The Utah Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that construction on the Heber Valley Utah Temple can continue.
That ruling is in favor of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which had started and stopped construction during the legal battle once. The church argued in December that delaying construction would mean $7.8 to $11.4 million in increased costs.
But the church isn’t entirely in the clear yet. While the state’s highest court considers the appeal submitted by the petitioners — a group of Red Ledges residents in the neighborhood where the temple is to be built — continued construction might come back to bite the church. The Heber Valley Utah Temple would need to be torn down if the appeals process ends in favor of the petitioners.
Robert Mansfield, attorney for the petitioners, said he believes the court should have kept the injunction on construction in place.
“I also think it’s important to note that the opinion specifically states that the church recognize that if they ultimately lose the appeal, they’re moving forward with this construction at their own risk,” Mansfield said. “They know they may well have a risk of having to tear it down and then incur the cost to restore the property.”
Mansfield said he and the petitioners are disappointed by the ruling but they are committed to ensuring the legal issues of the case are properly reviewed.
Wasatch County Deputy Attorney Jon Woodard acknowledged the situation on Thursday.
“As with any project under appeal, the church would be proceeding at its own risk and could be required to remediate the site if the approval were ultimately overturned,” Woodard said in a statement. “Wasatch County will continue to defend its approval while the appeals proceed.”
Justice Paige Petersen wrote the opinion released by the Utah Supreme Court, saying that while some factors weighed in the petitioners’ favor, the petitioners did not adequately show how they would be irreparably harmed if construction continues.
Petersen wrote that it’s clear the church understands that it “may well lose” what it spent on construction and bear the cost of restoring the site to its previous condition.
“We acknowledge that such an eventuality may cause inconvenience for petitioners and that the land, which is now vacant, would be changed. 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,” the opinion states.
San Penrod, media relations manager for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said the court’s decision is a welcome one.
“The church is hopeful that the appeal of the previously dismissed lawsuit will soon be resolved in its favor. 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,” Penrod said.
Penrod referred to the lawsuit that was originally resolved by Fourth District Judge Jennifer Mabey, who ruled in favor of the church in July.
Bruce Van Dusen, Bruce Quade, Shawn Savarino and Domonic Savarino objected to the church’s plan because they believed the temple plans violated local land use laws. The 210-foot-tall temple was approved for construction in a residential zone where new developments are limited to 35 feet high from the natural grade.
Plans for the Heber Valley Utah Temple include an 88,000-square-foot building.
The church intends to restart preliminary utility and grading work on the property right away to prepare the site for construction of the temple.