Fairview Renews Fight Over LDS Temple Steeple Height as Construction Continues

A dispute that many in Fairview thought was settled more than a year ago is back in the spotlight, as the town's leadership asks the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to reconsider the height of a steeple it already approved — and the Church has made clear it has no intention of changing course. How We Got Here The Fairview Texas Temple has been a source of debate in the small Collin County town since it was first proposed in 2022 under the name McKinney Texas Temple. The Church's original design called for a two-story, roughly 44,000-square-foot building with a spire reaching nearly 174 feet. The town rejected that plan in August 2024. Following mediation, the Church submitted a scaled-down design: a single-story, roughly 30,000-square-foot temple with a 120-foot spire. Even that revised height proved contentious. Fairview's own Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approving the permit only if the spire were limited to 68 feet 3 inches — a recommendation the Town Council ultimately did not follow. On April 29, 2025, the Council voted 5-2 to approve a conditional use permit at the full 120 feet, with conditions capping the roof and facade at 44 feet 7 inches, limiting total floor area to 30,742 square feet, and requiring exterior lighting to shut off between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. John Hubbard, then a council member, was one of the two votes against the permit. Several residents sued the town and the Church later that year, arguing the council needed a supermajority to approve the permit given the level of formal protest. A Collin County District Court judge ruled in December 2025 that fewer than 20 percent of neighboring property owners had filed a formal protest, meaning no supermajority was required, and that the permit was legally granted. Construction broke ground on the eight-acre site in February 2026, with Elder Jonathan S. Schmitt, a Church regional leader, offering a site dedicatory prayer at the ceremony. A New Push, After the Fact Hubbard is now Fairview's mayor. On May 1, 2026, he sent a letter to every member of the Church's First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, asking them to reconsider the steeple's height. Elder Steven R. Bangerter, executive director of the Church's Temple Department, replied on May 20, stating the Church would proceed with the design already approved by the Town Council. Bangerter wrote that a "desire not to see a steeple is not a compelling reason" to revisit an already-settled design. In June 2026, Hubbard and the Fairview Town Council escalated further, launching a formal pressure campaign called FairviewSpeaks, complete with a website and yard signs. At a news conference announcing the campaign, Hubbard misidentified Bangerter, a senior Church leader known as a General Authority Seventy, as a lower-level staffer, saying, "What we received was a letter from an employee." The specific height Hubbard is asking for has varied depending on the source. KERA News reported the campaign's ask as bringing the steeple down from 120 feet to 100 feet, while Hubbard has separately pointed to the roughly 70-foot steeple at the Church's Yorba Linda, California temple, and a planned Vienna, Austria temple with no steeple at all, as preferred models. Hubbard has been candid about the campaign's strategy: "Maybe they can be embarrassed into doing something," he told KERA News, describing the goal as helping the town complete its "healing process" regardless of outcome. The Church's response has been unambiguous. Spokeswoman Melissa McKneely said the renewed campaign was "discouraging" and reaffirmed that the Church "will honor the mediation agreement we made." A Divided Town The dispute has split opinion in Fairview itself. Some longtime residents have said for years that the temple's height would loom over surrounding homes and worsen traffic on an already busy corridor. Others, including members of the local congregation, see the renewed campaign as reopening a wound rather than healing one. Holly Snow, a Fairview resident and church member of 15 years, called the fresh push "disheartening," saying it was disappointing to see anger stirred up again "from a place that we really love." The Church says it has roughly 95,000 members across North Texas, with one temple currently operating in the region and two more, including the Fairview project, announced or under construction. What Happens Next Hubbard has acknowledged that the Church's approved plans meet all of Fairview's legal requirements and that the Church holds a valid building permit. "They have every right, right now, to build to 120 feet," he said, adding that he still believes the height "doesn't fit into the character of the town of Fairview." Construction is continuing under the existing permit. As of this reporting, the Church has given no indication it will change its plans. For Fairview residents, the practical questions — what the finished building will look like, how it will affect traffic on Stacy Road, and whether the surrounding neighborhood adjusts to it — will likely be answered only once construction is complete.