CHEYENNE, Wyoming (ABC4) — In an opinion by the Wyoming Supreme Court released Friday, the Court ruled in favor of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the City of Cody Planning, Zoning, and Adjustment Board with regards to the construction of the Cody Temple.
The Court upheld the District Court ruling that Preserve Our Cody Neighborhoods (POCN) did not petition review of the temple permit’s approval within 30 days, so the Court did not have jurisdiction to hear their petition.
POCN is an unincorporated organization of Cody landowners against the construction of the Cody Temple, according to the Court decision.
The Church broke ground on the Cody Temple in September of last year after Wyoming District Court made their ruling that POCN filed their petition too late. Construction has continued since then.
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An in-depth history of the Cody Temple’s legal battles
The Cody Temple was announced in the October 2021 general conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It will be the third temple in the state, with others in Casper and Star Valley, Wyoming.
According to the Wyoming Supreme Court opinion, the Church chose a 4.69-acre parcel of land that it owned in Cody to build the temple, and in May 2023, it requested a special exemption to the height restriction of city ordinances. In addition, it also requested approval for the site plan and a conditional use permit (CUP).
The height restriction for residential zoning according to Cody city ordinance is 30 feet. The roof height for the proposed temple was 24 feet, but the spire would be 76 feet 11 inches.
The Cody City Planner argued that the Church did not need the special exemption because the roof height of the church was below the height restriction. Building height, as defined under Cody ordinance, “refers to the vertical distance between the average finished grade and the
highest point of the coping of a flat roof,” so under that definition, the proposed temple, with its flat roof (other than the spire), was not violating any ordinances.
In June 2023, the Cody Planning, Zoning, and Adjustment Board (the board) met to review the Church’s proposals. They allowed “extensive comment” from members of the public, including members of POCN and its attorneys.
Five of the seven board members were present at the meeting. There, they tabled the Church’s request for a special exemption. Three board members voted in favor (3-2) of the Church’s site plan for the temple. The motion to grant the CUP was passed 4-1, based on the recommendation of the city planner.
The Board said that the motion to approve the site plan failed and voted to table it, but the Church filed a petition for review on the site plans in district court. It argued that the board made a mistake “as a matter of law” when it ruled that the motion failed, because the motion did in fact have a majority vote in favor.
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The board held several other meetings to review the Church’s proposals in June and July of 2023. In the June meeting, the board discussed their acceptance of the Church’s CUP. One board member said that they had “a little bit of a hiccup in the procedural side of things.” He said that they did not intend to accept the city planner’s interpretation of the height restriction, but by accepting his recommendation, they had inadvertently done exactly that.
They made a motion to reconsider the acceptance of the CUP and once again tabled the site plan and the request for a special exemption, as no agreement was reached.
The Church then filed its second appeal with the district court, claiming that the board did not have the authority to reconsider the acceptance of the CUP at that meeting. It also alleged that they did not have the authority to reconsider and table the site plan after it was already approved at the June meeting.
In July, the Church withdrew its request for a special exemption. During the board meeting, they amended their findings of the CUP, and it remained approved.
The POCN made their first petition for review with the district court on August 21, 2023. They alleged that the board’s approval of the CUP during the July 25 meeting “was arbitrary and capricious, contrary to the law, and unsupported by substantial evidence,” according to the Supreme Court opinion. The Church then filed a cross-petition for review.
In August 2023, the board held another meeting, where they approved the Church’s site plan. On August 24, POCN filed their second petition for review, alleging that the board’s approval of the site plan was also arbitrary, capricious, contrary to law, and unsupported by evidence.
The district court combined the petitions, and it found that the site plan and the CUP were approved on the June 15, and therefore POCN had not filed their petitions within the 30-day time limit.
Ultimately, the Wyoming Supreme Court upheld the district court decision, siding with the Church and the board, and the Cody Temple can continue construction.
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