Scientology expansion raises parking question

One Clearwater official says the church need not provide parking until its building is nearly complete, but others disagree.

By THOMAS C. TOBIN

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 20, 1999

CLEARWATER -- The foundation has been poured and two towering white cranes reach into the downtown sky.

Construction is well under way on a 370,000-square-foot Church of Scientology building that will take two years to build.

When it opens, Scientology expects to have doubled its uniformed staff to 2,000. It also projects that the number of Scientology parishioners visiting Clearwater will increase from 1,500 to as many as 5,000 at any given time.

An artist's rendering shows the Church of Scientology's building that is under construction in Clearwater. The project has raised questions about the church's plans for parking.

A related project not yet started, the 3,500-seat L. Ron Hubbard Hall next to the new building, will fill downtown sidewalks with thousands of visiting and local Scientologists for evening events.

Where will they all park?

Even though a good chunk of the first building already is in the ground, city and church officials have yet to work that out.

The issue is the subject of a vigorous debate within City Hall.

Assistant City Manager Bob Keller, who has been the chief city negotiator with Scientology on the project, says the church is not required to provide parking until the city issues a certificate of occupancy. At that point, the building would be nearly complete.

But city planners and others in the city manager's office disagree. To ensure Scientology complies with the parking code, they argue, now is the time to hold the church to a parking plan.

In recent e-mail messages at City Hall, the topic is listed as one of "high" importance. The church's downtown expansion plans will significantly change the landscape of downtown.

Besides the new building and auditorium, the church plans a renovation of the Fort Harrison Hotel, a three-story addition to its Sandcastle property on Drew Street, a renovation of the old Osceola Inn next to the Sandcastle, a "streetscape" project in front of its properties at Cleveland Street and Fort Harrison Avenue, and, at that same intersection, renovations to Scientology's Coachman Building, including retail outlets on the first floor.

Scientology says the projects will require a total investment of between $60-million and $80-million.

But the centerpiece of the expansion will be the 370,000-square-foot building, to be known as the Flag building, a reference to the church's corporate title in Clearwater, the Flag Service Organization.

Work on the Flag building is proceeding with a city foundation permit that will allow it to complete the concrete and steel base. But the church needs a building permit to continue construction. It is expected to apply for one soon.

In an interview, Keller said waiting until the certificate of occupancy to resolve the parking issue was standard procedure with other buildings. He said it would be unfair to Scientology to change the rules mid-project.

In a site plan submitted last year, the church proposed constructing two six-story parking garages on land it owns between Court and Pierce streets near the Flag building. Together, the garages would hold about 800 cars.

But city and church officials have said garages of that size might be out of character for downtown Clearwater, and both sides professed a desire to develop something less dominating.

The code requires that the church develop 900 spaces for its new building and auditorium, but it also allows the church to develop fewer spaces as long as it pays the city a fee.

Scientology officials say they plan to submit a new parking plan soon and are waiting for direction from the city on how to proceed.

"There's no debate as far as we're concerned," said Marty Rathbun, a top Scientology official.

The issue is not only the number of spaces but also where they should be built, he said.

The church could simply submit a plan to comply with the code, but that would be "tunnel vision," Rathbun said, and it might result in downtown parking "where it is not needed."

At present, parking is scattered throughout downtown, he said. "The problem is it's in the wrong places."

Another hurdle is a small city-owned parking lot along Court Street that is surrounded by Scientology-owned property. The church has said it needs the land to develop the low-slung parking facility that would please city planners.

The problem is a 1994 ordinance that prohibits the city from selling land that would then not be on the tax rolls, and Scientology is a tax-exempt organization.

Keller said officials are discussing the possibility of asking the City Commission to repeal the ordinance. He argued there are other reasons to do it besides the Scientology building.

For example, he said, the ordinance would prevent the city from giving an unwanted piece of land to an organization like Habitat for Humanity, which builds homes for low-income people.

As part of its expansion, the church says it has spoken with retailers about locating in the Coachman Building, which has about 12,000 square feet of space that could be used for commercial purposes. The effort is in response to a request by City Manager Mike Roberto.

As a marketing tool to attract retailers, the church has commissioned a study of its parishioners' shopping preferences and buying power downtown. The study concludes that Scientology's visiting parishioners alone would support several types of stores and restaurants downtown.

Among the study's other findings: 21 percent of Scientologists who visit Clearwater for church counseling have annual incomes of $200,000 or more.

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