LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — In light of a Las Vegas City Council vote, a planned temple in the Lone Mountain community will not be allowed to brighten the building during overnight hours.
On Feb. 5, a lighting ordinance for several Las Vegas communities was amended to limit the temperature, timing and height for lighting. The amendment, which includes the Lone Mountain community, also encompasses the site for the approved and planned temple for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The change comes into conflict with the religious symbolism of continuous light for the temple, according to the temple’s designers. In Nov. 2024, Ian Rynax a Las Vegas city planner explained the importance of the ordinance to the city council during a presentation.
“This amendment provides standards exclusively within La Madre Foothills and Lone Mountain,” Ian Rynax, a city planner in the comprehensive planning division in community development said. “These two areas contain a larger share of traditional neighborhoods and rural place types where residents value darker skies, ranch style development, reduced street lighting, and lower density neighborhoods that transition into the mountains.”
City of Las Vegas lighting amendment:
- Light temperature shall not exceed 4,000 kelvin
- Light fixtures on or shining on buildings extending beyond 35 ft. shall be turned off between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.
- Require implementation of shielding for light poles and architectural lighting
A spokesperson for the LDS Church acknowledged the ordinance and said the church always abides by the law and will be following all the requirements. The temple will also not have an Angel Moroni statue on top, according to the LDS Church.
The Las Vegas Nevada Temple at the foothills of Frenchman Mountain, opened in 1989, will remain under its current ordinance.
Legal action dismissed
The legal action filed by Nevada Rural Preservation Alliance against the City of Las Vegas’ vote on the LDS temple was dismissed Tuesday by a Las Vegas judge.
District Court Judge Ronald Israel heard arguments for and against a motion to dismiss the legal action against the city, with arguments presented by representatives for the LDS Church who were allowed to intervene.
“Judge, I think I’m reading the tea leaves here,” Evan Schwab, attorney for Nevada Rural Preservation Alliance, said. “I think, you know, the matters have been pretty adequately pled, and unless you had questions of us, I would-.”
Israel responded he didn’t have questions for Schwab and cited the Nevada Rural Preservation Alliance was formed after the city’s vote, therefore not a party to the legal action.
“And therefore, I’m granting the motion to dismiss for lack of standing by Nevada Rural Preservation Alliance,” Israel said. “I’m denying, I suppose, if you will, the countermotion, there’s no grounds, there’s no authority to do that.”
8 News Now previously spoke with Schwab and other members of the Nevada Rural Preservation Alliance who said they would appeal the case to the Supreme Court of Nevada, pointing to similar movements in Wyoming and Texas. 8 News Now reached out to the organization and Schwab, but they have not responded by time of publishing.
