A little over a year after approving a controversial compromise for a new temple proposed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, officials in the Collin County town of Fairview are launching a public campaign aimed at convincing church leaders to voluntarily reduce the height of the building’s spire.
Construction is actually already underway on the project, which will see a 30,000-square-foot building with a steeple reaching 120-feet high on an 8.1-acre site it owns on the north side of Stacy Road, west of Meandering Way. Initial plans had called for the spire to reach 174 feet, but the church lowered the height and made other concessions in their permit request, as previously reported by CandysDirt.com.
The town council’s 5-2 decision to approve the request followed months of public debate, mediation efforts, and concerns that a legal challenge from the church could impose significant costs on the town. However, many are still upset over the 120-foot height in a part of town largely zoned for 1-acre ranches with a height restriction of 35 feet.
Last month, Mayor John Hubbard asked the church to voluntarily lower the steeple height. Acknowledging it had the legal right to build what the town authorized, he said bringing down the height could help heal tensions in the town, where some feel the town was forced to accept the permit application under the threat of legal action…