“This has been an extraordinarily difficult decision… None of us are pleased with this, but it is what we think we need to do,” a councilmember said Tuesday night.
Before voting to approve the temple, nearly all councilmembers voiced their displeasure and disapproval of the decision. Councilmembers also explained the provisions under which the temple would be permitted to be built.
The Fairview Texas Temple will not be allowed to exceed a height of 44 feet and 7 inches from the ground up to the roof, and its spire will not be allowed to exceed 120 feet from the ground up. The building itself will be limited to roughly 30,700 square feet, and there are also restrictions on the exterior lighting of the building.
“We are grateful for the outcome of last night’s meeting and extend our sincere appreciation to the Fairview Town Council for honoring the terms of the mediated agreement,” Melissa McKneely, a spokesperson for the Church in Texas, said in a statement. “We know the temple will be a peaceful addition to Fairview and the surrounding communities.”
The approved temple plans were modified from the original blueprints, being scaled down from a 44,000-square-foot building with a reported 174-foot spire. The latest plans from the church indicated a 30,000-square-foot building with a 120-foot-tall spire on 8.61 acres in Fairview.
On April 28, 2025, the church announced that the name of the temple would be changed from the McKinney, Texas Temple to the Fairview Texas Temple.
Here’s a timeline of the Fairview Texas Temple, starting with when it was first announced up to the latest debates and approvals.
President Russell M. Nelson announces 18 new temples — one of which is announced to be built in the town of Prosper, Texas. The temple was originally announced as the Prosper Texas Temple.
On December 4, 2023, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announces the location of the temple. The name is changed to the McKinney Texas Temple, and the temple is announced to be built in Fairview, Texas.
The LDS church releases a rendering of the original plans for the McKinney Texas Temple. Original plans called for a 44,000-square-foot building with several stories, to be built on a plot of land larger than 8 acres.
An online petition is shared for members of the church and supporters of the temple to explain why they felt the temple should be built in the town after opposition began circulating online.
The Fairview Town Council includes a memorandum in an agenda for a town council meeting, claiming the proposed height of the temple, including the spire, would be nearly 174 feet.
Buildings within the district are limited to a building height of 35 feet, but some exceptions have been made for religious buildings. One such exception that was made in the past was for a Latter-day Saint meetinghouse, with a spire measuring 68 feet tall, according to the memorandum.
In an email from local church leaders (as shown in a screenshot posted online), members had been asked to email the planning manager for the town of Fairview. Leaders said, in part, that “the height of the steeple is part of our Religious Observance.”
The town of Fairview and the Church of Jesus Christ enter “non-binding mediation” and reach a tentative agreement, with the church initially agreeing to a smaller building and shorter spire.
On Dec. 3, 2024, Fairview officials have a “feedback session” regarding the non-binding settlement with the church.
A newsletter is sent to Fairview residents discussing the latest developments in the temple debate. The newsletter explains that Fairview had informed church leaders that there was a chance the new temple design would not be approved.
“If this happens, it moves us closer to being sued by the LDS church and the potential dire financial consequences of that action for the Town, should the Town lose in court,” the newsletter reads.
The LDS church sends a letter to Fairview leaders on March 17, asking the members of the town council to “reaffirm the commitments” it had made during mediation, and vaguely threatening legal action — saying the church may “seek judicial assistance.”
Fairview Mayor Henry Lessner responds to the letter, clarifying that the town had not withdrawn its support for the agreement.
“The Town has met its commitments coming out of the November mediation meeting. The church has not,” Lessner said at the time. “They were supposed to have filed documentation associated with the mediated building design on January 13. Instead, they decided to send a notice of a lawsuit letter.”
About a week after the letter was sent, the church releases a new rendering of the temple and how it would look with the smaller footprint on March 25.
“After the Town of Fairview rejected the Church’s first application, the Church and the Town reached a mediated agreement for a smaller temple,” Church spokesperson Meliss McKneely said in a statement. “The Town Council unanimously endorsed the agreement, but the mayor later called for more concessions.”
The church announces on April 28 that the name of the temple is changing from the McKinney Texas Temple to the Fairview Texas Temple.
Fairview Town Council votes to approve the plans for the temple on April 29, with the final dimensions of the temple being discussed in the town council meeting.
The Fairview Texas Temple will not be allowed to exceed a height of 44 feet and 7 inches from the ground up to the roof, and its spire will not be allowed to exceed 120 feet from the ground up. The building itself will be limited to roughly 30,700 square feet, and there are also restrictions on the exterior lighting of the building.
Aubree B. Jennings, Matthew Drachman, and Spencer Mahon contributed to this report.
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