“This has been an extraordinarily difficult decision, how to deal with this,” Fairview Mayor Henry Lessner told a packed house and those listening from an overflow room. “I will tell you that there’s seven of us up here. None of us are pleased with this, but it is what we think we need to do.”
He and and his fellow councilmembers who voted for the plan April 29 said the fact that the Utah-based church stood ready to sue if the town of 11,000 residents did not approve the latest design forced their hand. The design was a reduced version the two parties shook hands on during mediation last November.
As part of those negotiations, the church agreed to shave about 55 feet off its initially proposed 174-foot-high building (spire included) and shrink its overall footprint from around 45,000 square feet to roughly 30,000 square feet.
The church also renamed the edifice this week to the Fairview Texas Temple after a request from the planning and zoning commission to reflect its actual location. The church had initially dubbed it the McKinney Texas Temple, a reference to the larger neighboring city.
“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,” Melissa McKneely, a Dallas-based church spokesperson, said in a statement. “We know the temple will be a peaceful addition to Fairview and the surrounding communities.”
Back in Utah, the next hearing for the Heber Valley temple is June 2 in 4th District Court.
Read the full report at sltrib.com.
This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aims to inform readers across the state.