LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Las Vegas City Council approved the proposal for a temple for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Lone Mountain area.
“They made the right decision. Time, I think, will tell for the opposition. They’ll realize, hey, this was actually a good thing," said LDS church member and Las Vegas resident Eric Scholer.
Scholer and the more than 100 LDS church members who attended Wednesday's city council meeting were overjoyed about the decision to build the temple, but others are against the location and say they're disappointed in the city council's decision.
“That makes me feel like they decided this is what they wanted. Everyone in the community be damned, they will get there way," said Lone Mountain resident Victoria Bremner.
The temple will be built on a 20-acre empty lot in the Lone Mountain community off of Grand Canyon Drive and Alexander Road.
The property will have a 70,194 square foot temple, a 15,982 square foot meeting house, and a 1,690 square foot grounds building.
The meeting house will be approximately 27 feet tall and have a steeple that's 67 feet tall.
The property will have 514 parking spots to account for the guests.
According to the LDS church, the property will be open to the public Tuesday - Saturday 5 a.m. - 11 p.m. It's closed on Sundays and Mondays.
The temple itself will have a height at most 65 feet and will have a basement along with 3 floors above ground level. The temple up to the 65 foot mark is where people will congregate, however the steeple of the temple is significantly higher.
The steeple was originally designed to be 216 feet tall, but was downgraded to 196 feet at the meeting Wednesday.
“The FAA has to be the final say, but in his expertise, under 200 feet would not require a blinking or steady red light at the top," said Partner at the Kaempfer & Crowell Law Firm representing the LDS Church Jennifer Lazovich.
Many in opposition to the temple say that light was a major concern for them but said they don't believe the city council addressed their other concerns.
“Increased traffic to the temple site from the 215/Lone Mountain Road exit would make horseback riding unsafe for us," said Vickie Sharon, a Las Vegas resident who visits the Lone Mountain community several times a week.
LDS church members say they were seeking another place of worship near their homes as there is a growing Mormon community in our valley.
“It’s going to be a wonderful addition to the area," Scholer said.
The battle over a proposed new LDS Temple, which would be built in an empty lot on Grand Canyon Drive and Alexander Road in the community of Lone Mountain in the northwest part of town, has been years in the making
Many have been split on the idea of building a new LDS temple in Lone Mountain since the plan began in 2022.
Since then, progress has been made on the project and it was approved by the Planning Commission in May.
The council heard from numerous community members both for and against the proposed temple. Ultimately, with some amendments to the proposal, the city council unanimously voted to approved the temple. Such amendments include lowering the height of the steeple.
The city says developers can immediately start on the construction of this project.
