Four men opposed to the size of the Heber Valley Utah Temple are seeking an emergency court hearing to stop construction.
Workers began to grade the temple site on Monday for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints a month after a judge dismissed the opponents’ lawsuit.
Bruce Van Dusen and three other men have filed an appeal of that ruling with the Utah Supreme Court, which has moved to transfer the appeal to the Utah State Court of Appeals.
The Wasatch County Council approved the temple project in November 2023.
Since then, the church has had the legal right to proceed with construction, but it instead waited voluntarily for last month’s ruling by Fourth District Judge Jennifer Mabey.
Mabey rejected every argument in the lawsuit except for the one the men made that they had standing to file the suit.
Van Dusen and the other men pushed the gas pedal on their appeal of Mabey’s ruling by filing their request Thursday for an expedited hearing on a motion to stay construction.
“Good cause exists for ordering expedited briefing on the ... motion because petitioners will be harmed by the construction of the temple,” the men said in their motion. “Time is of the essence to prevent any construction or development from beginning which would injure petitioners.”
They also argued the stay would protect the church.
“lighting. could face additional burdens or costs undoing any development occurring during the briefing period,” the motion stated. “Expedited briefing furthers the goal of providing a just, speedy, and inexpensive finality to this proceeding.”
The motion, filed in Fourth District Court, asks a judge to order Wasatch County and the church respond in court by Sept. 5.
The attorney representing the men said they believe the proposed temple is larger than allowed by county zoning laws.
“The petitioners are not opposed to the temple itself, but are opposed to any structure which so dramatically violates the height and mass restrictions for the subject zone and otherwise contravenes the law,” Robert E. Mansfield said in an email to reporters.
A spokesman for the Church of Jesus Christ noted in a statement that Wasatch County issued a building permit to the church nearly two years ago. The church could have begun construction then, said Sam Penrod.
“On July 23, a district court judge ruled against the plaintiffs and dismissed the case,” he said. “Construction work is now underway on the church’s property to grade the site and install necessary infrastructure to support the future temple.”
President Russell M. Nelson dedicated the site for the temple’s construction at a ceremonial groundbreaking in 2022.
“We pray that the construction of this temple may be completed to accommodate thy divine purposes,” he said.
The plans call for a three-story temple with 87,626 square feet on an 18.17-acre lot.
The church agreed to dim the temple’s lighting in a compromise with neighbors.