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CBS News
01-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Concern over controversial Fairview LDS temple continues after town council approval
Despite a lot of pushback, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been given the go-ahead to construct a temple with a 120-foot steeple in Fairview. After more than a year of going back and forth with the church, the decision came from the town council just after midnight. "I really thought that they were with us, they've been with us all the way along, but that decision floored me," Fairview resident Marlo Ballard said. Fairview mayor criticizes handling of the issue Fairview Mayor Henry Lessner proposed a max height of 70 feet and is not happy with how the church handled the situation. He said he and other council members felt they had to push this forward. "We were worried about being sued," he said. "We're a small town, 11,000 people. Even if we went into court and we won, the cost of paying for our lawyers and the staff time would be just outrageous for us." The temple will be located off Stacy Road, next to the church that opened in 2016. A church spokesperson said construction is expected to begin by late summer. In a statement to CBS News Texas, a spokesperson for the church said: "We are grateful for the outcome of last night's meeting and extend our sincere appreciation to the Fairview Town Council for honoring the terms of the mediated agreement. We know the temple will be a peaceful addition to Fairview and the surrounding communities." Residents concerned over future precedents "It's the weaponization of RLUIPA," resident Lisa Foradori said. "It was a law done in the early 2000s and it protects religious freedoms, so what they've done is basically said right out of the gate, 'We're going to sue you if you don't do what we want.'" "There's a federal and a Texas version of that, so whether we put zoning in place or not, it seems to be kind of irrelevant," Lessner said. Residents said they're concerned about the precedent this sets for other religious organizations in the future.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Reluctant Texas town council approves Fairview Texas Temple with 120-foot steeple and spire
Final approval arrived Tuesday night for construction of the Fairview Texas Temple, but it will not be the shorter version sought by either the town or the larger one needed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 'None of us are pleased with this,' said Fairview Mayor Henry Lessner, referring to the town council, 'but this is what we feel we have to do.' Lessner and the council voted 5-2 to approve a conditional use permit allowing the church to build the temple with a steeple and spire that will rise to 120 feet above ground. Each councilmember who voted for the permit said he didn't like doing so. The decision comes nearly nine months after the council rejected the church's original application to build a two-story, 45,000-square-foot temple with a spire reaching 174 feet. The temple now will be one story with 30,742 square feet. The church did not release a statement Tuesday night but before the vote, church representatives told the council that the smaller temple creates a substantial burden on the church and its growing membership in the area. 'The church is willing to make these changes even though it places a burden on them because its members' needs must be met in some other way,' said Tom Coppin, a design consultant who represented the church in the meeting. The church agreed to slash the temple's size during non-binding mediation in November. One church member described the concessions as dramatic because they cut in half the temple's capacity for endowment sessions, which include instruction. The church's application for the smaller temple was submitted in March with two instruction rooms instead of the original four. 'With the growing membership of our church in North Texas, we need another temple to allow our members to worship without being substantially burdened, and in my opinion, we need a temple considerably larger than the most recent redesign affords,' Allen Texas Stake President Daniel Trythall said. Trythall was the first of 44 people to comment during a 140-minute public hearing. A total of 25 expressed support for the church's application for the temple with a spire of 120 feet, while 19 urged the council to limit it to 68 feet, 3 inches. The town council then met in a closed, executive session for an hour before emerging to make a decision its members disliked. Lessner said he was angry, but he and other councilmembers said town attorneys told them they were unlikely to prevail if the church sued and that it could cost the town millions in legal fees. They said they had a fiduciary responsibility to the town to vote for the 120-foot height. 'There are things I'd like to say. As a Christian, I choose not to say them. We believe we are doing what's best for the town. God help us,' councilman Gregg Custer said. Last week, the Fairview Planning and Zoning Commission approved the conditional use permit, but set a condition that the temple's spire be limited to 68 feet, 3 inches. That is the same height as the spire on the Latter-day Saint meetinghouse and chapel adjacent to the temple property. It is the tallest steeple in Fairview. 'The temple is not a chapel, and the religious and architectural design purposes for the building are not met if the steeple and spire are limited to 68 feet and 3 inches,' Coppin told the council on behalf of the church. The planning and zoning commission also sought to require the church to turn off the temple's exterior lighting between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. and on Sundays, Mondays and holidays, when the temple is not in operation. On Tuesday, church officials agreed to turn off the exterior lights each night, and the town council agreed to allow them to be used 365 days a year. Coppin said the church's lighting plan for the temple conforms with all of Fairview's dark skies ordinances, which the town engineer confirmed. Coppin noted at the beginning of the evening that the church's First Presidency had announced Monday it would rename the temple after months of consideration. The temple originally was known as the McKinney Texas Temple, named for a larger neighboring city. The zoning ordinance for the temple site limits the height of homes to 35 feet. It does not restrict the height of churches in the zone. The church agreed to lower the inhabitable roof height to 32 feet. 'I hope a future council will change the ordinance and establish a maximum height for a church so no other council has to face this again,' councilmember Ricardo Doi said. Nearly two dozen people opposed to the taller spire attended the meeting, many wearing green t-shirts with the slogan, 'Fairview United: Keepin' it country.' A Latter-day Saint woman who supported the taller spire said tall spires fit the region. The church has pointed out that many spires, some as tall or taller than 120 feet, stand atop churches in the neighboring cities of McKinney and Allen. 'What is more small town than a skyline dotted by steeples?' she said. People on both sides repeatedly said they were surprised they were arguing over a thin spire. Several people expressed a desire for an end to the impasse so the sides can get back to working together. Trythall said Latter-day Saints will join next month's annual Change the World Allen service weekend founded by Lessner's church, the First United Methodist Church in Allen, Texas. Change the World mobilizes residents of Fairview, Allen and Lucas to provide food, clothing, yardwork, home repair and more for their neighbors.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Latter-day Saint leader's letter requests ‘positive outcome' for Texas temple as key date looms
A north Texas leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sent a letter to Fairview Mayor Henry Lessner and town council members on Monday asking them to reaffirm their commitment to allow the church to build the McKinney Texas Temple in Fairview. 'We value our relationship with the community and are eager to work together for a positive outcome to this project and our long-term relationship as friends and neighbors,' Allen Texas Stake President Daniel M. Trythall wrote in the letter, which was posted on a church website. In November, the church and the town council negotiated a non-binding agreement in mediation that would allow the church to build a smaller temple than the one it proposed originally. Days later, under pressure from some residents, Lessner announced the mediated height for the temple was still too tall. Trythall's letter arrived before an important date looming next week. The church sent Fairview a notice on Jan. 27 that served officially as an intent to sue. It triggered a 60-day period after which the church can seek a solution through the courts. Trythall stated there was still a way forward without seeking a legal remedy. 'We respectfully invite the Town to reaffirm the commitments it made during the mediation process, which previously the Town Council unanimously voted to support,' he wrote. 'Upholding the agreement is an essential reassurance that would make it unnecessary for us to seek judicial assistance to resolve this impasse.' The 60 days toll on March 28, almost a year to the day that the U.S. Department of Justice sent an official letter to state, county and municipal officials across the nation in March 2024 to remind them that federal law 'prohibits governments from imposing or implementing land use regulations that 'unreasonably limit' religious assemblies, institutions or structures within a jurisdiction.' The letter noted that, 'While zoning is primarily a local matter, where it conflicts with federal civil rights laws such as the Fair Housing Act or RLUIPA, federal law takes precedence.' The Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act says a court action cannot be brought unless written notice is provided to a government agency by certified mail 60 days before bringing a lawsuit. Any suit also must be filed within one year after the church learned a substantial burden had been placed on its religious freedom. The church's Jan. 27 letter included a notice to the town that it had outlined the burdens placed on the church by Fairview's decision to deny the building permit for the temple in letters in July and August of 2024. The church contends that the town's denial of its application to construct a house of worship imposes a substantial burden on the church's religious exercise 'without a compelling governmental interest and in a manner that is not the least restrictive means of furthering the town's interest.' The church originally proposed a two-story temple of 44,000 square feet with a main height of 65 feet. The steeple was to reach to a total of 173 feet. After mediation, the two sides agreed the temple would be reduced to one story of approximately 30,000 square feet with a main height of 45 feet and a steeple height of 120 feet. A church representative characterized the concessions as significant and said the Town Council had indicated they fully addressed its previous concerns. Members of Fairview United, a citizens group, have said they oppose a steeple taller than 68 feet, which is the height of the Latter-day Saint meetinghouse on the proposed temple site. The Dallas Morning News reported that is the tallest religious building in the town. The site is in a residential zone. The town's zoning laws restrict buildings in residential zones to a maximum height of 35 but allows exemptions for churches with a conditional use permit. The Fairview Planning and Zoning Council rejected the church's application for a permit in May 2024. The Town Council rejected it in August. Lessner did not respond immediately to a request for comment on Monday afternoon. Fairview Town Manager Julie Couch confirmed the town received Trythall's letter. Lessner has said previously what the town wants to maintain 'to protect our environment and character of our town.' The church prepared a revised application based on the mediation settlement. A church official said the intended to file it by a Jan. 13 deadline set in the mediation agreement, but public statements by Lessner and discussions between church and town representatives raised concerns the town would not honor the settlement. The church contends that the temple's size in both proposals meets Fairview's zoning regulations for conditional use permits. Houses of worship and schools typically are approved in residential American neighborhoods to serve people living nearby. 'It is important to clarify misinformation that may have circulated about this process,' Trythall wrote Monday. 'It is disheartening to face mischaracterizations of our proposed temple as against the law, when it is entirely appropriate under local law and fully protected by both federal and state laws that protect religious rights in the United States of America. 'Our intention has always been to collaborate openly at every stage of this process,' he continued. 'Despite our sincere efforts to avoid conflict, we must stand firm against any actions that would impede the rights of members of our church — or any church — to worship freely as protected by the laws of the land.' President Russell M. Nelson announced plans for a temple in Prosper, Texas, in October 2022. The church announced the location would be in Fairview in December 2023. 'The temple is the house of the Lord. The basis for every temple ordinance and covenant … is the Atonement of Jesus Christ,' President Nelson said in a quote posted on the church's website for the temple. 'Every activity, every lesson, all we do in the church, point to the Lord and his holy house.' 'It has been almost one year since the LDS Church surprised our community with their plan to build a gigantic building on the residential side of our town,' Lessner wrote in his statement. 'I am ready to travel to Salt Lake to meet with someone who is a decision maker in the LDS hierarchy to see if we can come to a common understanding that will avoid a lawsuit.' Dear Mayor Lessner and Fairview Town Council Members: I write this letter on behalf of the leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to discuss the proposed temple project in Fairview. We value our relationship with the community and are eager to work together for a positive outcome to this project and our long-term relationship as friends and neighbors. Temples are sacred to us. They are the Houses of the Lord, sanctuaries where we commune quietly with Him, unite families for eternity, and experience hope and peace. Each of the 376 temples around the world embodies this faith. We also deeply cherish our connection with the communities where temples are located. Local members of the Church are an integral part of the Fairview community and the surrounding areas. We appreciate the vision for development that preserves Fairview's unique character. We hope to support such an approach and want to reassure residents that the temple will be a beautiful and peaceful place that enhances the neighborhood in alignment with the long-term vision for the area. The chosen 8.1-acre site is well-positioned among existing religious buildings along a busy commercial road, allowing for beautiful landscaping that will enhance and beautify the surroundings. We're committed to not only meeting but exceeding local standards whenever reasonably possible. However, it is troubling that members of the Town Council seem to have already withdrawn their support from the agreement made during the recent mediation. When the Church sought to engage with council members individually to discuss their commitment to this compromise, we were met with refusal. While we continue to believe that the Town's denial of the current application substantially burdens the practice and expression of religious beliefs for the Church, we would still be prepared to shoulder that burden and file our application for the smaller temple. Before filing an application for a smaller temple, we ask only for assurance that the Town would live up to the original obligations it made during mediation. We remain concerned, however, that our religious rights could be compromised if the Town does not honor its word as agreed to during mediation. We entered mediation with hopes for a respectful and expedient solution that advanced everyone's goals. That remains our hope. It is important to clarify misinformation that may have circulated about this process. It is disheartening to face mischaracterizations of our proposed temple as against the law, when it is entirely appropriate under local law and fully protected by both federal and state laws that protect religious rights in the United States of America. Our intention has always been to collaborate openly at every stage of this process. Despite our sincere efforts to avoid conflict, we must stand firm against any actions that would impede the rights of members of our Church - or any Church - to worship freely as protected by the laws of the land. There is a way forward. We respectfully invite the Town to reaffirm the commitments it made during the mediation process, which previously the Town Council unanimously voted to support. Upholding the agreement is an essential reassurance that would make it unnecessary for us to seek judicial assistance to resolve this impasse. Thank you for your consideration. We consider ourselves part of the Fairview community and share this information in a spirit of transparency and friendship. We hope to find a mutually acceptable solution that honors Fairview's future and the sacred role of the planned temple on this beautiful site. We hope you will engage with Fairview residents who want this temple and who share a love both for their faith and their local community. Sincerely, President Daniel M. Trythall Allen Texas Stake The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
