<\/p>\n
Signs displayed at the construction zone of the Fairview Texas Temple by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, on Tuesday, May 12, 2026 in Fairview.<\/p>\n
Shafkat Anowar\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
Fairview\u2019s town leaders are launching a public awareness campaign in opposition to the height of the disputed temple<\/a> under construction by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the hopes the church will voluntarily lower the height of its spire.<\/p>\n The town\u2019s latest efforts against the Fairview Texas Temple\u2019s size comes over a year after its council approved a permit<\/a> for a 120-foot-tall spire. It initially denied a permit for a temple reaching more than 170 feet tall. After threats of a lawsuit from the church, mediation and a lawsuit from residents, construction began on the temple earlier this year.<\/p>\n The dispute over zoning rules and religious freedom has sowed division between the church and town for years<\/a>. The town\u2019s campaign reinforces lingering opposition and reveals continued conflict in Fairview.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cMy church, through this whole process, has done nothing but follow the law,\u201d said church member and Fairview resident Nikki Butler. \u201cTo have more contention stewed up in a campaign against our church for a place of worship<\/a>, it feels very confusing and disheartening.\u201d<\/p>\n Some of Fairview\u2019s 11,000 residents say the large building will disrupt their claim to a small-town identity<\/a> in Collin County, 30 miles north of Dallas. Church members say they need another temple to accommodate a growing congregation in North Texas, which currently has only one temple operating in Dallas. Another is under construction near Fort Worth.<\/p>\n A rendering of the Fairview Texas Temple, 120-feet tall and about 30,000-square-feet large. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints submitted plans for this version, a compromise from the original plan, to the town of\u00a0Fairview, Texas, on Tuesday, March 25, 2025.<\/p>\n Church of Jesus Christ of Latter\/Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n Fairview Mayor John Hubbard said he hopes a marketing campaign will convey to the church and its top leadership that the height is not popular, even if approved by the council.<\/p>\n \u201cWe feel like we\u2019ve been bullied,\u201d Hubbard said. \u201cThe council members that voted for the temple height<\/a> felt like they had no other choice because they were going to get litigated and sued and it would bankrupt the town.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n In a May letter responding to the mayor\u2019s request that the church lower the height of the temple, the executive director of the church\u2019s temple department wrote the church is unable to agree to the town\u2019s request<\/a> and asked the town \u201cto honor its commitment to support the approved design.\u201d David Margulies, president of Margulies Communications Group, has been hired to assist the town with the campaign, which is planned to include a website, campaign signs, creative services and potential events or demonstrations.\u00a0<\/p>\n The campaign intends to petition the church to lower the spire\u2019s height voluntarily, Margulies said, and comes from citizens\u2019 concerns.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not to attack the church, it\u2019s not to get in a big fight,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s just to say, \u2018do the right thing.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Jason Jones, a Fairview resident and member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said it\u2019s difficult and disappointing to see the resurgence of opposition to the temple height.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been very diligent at being good neighbors, at following the prescribed legal procedure,\u201d he said. The temple under construction is \u201ca significantly compromised size,\u201d he said, and \u201cwe feel like we\u2019ve made a massive concession<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Related: How a temple spire put a small Texas town and the LDS church’s religious rights at odds<\/a><\/p>\n Hubbard said the town will use up to $18,000 from a fund created in 2024 in anticipation of a lawsuit from the church to pay for the campaign. The fund, meant to help protect the town’s zoning ordinances, raised over $20,000 in total, according to the mayor.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s painful to see our town spend money against its own citizens and their own desired place of worship<\/a>,\u201d Jones said. He believes the temple\u2019s height is an issue of religious freedom.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The campaign is not against the temple or the LDS faith, Hubbard said, but just asks the church to reconsider the building\u2019s size<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not singling them out. We\u2019re not discriminating against them,\u201d Hubbard said. \u201cWe want the temple to be here. We just want them to consider lowering the steeple.\u201d<\/p>\n The mayor cited shorter temples across the country belonging to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is asking they make similar concessions to the height of the Fairview temple.<\/p>\n Related: A timeline of Fairview’s temple dispute with Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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The town considered the marketing campaign at a council meeting Tuesday night. A church spokesperson declined to comment on the town\u2019s efforts Wednesday.<\/p>\n