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- A 4th District judge halted the Heber Valley Utah Temple construction pending a Utah Supreme Court decision.
- The Latter-day Saint temple, announced in October 2021, faces opposition from four Heber City residents.
- The church is appealing the stay to the state's high court.
HEBER CITY — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is appealing to the Utah Supreme Court a recent decision by a 4th District judge granting a motion to put construction of its Heber Valley Utah Temple on hold again.
"The church and Wasatch County prevailed on summary judgment. This court entered its judgment on Sept. 3. Petitioners have appealed from that judgment, and that case is now pending before the Utah Supreme Court," attorneys for the church wrote in their appeal filed Friday in 4th District Court. "The church is seeking to vacate the stay order via motion in the appeal," and "out of an abundance of caution, however, the church is filing this separate notice of appeal to protect its rights in case the Utah Supreme Court deems a separate appeal necessary."
Construction of the temple was announced in October 2021, and a groundbreaking and dedicatory prayer was held a year later. The temple is set to be built in what is known as the Red Ledges area, just outside of Heber City, southeast of 1400 E. Center Street.
On Oct. 26, 2023, the Wasatch County Planning Commission recommended the Wasatch County Council approve updated plans for the temple in a tense meeting where some residents were split with concerns and support. Church officials later addressed technical issues in their plans. The new temple plans included dimmer lights and more muted colors to comply with the lighting code.
In November 2023, four residents filed a lawsuit against Wasatch County to block the construction of the temple.
The lawsuit argues that the residents' views will be blocked by the 200-foot structure, and claims that they "will also be subject to noise, light and disturbances created by the temple's operations," the night sky will be affected by the temple lights, they will be affected by increased noise from people visiting the temple, and they will be subjected to additional traffic and loss of privacy.
The residents who filed the petition claimed the county acted illegally by using a legislative development agreement to approve the plans.
In July, a 4th District judge ruled in favor of the county. The petitioners argued they weren't given adequate notice as required by law about the meetings where the land use for the temple was being considered, according to the court decision. But the court cited notices that detailed the temple discussion and noted that the petitioners and attorneys were there at the meeting to "present objections." Therefore, the court rejected the petitioners' argument of "inadequate notice."
The petitioners also argued that the county violated Utah's County Land Use, Development, and Management Act, but the court said in its decision it did not find violations of the act.
Residents quickly appealed that decision. But the Utah Supreme Court again ruled in favor of the county. However, residents appealed the decision, and the state's high court decided in September that it would also hear the appeal.
On Sept. 19, the 4th District judge agreed with the residents' motion to place construction of the temple on hold again until the state's high court makes its decision about the appeal. The judge's written order was signed on Oct. 3.
"The Utah Supreme Court has not yet ruled on or addressed the correctness of the district court's granting of summary judgment in favor of the county and the LDS Church. The purpose of the appeal is to challenge the correctness of that ruling," the residents' attorney, Robert Mansfield, told KSL.com.
