The group seeking to stop the construction of a temple proposed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in a Cody neighborhood has filed a lawsuit in district court.
Preserve Our Cody Neighborhoods filed the petition Monday to review the Conditional Use Permit issued by the Cody Planning and Zoning Board in June.
Group spokesman Terry Skinner said they plan to file another appeal against the Board’s recent approval of the temple site plan soon.
Skinner said they were reluctant to file the appeal, but felt the Planning and Zoning board had violated city codes. Skinner said The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ plans to build the Temple with a 101-foot lighted tower in the Skyline Drive neighborhood presents several issues. He listed, “…traffic, taking up viewscapes in neighborhoods, dark night skies, and ignoring zoning rules of Cody and the Cody masterplan.”
His group gathered nearly 1,000 signatures in a petition against the temple location.
Church members say it is their constitutional right of freedom of religion to build the temple. But, Skinner said his group is not against the construction of a temple in Cody. He said they are opposed to the construction in the neighborhood.
The LDS Church has also filed a lawsuit against another Planning and Zoning board decision.
The City of Cody has not issued a building permit yet.
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