Attorney General James Uthmeier siding with Scientology in land dispute, warns City of Clearwater of ‘unconstitutional’ decision-making

Attorney General James Uthmeier is speaking out amid a battle between the City of Clearwater and the Church of Scientology over a potential land deal, and he’s taking Scientology’s side.

In a letter to Clearwater Mayor Bruce Rector, Uthmeier cautioned him that any decisions made based on discriminatory reasons would violate Florida law, as would mandates that a land deal be tied to alternative properties also owned by Scientology.

At issue is a proposal for the city to sell a portion of Garden Avenue to the church of Scientology for $1.375 million with the intent of closing that portion of the street. The church owns adjacent property and wants to build an auditorium and park. The church wants to shut down that area of the street because leaders say it’s not safe to have high foot traffic between the two projects.

Uthmeier took issue with comments during a meeting last month in which Rector pushed back on the proposal, noting that the city needs “the street more than we need an auditorium” and made another comment that implied he was opposed to the church acquiring more land.

“I think they’ve grown their footprint enough in downtown Clearwater,” Rector said at the meeting, referencing the church’s ownership of some 200 parcels in the downtown area.

The church has since withdrawn its petition for the portion of Garden Avenue, but Uthmeier’s letter indicates the church “has apparently announced its intent to refile.”

Uthmeier’s letter specifically points to information he has learned indicating “that the City may also seek to condition its decision to vacate on an agreement from the petitioner to develop its other properties located in” downtown.

“In other words, the City Council may approve the vacation of the plat, but only if the religious institution agrees to develop its other properties in various, delineated ways,” the letter reads.

Uthmeier notes that the Office of the Attorney General, even before his tenure, has held the position that such stances violate state law. He referenced an Attorney General Opinion from 1978 that finds “a municipality possesses neither statutory nor constitutional authority to exact payment for or otherwise interfere with the property rights of landowners whose property abuts a public street as conditions to or in exchange for the exercise of its power to vacate streets.”

The letter further levels criticism at Rector and the city of Clearwater over a “more troubling” report that a decision on the petition “may be influenced by religious animus toward” the Church of Scientology. The letter references Rector’s comment that Scientology has grown its footprint in downtown Clearwater enough. Uthmeier also cites Rector pitting “our citizens” against Scientology by delineating between the two.

“I remind you that a government entity’s discrimination based on religion is unconstitutional,” Uthmeier wrote, adding that it is also a violation of the Florida Civil Rights Act.

“I understand that the City may make its approval of the vacation of the plat at issue contingent upon the petitioner’s disposition of other, nearby parcels it owns,” he added. “For the reasons stated above, I would remind you that current law does not authorize such conditions.”

More importantly, he said, discriminatory motives “could taint the Council’s decision making.”

While Uthmeier didn’t make any specific demands or threats based on his concerns, he made clear that any actions he suggested could happen would “run afoul of Florida law,” signaling that the state’s top law enforcement official will continue watching as the church’s plans with the city unfold.