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Elko council reverses planning commission, approves 127‑foot golf net at temple after safety testimony
Summary
After expert testimony and resident comments, Elko City Council voted to reverse a planning commission denial and granted a conditional use permit allowing a golf‑ball net up to 127 feet high on church property, citing safety of people and property and that the church will fund and maintain the structure.
Elko City Council on Aug. 26 voted to reverse a planning commission decision and grant Conditional Use Permit 425, allowing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter‑day Saints to install a golf‑ball net up to 127 feet tall on its property adjacent to Ruby View Golf Course.
Zachary Gerber, attorney for the church, urged the council to approve the net after presenting data showing dozens of errant golf balls recovered on the site and describing one incident in which a construction subcontractor was struck while wearing a hard hat. “One injury is too many,” Gerber said, arguing the net is a safety measure being paid for and maintained by the church at no cost to the city.
The church called Dave Tanner of Tanner Consulting Group LLC, a golf‑safety consultant, to testify as an expert. Tanner said his trajectory modeling, based on typical driver performance, showed the 127‑foot design met the criteria needed to stop the worst‑case errant shots at that tee location. “At its position … the 127 feet meets the criteria for the trajectory study that we performed,” Tanner testified, describing the materials and color coatings selected to minimize visual impact.
City planner Kathy Laughlin told the council the planning commission denied the permit earlier because commissioners had unanswered questions about aesthetics, net design and precedent; she said the planning commission had not been told of the subcontractor event until the appeal was filed. “We were not told about that,” Laughlin said of the worker‑hit report, which staff said was not in the planning commission’s record at the time of their vote.
Multiple residents who live near the course and golfers testified, some saying they regularly collect golf balls on their property and describing occasions when balls reached yards and vehicles. Supporters said the church had sought high‑quality, low‑visibility materials and would keep the structure maintained; opponents at the planning‑commission stage had raised concerns the net would be a visual precedent for other properties.
After more than two hours of hearing, councilors debated alternatives — including moving tees, berms, or cantilevered nets closer to tee boxes — and heard Tanner and city staff describe technical and operational obstacles to those options. Several council members said safety was the paramount concern while acknowledging aesthetic tradeoffs. A motion to reverse the planning commission and grant CUP 425 passed on an oral, unanimous voice vote.
The council’s action adopted findings that the net was a reasonable measure to reduce the risk of personal injury and property damage given the particular configuration of the golf hole and adjoining commercial property, that the church had proposed high‑quality materials and coatings to minimize visual impact, and that the church would be responsible for construction and long‑term maintenance. The council did not direct the city to assume maintenance or costs.
The decision concludes the appeal process before the council; the planning commission’s record and the council’s written findings will be included in the final permitting and building review steps.
