Las Vegas LDS temple takes step closer to construction, still facing legal action

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Around 150 supporters of a Las Vegas temple project expressed their enthusiasm following a vote at city hall, but residents in opposition said they are willing to continue their fight to the Nevada Supreme Court.

On Tuesday, members of the Las Vegas Lone Mountain Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gathered with Bud Stoddard, the stake president, Michael Thomson, director of Construction for the Special Projects Department for the LDS Church, and other members of their church for a vote on a drainage line on a temple site — a project which has already been unanimously approved .

Likewise, Lone Mountain residents and members of the Nevada Rural Preservation Alliance assembled in opposition to the project, hoping to point to the unapproved item as a reason to halt construction until a district court judge has ruled regarding ongoing legal action .

"I would suggest you hold it in abeyance and have a full public hearing on it," Brinton Marsden, a Lone Mountain community resident, said.

Those in opposition said they were not properly notified on Tuesday's vote pointing to city records which showed only 15 notices were mailed ahead of the planning commission meeting. For comparison, the Apr. 9 planning commission meeting on the LDS temple sent 288 notices to residents.

Members of the LDS Church in support of the drainage line, and concurrently the temple project, outlined their reasoning to Las Vegas Planning Commissioners during a public comment phase ahead of a vote on the drainage line, otherwise known as a patent easement.

"I am extremely familiar with patent easements, they are extremely ubiquitous," Stoddard said. "Every time the federal government transfers land into private ownership there are patent easements, they are vacated all the time as a matter of administrative course. Therefore, we strongly support the vacation of this easement."

After hearing public comment, the Las Vegas Planning Commission voted and passed their consent agenda, which grouped the drainage line item with several others. Although a planning commission vote is the final action on the drainage line, residents in opposition told 8 News Now they planned to file an appeal with the city clerk, which they can do within 10 days of the item's approval.

"This is a housekeeping measure that they, I believe, brought up because we brought this issue up with these parcels as we try to stop the LDS from joining our lawsuit," Sue Kristensen, a Lone Mountain community resident, told 8 News Now. "If this was such a concern, why didn't they take care of this housekeeping issue months ago?"

Kristensen said she and other members of the Nevada Rural Preservation Alliance, which is currently taking legal action against the City of Las Vegas due to an alleged erroneous LDS temple vote, are willing to appeal their case to the Nevada Supreme Court. A Las Vegas District Court Judge has not yet decided regarding the intervention of lawyers for the LDS Church in the legal action.

A similar case of a rural neighborhood in Cody, Wyoming taking legal action regarding an LDS temple is expected to be appealed to the Wyoming Supreme Court.

Representatives for the LDS Church referred all comments regarding the ongoing votes to a statement they released on Friday to 8 News Now.

"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is aware of the item connected to the Lone Mountain Temple included in the "One Motion – One Vote" section of the November 12 agenda for the City of Las Vegas Planning Commission meeting. The item is a land use entitlement request to vacate U.S. Government easements south of Hickam Avenue and East of Grand Canyon Drive submitted in response to a condition imposed by the City of Las Vegas. Such items are common during the land development process and are routinely included with other similar requests during the "One Motion – One Vote" portion of the agenda.

Plans for the construction of the Lone Mountain Temple were approved unanimously by the Planning Commission on May 14, 2024, and unanimously by the City Council on July 17. The current agenda item does not change any aspect of the approved project.

Due to ongoing litigation, the [sic] Church has no further comment." -Representatives for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Light from above Another item on the Tuesday night agenda was an amendment to lighting guidelines for several Las Vegas communities, including Lone Mountain. Supporters and designers of the LDS temple have said the continuous light on the structure and 216-foot spire is important for religious symbolism, but city staff have pushed back pointing to concerns of light pollution near the rural Las Vegas neighborhood.

"This amendment provides standards exclusively within La Madre Foothills and Lone Mountain," Ian Rynax, a city planner in the comprehensive planning division in community development said. "These two areas contain a larger share of traditional neighborhoods and rural place types where residents value darker skies, ranch style development, reduced street lighting, and lower density neighborhoods that transition into the mountains."

Rynax presented several maps that indicated where the lighting amendment would impact current and future projects — including the LDS temple site.

"There are three main components to this text amendment," he said.

City of Las Vegas lighting amendment:

Light temperature shall not exceed 4,000 kelvin

Light fixtures on or shining on buildings extending beyond 35 ft. shall be turned off between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.

Require implementation of shielding for light poles and architectural lighting

Plans for the LDS temple indicate such an amendment would limit plans for the temple structure and spire to be lit overnight, which designers have said is crucial. There are no plans for an Angel Moroni on top of the temple's spire.

Following Rynax's presentation, the Las Vegas Planning Commission approved the lighting amendment which is planned to go before city council for a vote, where it will be heard in ordinance form.