Fury erupts in Nevada town as residents resist big Mormon temple

•  Residents of Lone Mountain worry the temple will destroy their community
•  The proposed 216-foot temple would tower over their two-story houses
•  Community members aim to preserve its unique rural character 

Angry residents in a rural Nevada town are doing everything they can to stop the Mormon church from erecting a 216-foot temple in their neighborhood.

Although residents in Lone Mountain insist that their frustration doesn’t stem from any issue with the Mormon religion, they are nevertheless opposed to the temple’s construction.

The Lone Mountain townsfolk fear that the proposed 87,000-square-foot temple will disrupt their rural lifestyle and lead to further development.

In particular, they are concerned with the temple’s planned height- 216 feet- which will dwarf the rest of the buildings in the area.

Residents of Lone Mountain, a small and sleepy community in Las Vegas, are up in arms about the Mormon church’s plans to construct an enormous temple in their neighborhood, pictured: a mock-up of the proposed temple

In Lone Mountain, homes are required to stand no higher than two stories. The 216-foot temple would dwarf all buildings in the area. In order to illustrate just how much taller the temple would be, some residents floated a balloon 216 feet high in the air on Saturday; pictured: the balloon floating high above Lone Mountain

In late March, twelve locals and members of the Northwest Rural Preservation Association, an organization that aims to preserve the rich rural culture in the Lone Mountain area, expressed their anxiety about the project.

Brinton Marsden, a member and long-time inhabitant of the area, said: ‘We’re talking about a three-story office building that’s going to be lit up 24/7.’

‘It’s going to stick out like a sore thumb in the middle of a rural setting,’ Marsden told 8news.

Marsden also cited the Interlocal Agreement between the City of Las Vegas and Clark County, a document meant to protect the community from more populous urban planning.

‘For instance, no home can be built on less than a half-acre,’ he said.

‘It has to be a single-family home no taller than two stories.’

The organization’s treasurer, Erin DeLoe expressed a fear that the area’s pleasant and serene dark skies would vanish once the temple, with all its bright lights, was constructed.

About 15 other members of the community joined the resident when he launched the balloon

Brinton Marsden (pictured), a longtime member of the community, said the temple was ‘going to stick out like a sore thumb in the middle of a rural setting’

Northwest Rural Preservation Association treasurer Erin DeLoe (pictured) said: ‘We have no streetlights, no curbs, no gutters, and no sidewalks, and that’s what we like’

‘We have no streetlights, no curbs, no gutters, and no sidewalks, and that’s what we like,’ DeLoe said.

‘This structure will be as tall as the Durango Casino.’

Both Marsden and DeLoe were adamant that their objection to the temple had nothing to do with the Mormon faith.

‘If the Catholic Church wanted to build a basilica across the street, I’d be against that too,’ Marsden said. ‘This is not a religious thing at all.’

And DeLoe said: ‘I value their faith, and what they have taught their people.’

‘I don’t want this to be taken as an affront to their beliefs because that’s not it at all, it’s the building.’

This past Saturday, residents in Lone Mountain took action to illustrate the proposed height of the new Mormon temple.

An aggrieved local purchased seven-foot helium balloon, which they then floated above the Lone Mountain area at an altitude of 216 feet- the proposed height of the temple.

The balloon, which could withstand 15 mile an hour winds, was affixed to two cinderblocks to anchor it.

Around 15 community members walked over to the balloon’s launch site and stood there in solidarity.

Matt Hackley, a Lone Mountain resident, said: ‘We as the neighbors are trying to battle against this project.’

‘It does not fit the neighborhood.’

Like Brinton Marsden, Hackley also invoked the Interlocal Agreement.

‘It does not fit along within the guidelines of what the rest of the neighborhood has to follow.’

‘Our homes are asked to be 35 feet maximum, and the LDS community is asking for their temple to be 216 feet.’

Although the Interlocal Agreement could indeed tie up future construction on the temple, a recent report conducted by the City of Las Vegas concluded that the Mormon temple would not violate the requirements of the Interlocal Agreement.

One local resident complained that their houses were required to be under 35 feet in height, while the proposed temple would be 216 feet tall; pictured: Lone Mountain, Las Vegas

The lot (pictured) on which the Mormon church hopes to build encompasses some 20 acres- enough to contain the proposed 87,000-square-foot bulk of the temple

Bud Stoddard, stake president of the Las Vegas Lone Mountain Stake of the Mormon church, told 8news that he believed that 3,000 members he represents approve of the temple.

Stoddard explained that he was aware of the community’s concerns, but that the power to alter the temple’s height was not vested in him.

The lot the Mormon church hopes to build on amounts to 20 acres.

The massive temple would stand between North Grand Canyon Drive and Tee Pee Lane. The Lone Mountain temple would be the second Mormon temple in Las Vegas and the fourth in the state of Nevada.

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