Clearwater downtown blueprint ignores CoS, the 'elephant in the room'

[Type4_PTS]

Published in the Tampa Bay Times this morning:

Clearwater downtown blueprint ignores Church of Scientology, the 'elephant in the room'

CLEARWATER — The latest downtown revitalization plan unveiled this week calls for walkable green spaces and a bustling town square peppered with outdoor dining and retail shops to fill the vacant storefronts.

But the 146-page blueprint the city paid consultants nearly $400,000 to write makes no mention of the Church of Scientology's future implications on downtown revival as the largest property owner and an international institution with a $917 million economic impact locally, according to one study.

Since first arriving in Clearwater in 1975, the Church of Scientology has accumulated $250 million in real estate, occupying whole blocks of downtown and building its worldwide spiritual headquarters steps from City Hall.

<SNIP>

Full Article: http://www.tampabay.com/news/scient...es-church-of-scientology-the-elephant/2312148

 

[Type4_PTS]

Tony O's comment this morning over at the Bunker:

Clearwater government faces facts: Scientology sucks

Even after Scientology paid big money for a bogus university “study” (Scientology supplied the data) which claimed that the church pumped nearly a billion dollars annually into the Clearwater economy (and they say Hubbard was a bullshitter), the city of Clearwater is having none of it.

The Tampa Bay Times reports today that a new downtown revitalization plan has only a single sentence about Scientology’s presence, and it’s not pretty: “The significant presence of the Church of Scientology members spending time downtown contributes to a sense of alienation among non-members.”

Mayor George Cretekos continues to show that he has some spine as he carps that in ten years on the city council, he’s had only a single meeting with Scientology leader David Miscavige.

Count yer blessings, mayor.

http://tonyortega.org/2017/02/05/hey-scientology-this-guy-doesnt-want-to-shill-for-you-what-gives/

 

[HelluvaHoax!]

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Tony O's comment this morning over at the Bunker:

The Tampa Bay Times reports today that a new downtown revitalization plan has only a single sentence about Scientology’s presence, and it’s not pretty: “The significant presence of the Church of Scientology members spending time downtown contributes to a sense of alienation among non-members.”

Considering the inordinate number of alien BTs transported into Clearwater by their Scn hosts, it also contributes to a sense of an alien nation.

 

[TheOriginalBigBlue]

Can anyone state how much property tax revenue is cancelled out by church property? My understanding is they pay tax on property designated as hotel or restaurant but not much else.

That should be backed into their net "benefit to the community" figures.

 

[dchoiceisalwaysrs]

Can anyone state how much property tax revenue is cancelled out by church property? My understanding is they pay tax on property designated as hotel or restaurant but not much else.

That should be backed into their net "benefit to the community" figures.

Net benefit?! That is a hell of a lot of red ink. It better come out as an HCOB= HUBBARD confidence trick to invade and take over and include former mayor Gabe Cazarez's video as evidence.

 

[dchoiceisalwaysrs]

Published in the Tampa Bay Times this morning:

You just gave me an idea. Make a presentation of a collection of you tube videos on a DVD and stand up at the next council meeting and present it as support for scientology as a community pillar.

It could show Gabe talking about the invasion, Mark Bunker and the Lisa McPherson trust protests and other truths. Put together in a fashion like Alex Gibney's " Going Clear (water)" with a prepaid link to A&E season one " Aftermath".

Go George Gretekos. 1982 Clearwater Hearings is great reference materials available online.

 

[Leland]

Can anyone state how much property tax revenue is cancelled out by church property? My understanding is they pay tax on property designated as hotel or restaurant but not much else.

That should be backed into their net "benefit to the community" figures.

Regular Yearly RE taxes in Pinellas County are about 1%.

Homes are appraised at about half their true value. ( and you pay tax on that appraisal. ) ( If you "homestead" your property, ie: live in it as your primary residence....then your RE tax is about 1/2 again less...what it would be as a rental property or "second home" )

I don't know about Commercial RE.

 

[TheOriginalBigBlue]

Regular Yearly RE taxes in Pinellas County are about 1%.

Homes are appraised at about half their true value. ( and you pay tax on that appraisal. ) ( If you "homestead" your property, ie: live in it as your primary residence....then your RE tax is about 1/2 again less...what it would be as a rental property or "second home" )

I don't know about Commercial RE.

States that don't have an income tax like Florida tend to tax commercial real estate and increase their appraisals aggressively to compensate. There is a whole industry built up around petitioning against these stellar rate increases and the city probably assesses businesses usurious rates out of the gate in anticipation that most will be challenged but a few putzes will accept it at face value.

This is another negative factor. If Scientology depresses demand for commercial property then the city lacks leverage to increase appraisals on all commercial property. That would be an interesting figure to quantify.