Construction of the Heber Valley temple can proceed, the Utah Supreme Court ruled Thursday. The decision marks a significant victory for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, though litigation over the project remains unresolved.
The high court ordered that a lower court injunction halting construction be lifted while the underlying lawsuit continues through the appeals process. Work on the temple, located just east of Heber City, had been paused for about five months following a district judge’s order.
The Wasatch County Council approved the plans in November 2023, and a group of nearby residents sued soon after, alleging the project violated local and state land use laws.
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The Thursday ruling means the church is free to resume construction of the building just east of Heber City. The decision comes about five months after a district court judge ordered work on the site to pause.
Attorney Robert Mansfield, who represents the residents, told KPCW in an email he’s disappointed in the Supreme Court’s ruling.
However, he said it was important the court noted the church could take on additional risks or expenses if it built the temple, then lost the case on appeal.
Deputy Wasatch County attorney Jon Woodard also acknowledged that risk.
“As with any project under appeal, the church would be proceeding at its own risk and would be required to remediate the site if the approval were ultimately overturned,” he said.
Justice Paige Petersen, who wrote the opinion, said the residents failed to identify what irreparable harm the construction would cause.
She wrote the court was not convinced by arguments about privacy, noise and light pollution and traffic.
The Supreme Court also found arguments about environmental impact unconvincing, saying the residents failed to provide evidence of irreparable harm if construction is allowed to proceed.
The church, for its part, has promised to restore the site to its original condition if it loses the case.
“Buildings get torn down all the time,” church attorney David Jordan told the Supreme Court in December. “Now, obviously, no one would like to do that, but that’s the church’s risk – and a [risk] that it’s willing to bear and go forward and construct during the pendency of the appeal.”
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That promise from the church factored into the court’s ruling.
The court said it recognized that potentially undoing construction “may cause inconvenience” to the residents.
“But Petitioners have not explained how, if they prevail on appeal and the construction is halted, they will have been irreparably harmed in the interim,” it wrote.
Church spokesperson Sam Penrod said Thursday the church intends to restart utility and grading work on the site “right away.”
“Once completed, this temple will bless the lives of Latter-day Saints in the Heber Valley by providing a sacred house of worship closer to their homes,” he said in a statement.
The Heber Valley temple plans call for an 88,000-square-foot building, with a steeple reaching 210 feet into the sky. The site is on Center Street, just east of the Heber City limits.
While the ruling clears the way for construction activity, the broader legal challenge is still moving through the courts. Residents continue to argue that county approval failed to comply with zoning standards and environmental requirements, issues that will be weighed later on appeal.
For now, the decision shifts momentum back to the church and its contractors, who are preparing to mobilize crews and equipment that have sat idle since last fall. Community debate over the project’s size and neighborhood impacts is expected to continue even as work resumes.
Originally reported by Grace Doerfler in KPCW.
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