Clearwater City Council approves street transfers tied to EVO Entertainment Center

CLEARWATER, Fla. - After hours of heated debate and public comment, Clearwater City Council voted 3-2 Thursday night to approve another street transfer tied to the Church of Scientology.

Street vacation approved for downtown

What we know:

The decision involves portions of Laura Street, Grove Street and a 15-foot alleyway that would become part of a $50 million EVO Entertainment Center in downtown Clearwater. The city agenda identifies the request as a right-of-way vacation.

Hundreds of people lined up outside the Clearwater Main Library before the meeting.

EVO Entertainment CEO Mitch Roberts believes this project could help spur more development downtown.

"We’re an anchor, and we think once we kick off, it's going to spark further development all the way down the block," he said. "We need to get it going. We submitted our application about five months ago."

The massive entertainment center would feature seven movie screens, an arcade, bowling, laser tag and what developers say will be the world’s largest cinema screen.

Roberts says safety is a major reason EVO wants the streets vacated.

"I can't have families that are excited to go watch a movie or go play games across a public street as they're walking in," he said. "This is really a major step for us to clear the way to start construction."

Clearwater Council member Ryan Cotton also expressed concern about families and children crossing the streets.

"These kids are going to be pumped," he said. "To not think it’s out of the cards for them to not look both ways and run across the street and get hit by a vehicle is absolutely mind-boggling."

Public pushback and signature campaign

The other side:

Councilwoman Lina Teixeira pushed back on Roberts’ argument for turning over the public streets.

"I’m hearing no wiggle room at all," she asked. "You’re saying that anything that does not fit your requirement, you’re walking away."

Clearwater Mayor Bruce Rector says the streets belong to the public.

"The citizens of the City of Clearwater own that street," he said. "It’s not anyone’s to bargain or negotiate with. It’s their street, that’s the concern here."

Clearwater City Council approved the request 3-2, with council members Ryan Cotton, Mike Mannino and David Allbritton voting in favor. Mayor Bruce Rector and Council member Lina Teixeira voted against it.

Brooks Gibbs says the latest vote was another disappointment for Save the Garden. The grassroots group has been fighting Clearwater’s street transfers tied to the Church of Scientology.

"Sure enough, the day after we submit 10,863 signatures to take back the street, city council has given away three more streets," Gibbs said.

Next steps in approval process

What's next:

Thursday night’s approval moves the street vacation forward. It still needs another Clearwater City Council vote along with separate approval from Clearwater’s Community Redevelopment Agency.

Clearwater City Council was also expected to discuss Save the Garden’s petition seeking to overturn the earlier South Garden Avenue transfer. The group says it submitted 10,863 signatures in an effort to force a public vote.

Status of the public petition

What we don't know:

As of late Thursday night, council members had not yet taken up that discussion. The petition is listed later on the agenda under the city attorney’s reports.

Clearwater