Fairview Mayor John Hubbard says his Collin County town is getting boxed in by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after a yearlong zoning fight over a new temple. He argues that the clash over the building’s scale, lighting, and long-term precedent has left the roughly 11,000-person community split and staring down the prospect of years of expensive courtroom drama.
Hubbard laid out his case in an opinion piece today, writing that the church “is using the law to bully our town” and urging church leaders to voluntarily shorten the already approved tower. He also pointed back to yesterday's letter in which he again asked the church to trim the 120-foot steeple to something more in line with Fairview’s small-town feel, according to The Dallas Morning News.
What the mediated deal changed
After months of negotiations, the two sides reached a non-binding memorandum in November 2024. Town officials say that the deal scaled the project down from a two-story, roughly 45,000-square-foot building with an almost 174-foot spire to a one-story, roughly 30,000-square-foot temple with a 120-foot tower. The summary of that settlement was later posted for residents by the town, according to the Town of Fairview.
Church attorneys, in their own communication, have described the revised plans as “very significant concessions” made during mediation and have warned that if the project faces continued resistance, they may take the dispute to court, per The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Council vote, construction and site
Following lengthy public hearings and a contentious political process, the Fairview Town Council ultimately approved a conditional use permit that allows a 120-foot spire, passing it on a 5-2 vote. Council members cited warnings from legal advisers that dragging the fight out could cost the town millions in legal fees, according to the Houston Chronicle.
The permit cleared the way for construction on the temple site at 681 E. Stacy Road, where church leaders say work officially broke ground earlier this year, per Deseret News.
The legal stakes
At the center of the fight is the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, better known as RLUIPA, a federal law Congress passed in 2000 that limits how cities and towns can use zoning rules when those rules substantially burden religious exercise. Congress.gov.
RLUIPA claims can come bundled with requests for money damages and attorney-fee awards under the federal fee-shifting statute, which means municipalities risk getting stuck with hefty legal bills if a court finds a violation of federal civil-rights law. That fee-shifting authority appears in 42 U.S.C. § 1988, per Cornell LII.
Reporters and town officials note that a long-running split among federal appeals courts over how broadly RLUIPA should apply, combined with the possibility of fee awards, helps explain both the church’s willingness to press its claims and the council’s hesitation to gamble on a full-blown legal showdown. The Supreme Court has repeatedly declined to resolve those circuit disagreements, according to The Dallas Morning News.
What’s next for Fairview
Opponents of the project have already taken the council’s vote to Collin County court, and local groups say they plan to keep filing administrative challenges as long as the deadlines allow, the Houston Chronicle reports.
Meanwhile, a patchwork of federal RLUIPA decisions around the country shows that judges sometimes award substantial legal fees to religious groups that prevail in these kinds of zoning disputes. That potential outcome helps explain why both Fairview officials and church leaders appear to be edging toward settlement rather than committing to an all-out legal brawl, according to Justia (Riverside Church v. St. Michael).
