A judge said the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can move forward with plans to build a 10,000 square-foot LDS temple near the town of Cody’s golf course.
Back in June of last year, Cody’s Planning and Zoning Board approved the church’s site plan and conditional use permit. But the chair said the vote was invalid because an approval was needed from a majority of the seven member board.
A few weeks later the board tried to amend parts of the prior decision.
In a Petition for Judicial Review, the church asked a district judge to weigh in on whether or not the initial vote constituted final approval for the project. In an Aug. 26 decision, the judge wrote that the June vote was valid and, after that, the board did not have authority to modify its initial decision.
The Preserve Our Cody Neighborhoods Group, which has been seeking to get the church to build the temple elsewhere in Cody, also petitioned the judge to review whether the nearly 101 foot spire on the building is legal in a residential zone.
In an order addressing the church and the neighborhood groups petitions, the judge wrote that he could not consider Preserve Our Cody Neighborhood’s petition as it was not filed in the proper time window. In a Facebook post, the group said they are reviewing the decision and considering an appeal.
“While POCN fully respects the Court’s authority, POCN is concerned that the Court’s analysis is not correct and may merit further review by the Wyoming Supreme Court,” the group wrote.
The LDS church has not yet announced a construction timeline for the temple. In an emailed statement, a spokesperson wrote that the “church is grateful for this week’s ruling.”
“Since the announcement of a temple in Cody, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has worked with city leaders and listened to the concerns of residents, to bring an acceptable proposal forward that meets local zoning requirements,” wrote Amy Sinks.
The Powell Tribune reports that the neighborhood group has a 30-day window after the court’s order to file an appeal to the Wyoming Supreme Court.
