The tides of change can already be seen along the skyline of Cody, Wyoming.
Instead of a relatively unobstructed view of Cedar and Rattlesnake mountains overlooking the city, now anyone looking that way will see a large yellow crane. It’s waiting in eager anticipation to help build a controversial Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints temple that a group of local residents are trying to stop in Park County District court.
Later this month, a final hearing will be held in the lawsuit that was filed by neighbors of the proposed temple site and others trying to block its construction.
The decision made by Johnson County Judge John R. Perry coming out of the May 23 hearing will likely determine if construction of the temple can begin.
In the meantime, the church seems ready to start as soon as it’s able, with a host of large shipping containers with components of the temple being moved to the temple site off Skyline Drive.
Outrage
Many in Cody expressed outrage on social media this week that not only had the crane been moved to the proposed site, but so have modular units for the proposed Cody LDS temple. These storage units contain materials for the 101-foot-tall temple’s construction.
The church announced in a press release this week that because the previous spot the containers were stored is no longer available, it had to move them to a site adjacent to where the temple will be built.
As first reported by Cowboy State Daily in 2023, these items were being stored at Y-Tex Corp., a business owned by a member of the church who had donated the land for the temple.
“This new storage location will avoid future crossings of public roads with these modular units during the temple construction,” said Jimmie Edwards, second counselor for the LDS Cody Wyoming Stake, in a press release. “The church is not yet commencing construction of the temple.”
The church owns the temple property and is fully allowed to use the site to keep the containers there.
But many locals say the optics look bad and that it serves as evidence that construction of the temple is inevitable.
Others defend the project, saying it’s hypocritical that critics aren’t similarly outraged about two historic buildings that were torn down in the city earlier this year.
Not So?
The nearly 10,000-square-foot temple sparked controversy mainly because of the size of the building and its steeple on an almost 5-acre piece of land overlooking Cody. Some living in the neighborhood say the steeple will destroy their viewshed, and the temple will have other negative impacts like ruining the night sky and creating more traffic.
The temple dispute is a topic that has dragged on for more than a year in Cody. The issue has riled up the community, causing a clear divide between those who support and oppose the project.
Cody resident Dylan Wood, who runs youth ministries in town, said he’s very disappointed with how some people have been speaking about the temple online, particularly those he knows to be of the Christian faith using scripture in what he sees as a distrustful and hateful manner.
“There’s been some really hateful stuff from people who are ‘Christians,’ and it really hurts my heart,” he said.
Wood said people need to remember the Ten Commandments, which state that, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”
Although he’s under no illusion that Cody is perfect, Wood said many people seem to prefer being upset about something rather than appreciating the positivity in the community around them. Five years down the road after the temple is finished, Wood believes the community will have already forgotten about it.
Carla Egelhoff, an organizer with Protect Our Cody Neighborhoods (POCN), a group fighting the church in court, hasn’t forgotten about the temple yet. Egelhoff said she isn’t personally bothered by the materials being moved to the temple site, but has no idea if the church is telling the truth about why it is moving them.
Optimism
Egelhoff said she believes her group’s case is strong. POCN is challenging the decision made by the Cody Planning and Zoning Board (PZB) to allow construction of the temple last August.
“POCN has entered compelling legal arguments based on the Wyoming State Statutes and Cody city ordinances in support of a decision to reverse the PZB decisions and remand the conditional use permit and the site plan back to the City of Cody,” Egelhoff said.
If the judge doesn’t rule in POCN’s favor, Egelhoff said the group will consider filing an appeal with the Wyoming Supreme Court.
Egelhoff also mentioned how the Cody City Council approved a number of changes as a result of how the temple approval process played out. Most notably, this includes more deference to the city’s master plan and notification to landowners in a larger range around a proposed project for a conditional use permit (CUP).
According to the Cody Enterprise, under the new code, if 20% or more of the property owners object to a project, the PZB can only make a recommendation to the city council, which then gets the final decision. In the past, only Planning and Zoning Board members had a final say on CUPs.
“The change of number of neighbor notifications and handling of nearby affected property owners input is welcomed at this time,” Eglehoff said. “Significant opposition to requests that are outside of current zoning ordinances ought to be addressed by elected officials. More opportunities for citizen participation will be positive for Cody into the future.”
Also, when a site plan is under consideration, there now must be approval from the majority of the board, not just the members present at a meeting, which aligns with Wyoming law. This had been a major source of contention at a meeting last summer where a majority of the board members present at a meeting rejected its site plan, not the board as a whole.
Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.
