The Texas dispute is one of several conflicts over LDS temple plans playing out around the country, including in Wasatch County.
In Fairview, a town outside Dallas, leaders denied a proposal for a 44,000-square-foot building with a 173-foot steeple in August 2024. Some community members’ objections to the plans mirrored the concerns raised by Wasatch County residents about the Heber Valley temple application: they argued it would be too big, too tall and too bright for the neighborhood.
Now, the Deseret News reports the Fairview planning commission approved revised plans for the temple Thursday, April 24, with some conditions.
The planning commission requested that the church stick to a 68-foot steeple and turn off exterior lighting anytime the temple is closed, plus every night from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m.
The new height limit would match the height of a nearby church meetinghouse.
The planning commission also asked the temple’s name be changed from the McKinney Texas Temple to the Fairview Texas Temple.
In a statement, a church spokesperson said the adjustments “demonstrate our desire to be respectful neighbors.”
The Fairview Town Council is slated to discuss the temple plans and the proposed conditions during its meeting Tuesday, April 29.
Meanwhile, in the Heber Valley, local leaders voted in favor of plans for an 88,000-square-foot temple with a 210-foot steeple in fall 2023. Soon after, opponents sued the county, arguing the construction agreement is illegal.
That lawsuit is still in process. Attorneys for the church, Wasatch County and the residents each filed motions for summary judgment. They’ll make oral arguments at a hearing June 2 in 4th District Court.
Heber and Fairview aren’t the only communities divided by a temple dispute — opponents raised similar arguments to try to prevent a temple outside Las Vegas, but the city council approved construction plans last summer.
And in Cody, Wyoming the community argued for over a year about plans for a 100-foot-tall temple. A judge ruled in favor of the church in August 2024.
