Tag: Christ

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints plans to sue the town of Fairview for denying a permit request for the McKinney Texas Temple.

In a Jan. 27 letter from attorney Eric Pinker, the church gave the town notice of its intent to file a lawsuit, citing the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The church said the town violated the church’s rights to free exercise of religion and nondiscrimination in land use regulation.

Denying a permit for the McKinney Texas Temple imposed a “substantial burden” on the church’s religious exercise by not allowing it to construct a house of worship that meets the needs of its faith, the letter from church legal representation states.

“While it continues to be the Church’s hope that this matter can be worked out amicably, in the face of continued and unreasonable opposition, it appears the Church has no choice but to defend its rights in court,” the letter states.

The church has cited the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act in past statements advocating for a religious right to construct the temple.

Related:A timeline of Fairview’s temple dispute with Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

William Christian, an attorney representing the town of nearly 11,000 people about 30 miles north of Dallas, did not have a statement on the potential lawsuit Monday afternoon. Fairview Mayor Henry Lessner is out of town and could not provide comments on the church’s letter. Mayor Pro Tem John Hubbard did not respond to requests for comment Monday.

After the Town Council rejected a nearly 174-foot-tall design in August, church and town leaders came to a nonbinding settlement in November to try to avoid a legal battle.

The church made a roughly 54-foot concession in the temple’s height and reduced the size by about 13,000 square feet. The church intended to file a new application Jan. 13 for a single-story building nearly 30,000 square feet with a 120-foot steeple height.

“The Church understood these modifications fully satisfied any concerns previously raised by the Town Council,” a Jan. 27 statement from church spokesperson Melissa McKneely reads.

In November, the council unanimously approved moving the proposed settlement to public discussion.

Related:Fairview, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reach compromise in temple dispute

“At every step we will keep our citizens informed of the content of any new proposal that may be considered,” Mayor Lessner wrote in a November statement. “There is absolutely no reason why the Church cannot respect our community’s resolve to maintain the character of our Town. The willingness to participate in good faith mediation does not change our position or commitment.”

In October, the Town Council announced a Zoning Defense Fund to collect donations to protect the town from potential litigation from the church. In December, residents spoke out against the amended plan, saying it wasn’t a compromise at all.

Many want the church to stick to a 68-foot tall building, the size of its meetinghouse in a neighboring lot.

Related:Fairview choir sings out against Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints temple

The lot falls under residential zoning restrictions that say buildings can have a maximum height of 35 feet. Fairview zoning law says churches and schools can be located in any zone that isn’t a flood hazard upon an application for a conditional use permit.

After hours of public debate and months of discussion among church members, town residents and local officials, the town denied the church this permit last summer.

McKneely said the larger building is needed to accommodate a growing population in North Texas. She said some drive more than three hours to get to the Dallas temple, the only one operating in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. A temple near Fort Worth is under construction.

“We don’t need another chapel,” she said. “We need a temple. A temple allows us to do ceremonies and worship in a different way.”

Temples are more sacred and holy buildings than meetinghouses or chapels, McKneely said, open for individual worship Tuesday through Saturday. Weddings and sacred ceremonies are held there. It’s a place for prayer, meditation, learning and receiving inspiration from God, she said.

McKneely said temple attendance is encouraged in their religious practice, but members do not congregate all at once in a single sanctuary at the temple on Sundays like at many churches. The temple is organized in smaller rooms.

“We have been incredibly gracious and thoughtful [in] conceding and attempting to listen to the concerns of the residents to build a significantly scaled-down temple, which, frankly, is not what our community needs,” McKneely said. “We need the temple that was originally turned down in August, but we are striving to be good neighbors.”

She said the temple could serve about 20,000-25,000 church members.

McKneely originally said the church did not submit their application for the amended temple Jan. 13, as planned in the terms of settlement, because it was taking more time “to make sure everything is in place” with what was agreed on.

The church told an attorney representing the town in a letter Jan. 13 the new application was not filed because of concerns the town would not honor the nonbinding agreement that came from November’s mediation.

In the letter, the church listed examples of conduct that raised concerns about whether the town would keep its end of the deal. Public comments by town officials painted the results of mediation as an ongoing negotiation, not a settled compromise, the letter states. The church cited statements Mayor Lessner gave The Dallas Morning News in previous reporting.

Related:Fairview residents decry Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints temple compromise

Mayor Lessner also wrote in a January newsletter that town attorneys had said the design agreed on in mediation would likely not be accepted.

“If this happens, it moves us closer to being sued by the LDS church and the potential dire financial consequences of that action for the Town, should the Town lose in court,” Lessner wrote. “In my meetings with over 100 residents this week, the sense I get is that the overwhelming number of residents want this to get to court.”

In public meetings, town residents have expressed a willingness to face a lawsuit from the church, which is widely considered one of the wealthiest religious institutions in the world.

“I thought y’all were going to be a hero, not only for the residents of Fairview, but for others who have been trampled on by the LDS,” said Fairview resident Alycia Kuehne to the Town Council at a December meeting. “Y’all were so fearful about a lawsuit. I say, bring it.”

In a letter to the town, a church attorney stated it would likely take the town to court unless Fairview’s leaders reassured them they’ll follow through with the settlement reached in November.

Town officials declined to meet individually to discuss the settlement’s status in January. An attorney representing the town wrote in a letter Jan. 17 this was not an indication of a rejection of the settlement but rather out of a concern for transparency and for deviating from the normal permit application process.

Fairview’s attorney wrote “strong negative feedback” from the public on the terms of the settlement prompted the town to ask the church to further reduce the temple height. The church declined, the town’s attorney wrote, but said the council was committed to following the process set out in the settlement.

“In light of the foregoing circumstances, the Church has no confidence that the Town will make good on its commitments,” the church’s Jan. 13 letter states. “The Church is further concerned that proceeding as though the Town will make good on its commitments will simply prejudice the Church’s legal rights.”

The church notified the town of its intent to sue Jan. 27.

“We just want to be able to worship peacefully, quietly,” McKneely said, saying the temple will be a beautiful addition to the community.

Its proposed site is situated near other places of worship in the town and its size was significantly reduced from the original proposal, she said.

“The church has attempted to negotiate an agreement in good faith,” McKneely said. “We came to mediation … We didn’t need to. We have a right to build this temple so that we can practice our faith, but we were trying to be peacemakers and to come to a compromise that we felt was generous.”