The contentious plan by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to build a massive temple in the small sacred temple in Fairview has been a stressful experience for everyone involved since it was first announced nearly three years ago.
Many of Fairview’s 11,000 residents have blasted LDS Church project for being too large to impose on the Dallas-Fort Worth suburb; critique of the temple includes concerns that it would draw too much traffic and too many tourists, as well as obstruct skyward views and potentially lower the town’s property values. LDS leaders from North Texas (and their Salt Lake City-based spiritual headquarters) argue that they need a temple to accommodate the expansion of existing churches so that members in the region can get married and perform other religious ceremonies.
This week, the Fairview Town Council voted to approve a parcel map showing how the land would be developed for the 30,000-square-foot temple with a 120-foot spire, allowing the church to file a building permit. The procedural approval is a sign that the project is moving forward, despite the LDS Church facing a lawsuit in Collin County district court that challenges the validity of the town council’s vote earlier this year to greenlight the project…