FAIRVIEW, Texas — The mayor of the town of Fairview in Collin County tells WFAA he has received notice that a lawsuit will soon cross his desk in connection with the Tuesday night town council vote to deny a conditional use permit for the construction of a new, and much bigger, Mormon temple.
After hours of debate from concerned neighbors and from members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the council voted unanimously to deny the church's request. A proposed 45,000-square-foot temple next to its current structure on East Stacy Road would be as much as 65 feet high with a 173-foot steeple in a neighborhood where new construction is zoned to a limit of just 35 feet.
"So our goal is to truly love our neighbor as ourselves," said Inga Fredrickson of the neighborhood group Fairview United, which formed to fight the proposal in its current form and size. "And we feel like we've done that by making this about ordinances and not about religion."
In legalese, the town council "denied without prejudice" the church's application for a conditional use permit for a religious facility. Denied without prejudice recognizes that the dispute or negotiations are not over and that the church can keep trying.
That's what Fairview Mayor Henry Lessner says happened on Wednesday.
"They threatened us from the very beginning and all last night that they're going to sue us. And here we are, so court is next," Lessner said.
Lessner says he received notice Wednesday morning that legal action is in the works.
"They said they would sue us. So this is what we expected," he said. "So now, as I tell people, they all talk about praying for me. They need to pray for our attorneys because it's in their hands right now."
"It is not the intention of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to go to court and fight matters," said Elder Art Rascon, a spokesperson for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. "But we also understand the importance of standing up for religious freedoms."
In an official written statement, the church told WFAA:
"We are disappointed with last night's vote by the Fairview City Council and express gratitude for the tireless efforts of those who worked to provide correct and positive information to the community about the temple project. The Church's application for the temple meets all zoning requirements for a place of worship in this community. Due to the outcome of the vote, the Church will explore other avenues to ensure the temple proposal receives the due process it is entitled to under the law."
Lessner tells WFAA the council did what they felt was right at this point in the process: a process he knows is not over, with a prayerful - and legal - decision to come somewhere down the road.
A spokesperson for the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints tells WFAA that they have not filed any legal action at this time.
The mayor of Fairview tells WFAA that the legal notice he has received comes from “two individuals” citing religious freedom as their reason for pursuing legal action.