-off between public access and private development. Several councilmembers and citizens pressed both presenters for binding commitments, public-access guarantees and traffic analysis before supporting any vacation of the public right-of-way.

Reconnect Clearwater, represented by Brooks Gibbs, urged the council to reject the sale and instead accept the group’s competing offer to develop a memorial garden honoring local history, with financial terms Gibbs described in open session. Gibbs told the council his group had submitted “a superior proposal” for $1,500,000 payable in two installments, and that their plan would keep a northbound lane of South Garden Avenue open to traffic while dedicating part of the roadway to a memorial park.

Councilmembers repeatedly emphasized that any promises must be in writing. Vice Mayor Takeda and Councilmember Albritton stated that visual presentations are useful but do not substitute for contractual commitments. Councilmember Albritton said he would not support a sale of the street without the full plan in writing and promoted waiting until Cleveland Street projects under way are complete and public activation is visible.

Leasing agent Scott Dobbins, called by council members to speak about retail plans, said market lease rates the team expects for Cleveland Street ‘‘are generally in the $35 to $45 per square foot range, triple net,’’ and that he is negotiating nonbinding letters of intent with prospective tenants. Dobbins said Highbridge (retail recruitment) had active discussions and that several letters of intent were in process.

Reconnect Clearwater and allied speakers emphasized local Black history as part of their case. Barbara Sorey Love, president of the Clearwater African American Foundation, described historical ties between local Black residents and downtown development and urged a memorial approach: “This history is thoroughly documented … that unnamed African woman paid for this land with her life,” she said, referring to 19th-century land transfers discussed in local archives. Reconnect Clearwater said the memorial proposal would include an open-air interpretive walk and that its terms included an upfront payment and a city right of first refusal if the group were to buy the land and later offer to transfer it back to the city.

City staff and presenters referenced traffic analysis submitted with the road‑vacation application; Heller said traffic studies attached to the application show the road is “rarely used” and that closing the road would improve safety around the new hall and park. Councilmembers urged staff to circulate any additional traffic reports and written proposals to the council and public ahead of the May 15 vote.

What the work session did and did not decide: The meeting was a discussion-only work session; councilmembers did not take a formal vote on the street vacation during the May 12 meeting. Multiple councilmembers said the threshold for their support is a written, enforceable package — including specific commitments on public access, traffic mitigation, and timelines — before they would support vacating the public right‑of‑way. The council scheduled public opportunity for comment at the May 15 meeting.

Where things go next: Councilmembers directed staff to continue due diligence, and several asked staff to circulate the city’s traffic studies and any written commitments in advance of the May 15 public hearing. The council said it will weigh written agreements, permits already in place for nearby Cleveland Street renovation projects, and evidence of public activation when deciding whether to approve a street vacation.