Clearwater residents sue city over Scientology land deal

State of play: Resident group Save the Garden sued the city last week after City Council members voted 3-2 not to take action on a petition aiming to reverse a previous Council decision to give the roadway to the church.

• The petition's 7,577 verified signatures met the threshold to challenge that decision, according to meeting documents.

Yes, but: City Council members, acting on advice from the Florida Attorney General's Office, stood by it instead, WUSF reported. They also declined to put the question to voters as a referendum.

• Repealing the decision would violate a state law that bars citizen petitions from changing certain land development policies, City Attorney Owen Kohler said, according to WUSF.
• The church praised the decision, saying in a statement that the attorney general's opinion "confirmed what the church has maintained all along: This petition is unlawful," Fox13 reported.

What's next: Save the Garden is asking the court to order a special election and halt further progress on the auditorium and plaza.

• A city spokesperson told Axios the city had not yet been served with the suit and declined to comment further, citing pending litigation.