Approval of 70-foot steeple raises ire of some Henderson residents

Valerie Miller

Friday, Feb. 25, 2000 | 11:38 a.m.

A 70-foot steeple proposed for a Mormon Church meeting house was approved Thursday by the Henderson Planning Commission, but some residents won't be welcoming it with open arms.

The commission voted unanimously for a use permit and architectural review for the 16,558-square-foot building, a 216-square-foot accessory structure, along with the 70-foot steeple, despite the concerns of about a half-dozen residents from the Mission Hills and Paradise Hills area.

The church, now known as the Black Mountain Stake Meeting House, is planned for south of Mission Drive, between Greenway Road and College Drive in Paradise Hills area.

Most of the neighbors who spoke out against the project were concerned about the 70-foot steeple in a neighborhood where building heights are not supposed to exceed 35 feet.

"A 70 or 63-foot steeple does not protect the integrity of the neighborhood,' resident Deborah Winton said, referring to city planners' suggestion to reduce the height to 63 feet. "There should be a smaller steeple in a residential area."

"We request that you restrict the height," resident Mark Grealis told the Planning Commission. "This will will have a negative impact by opening the door to other commercial development. It sets a bad precedent."

Residents also questioned the appropriateness of the church in a neighborhood being studied as a rural preservation area.

"We moved to this area five years ago because it was strictly residential," Walter Scott said. "I object to this church altogether. I like churches, but not in this area."

Officials of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints maintained that the stake center was an allowed use on the site and said it would be too far away from nearby homes --a half-mile -- to disturb the neighborhood.

"This church is compatible with the neighborhood, and there is no direct impact of any kind," said John Marchiano, who represented the church.

The Planning Commission agreed that the steeple and church, similar to two other LDS centers in Henderson, would not harm the neighborhood.

"I have in my neighborhood two churches with 70-foot steeples that are closer to my house than this church is to yours," commission Vice Chairman Dale Lay told the residents. "I don't even notice them. I can't even see those 70-foot steeples."

Others on the commission saw the stake center as having a positive impact on the area.

"I think having the church adds to the neighborhood because it protects it from uses like alcohol sales," Chairman George Bochanis said.

The Planning Commission's approval of the building is considered final. Construction is scheduled to begin in July, Kent Dawson, president of the LDS Black Mountain Stake said.

It is expected to cost close to $2 million, he said.