LDS Church breaks ground on controversial Cody Wyoming Temple after extensive legal battle

CODY, Wyoming (ABC4) — After a year-long legal battle, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints broke ground on the Cody Wyoming Temple on Friday, Sept. 27.

The temple was announced in the Oct. 2021 General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, headquartered in Salt Lake City. This will be the state’s third temple. Other temples include the Casper Wyoming Temple and Star Valley Wyoming Temple .

This groundbreaking comes after a citizen challenge was appealed and dismissed earlier this month in Wyoming District Court, putting an end to a year-plus-long legal battle. Last year, the group “Preserve Our Cody Neighborhoods” decided to sue the city over the permit being given to the Church to build the temple with a 101-foot spire.

Wyoming Public Media reported that the group “felt the Planning and Zoning board had violated city codes. [The neighborhood group] said the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints’ plans to build the Temple… presents several issues.”

Earlier this year, the same group sued for a second time, claiming the city was “stonewalling” the process. The Cowboy State Daily reported the neighborhood group stated that the now-former city planner Todd Stowell manipulated Planning and Zoning Board members. Stowell resigned earlier this year amidst the controversy, he cited different reasons for leaving his position that didn’t pertain to the Cody Temple.

The outlet reported members of the Cody Planning and Zoning Board suspected the city planner and attorney had conflicts of interest with the church that influenced the advice they gave. The filing further accused Stowell showed bias toward the church to gain approval for a temple being considered by the board. Stowell is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Several filings were made in the year-plus legal battle between residents and the church.

At the end of August, the courts ruled in favor of the Church.

“In late August, the court ruled in favor of the city’s zoning process, and the citizen challenge was dismissed, preliminary construction work is now underway,” the church said in a statement earlier this month.

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