Church of Scientology the "United Churches of Florida" the citizens and City Council of Clearwater did not realize that the building's owners were actually the Church of Scientology until after the building's purchase. Clearwater citizens' groups, headed by Mayor Gabriel Cazares, rallied strongly against Scientology establishing a base in the city (repeatedly referring to the organization as a cult), but Flag Base was established nonetheless. In the years since its foundation, the Flag Land Base has expanded as the Church of Scientology has gradually purchased large amounts of additional property in the downtown and waterfront Clearwater area. Scientology's largest project in Clearwater has
Church of Scientology Flag Service Organization deliver the "Advanced Technology" to its public members while guaranteeing weekly payments to the RTC of 6% of the monetary value of the "Advanced Technology"-services delivered by the FSO. The Church of Scientology International (CSI) presents itself as the mother church of the Church of Scientology worldwide. As such, it has the right to use and sub-license various Scientology trademarks and service marks. Consequently, CSI has entered a number of agreements with other subordinate organizations in the Scientology hierarchy, such as the FSO: According to its 1993 application for tax exemption, the corporation "Church of Scientology Flag Service Organization, Inc."