Residents urge council to enforce zoning precedent in proposed Stacy Road LDS temple

Dozens of residents urged the Fairview Town Council on Feb. 4 to enforce local zoning precedents and require a redesigned plan for a proposed Church of Jesus Christ of Latter‑day Saints temple on Stacy Road.

Speakers said the project as described to the town would exceed roof and steeple heights historically allowed in RE‑1 residential areas and asked council members to hold the applicant to the same standards other religious structures have followed.

Marlo Ballard, a 22‑year Fairview resident, opened the public comments portion with a focus on the conditional use permit process and town planning documents. “The approval of variances through the conditional use permit process is not arbitrary,” Ballard said, adding that the town’s comprehensive plan sought to “preserve the country character of Fairview” and that past council decisions set precedents for nonresidential structures in residential zones.

Gretchen Wilde, presenting a petition compiled by Fairview United, told council members the petition collected signatures from 2,482 Fairview residents and asked the council to require the developer to comply with existing limits on roof and steeple height. Wilde summarized the petition and positions contained in a press release submitted to the council, noting the petition requests that roof height not exceed “42 foot 2 inches” and that “the steeple height does not exceed 68 foot 3 inches” and asking that exterior lighting comply with the town’s dark‑sky ordinance and that traffic, drainage and construction impacts be mitigated before final action.

Ben Brown, another Fairview resident who spoke later in the public‑comment segment, framed the dispute as a repeat of last year’s review process and said the applicant had threatened litigation. “This seems like deja vu all over again,” Brown said, referring to the applicant’s prior statements that they would sue if the town denied their preferred design. Brown encouraged the council to continue relying on transparent public review and town procedures and said the church can submit a plan that complies with Fairview zoning or seek a new conditional use permit.

Speakers referenced the council’s Aug. 6, 2024 unanimous vote to deny without prejudice a prior conditional use permit application and a nonbinding memorandum of settlement signed Nov. 18, 2024. Several commenters said there has been no new formal design submission since then and urged the council to require compliance with Fairview’s code of ordinances and previously established height precedents.

Council members did not take action on the matter during the meeting; the remarks were delivered during the citizens’ comments portion, where the council customarily does not respond.

The town and the applicant were both mentioned throughout public comments; no final decision was recorded during the Feb. 4 meeting.