The Town of Fairview is launching a publicity campaign against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to pressure it into lowering the height of a temple under construction in the town.
The campaign will include a website and yard signs around the city. Fairview Mayor John Hubbard said the church seems concerned about their image and has previously responded to media coverage.
“The whole idea really is to catch their attention, and then maybe they can be embarrassed into doing something,” Hubbard told KERA. “It will help us with the healing process, knowing that we've done everything that we could do.”
The church declined to comment on the campaign.
Hubbard acknowledged the church is legally allowed to build the temple, but has asked church leaders to voluntarily bring the temple’s steeple down from 120 feet to 100 feet.
Some residents for years have said the temple will block the view of surrounding homeowners and cause traffic issues.
The campaign will be managed by David Margulies, president of The Margulies Communications Group in Addison. It comes after Hubbard sent the church a letter last month requesting the temple height be brought down to preserve the small-town character of Fairview, which is about 30 miles north of Dallas.
Steven Bangerter, executive director of the church’s temple department, responded later that month, saying the church would not lower its steeple height.
“The nature of a steeple’s reach toward heaven – and indeed whether a steeple should exist at all – is not for municipal authorities to decide as if the edifice were little more than an office building,” Bangerter wrote. “Compelling reasons can sometimes justify limits, but a desire not to see a steeple is not a compelling reason.”
Hubbard then followed up in another letter urging for a compromise.
“To be clear about what 120 feet means in a residential neighborhood: it is the height of the Tower of Pisa. It is taller than the outer wall of Yankee Stadium. It is nearly double the height of the Great Sphinx,” Hubbard said. “It is a structure that will be visible from virtually every point in Fairview.”
The 30,000 square-foot building began construction in February after the town council approved the building in April 2025. The church did compromise in November 2024 over the steeple height, bringing it down from its original size of over 170 feet to the current 120 feet.
The council approved the permit 5-2 after the church warned the town it would sue if its permit wasn’t granted. The church said it had already reduced its planned spire height, and further delaying its permit would be religious discrimination.
Hubbard was one of the two council members who voted against the permit.
Holly Snow, a member of the church and resident of Fairview for 15 years, said Hubbard's campaign was "disheartening."
"It is disappointing to be drumming up so much anger again," Snow said. "Especially from a place that we really love."
The church is home to 95,000 members in North Texas and has one temple in operation, according to the church. Two more temples, including the Fairview building, are announced or under construction.
Temples in the LDS church are different from a chapel, which is a regular meeting place. Temples are where more sacred ceremonies like marriage are conducted.
The church has said it needs new temples as it struggles to serve its North Texas members.
Dylan Duke is KERA's Breaking News Reporter. Got a tip? Email Dylan Duke at dduke@kera.org.
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