The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints first announced its plans to build a temple in Wasatch County in October 2021. It broke ground a year later at the 18-acre site along Center Street just outside Heber City limits.
The Wasatch County Council unanimously approved the temple plans in November 2023. Soon after, a small group of Red Ledges residents sued the county, saying the development agreement violated the law.
Now, about a month after a 4th District Court judge ruled in favor of the plans, saying the county properly approved the development agreement, the church is starting construction.
Wasatch County Manager Dustin Grabau confirmed Monday, Aug. 25, work is beginning. He said preparing the site will take some time.
“I think it will take some months for them to even get up out of the ground,” he said.
A church spokesperson told KPCW construction workers are grading the site and installing infrastructure.
Work will include extensive dewatering: A 2023 groundwater study estimated the church would need to pump up to a million gallons a day for several weeks to keep the site dry enough for construction.
Grabau said the church told the county construction would take about three years.
He said the church has had a permit for nearly two years and, absent an injunction, could have built already. However, church officials chose to wait until the lawsuit worked its way through court.
He said he’s “not surprised” to see work beginning after the judge’s ruling.
“We want to be a place where people can worship, where people can live their lives and do so in the comfort of our community,” he said. “I think, to the extent this [temple] facilitates that, that aligns a lot with who we want to be as a community.”
The Red Ledges residents have filed an appeal of the judge’s July ruling.
When complete, the temple will be 88,000 square feet. It will stand 210 feet tall at its highest point.
