Fury erupts in Las Vegas community as residents push back against massive Mormon temple that would stand 216-feet high and tower over their quiet streets

Angry residents in a Nevada town are doing everything they can to stop the Mormon church from erecting a 216-foot temple in their neighborhood.

Although residents in the Lone Mountain neighborhood of Las Vegas insist that their frustration doesn't stem from any issue with the Mormon religion, they are nevertheless opposed to the temple's construction. 

The Lone Mountain townsfolk fear that the proposed 87,000-square-foot temple will disrupt their rural lifestyle and lead to further development.  In particular, they are concerned with the temple's planned height- 216 feet- which will dwarf the rest of the buildings in the area.

'It's going to stick out like a sore thumb in the middle of a rural setting,' resident Brinton Marsden told 8news.

In late March, 12 locals and members of the Northwest Rural Preservation Association, an organization that aims to preserve the rich rural culture in the Lone Mountain area, expressed their anxiety about the project.

Marsden, a member and long-time inhabitant of the area, said the large building would be lit up '24/7' over their quiet town.

Marsden also cited the Interlocal Agreement between the City of Las Vegas and Clark County, a document meant to protect the community from more populous urban planning.

'For instance, no home can be built on less than a half-acre,' he said.

'It has to be a single-family home no taller than two stories.' 

The organization's treasurer, Erin DeLoe, expressed a fear the area's pleasant and serene dark skies would vanish once the temple, with all its bright lights, was constructed.

'We have no streetlights, no curbs, no gutters, and no sidewalks, and that's what we like,' DeLoe said. 'This structure will be as tall as the Durango Casino.'

Both Marsden and DeLoe were adamant their objection to the temple had nothing to do with the Mormon faith.

'If the Catholic Church wanted to build a basilica across the street, I'd be against that too,' Marsden said. 'This is not a religious thing at all.' 

DeLoe added: 'I value their faith, and what they have taught their people.'

'I don't want this to be taken as an affront to their beliefs because that's not it at all, it's the building.'

This past Saturday, residents in Lone Mountain took action to illustrate the proposed height of the new Mormon temple.

An aggrieved local purchased seven-foot helium balloon, which they then floated above the Lone Mountain area at 216 feet - the proposed height of the temple.

The balloon, which could withstand 15mph, was affixed to two cinderblocks to anchor it. Around 15 community members walked over to the balloon's launch site and stood in solidarity.

Matt Hackley, a Lone Mountain resident, said: 'We as the neighbors are trying to battle against this project.'

'It does not fit the neighborhood.'

Like Brinton Marsden, Hackley also invoked the Interlocal Agreement. 

'It does not fit along within the guidelines of what the rest of the neighborhood has to follow.' 

'Our homes are asked to be 35 feet maximum, and the LDS community is asking for their temple to be 216 feet.'

Although the Interlocal Agreement could indeed tie up future construction on the temple, a recent report conducted by the City of Las Vegas concluded that the Mormon temple would not be in violation - as the agreement does not address religious or government facilities. 

Bud Stoddard, stake president of the Las Vegas Lone Mountain Stake of the Mormon church, told 8news that he believed that the 3,000 members he represents approve of the temple.

Stoddard explained he was aware of the community's concerns, but the power to alter the temple's height was not vested in him.

The lot the Mormon church hopes to build on amounts to 20 acres.  

The massive temple would stand between North Grand Canyon Drive and Tee Pee Lane. The Lone Mountain temple would be the second Mormon temple in Las Vegas and the fourth in the state of Nevada.