Weeks of public discussion and debate over The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ plans to build a new temple in Cody will come to a head Thursday night.

The City of Cody’s Planning and Zoning Board — which has received a ream of public input — will take public comments beginning at 6 p.m. and consider whether to approve a pair of permits for the building.

The church hopes to build the 9,950 square foot temple and an auxiliary building on a vacant piece of agricultural land that sits just west of Skyline Drive, near Olive Glenn Golf Course. The most distinctive feature of the exterior design is a tower that rises to 100-foot, 11-inches, which the church says is intended to be a “tribute to God and a beacon of light and hope to all who look upon it.”

However, the height of the tower, the added traffic and the nighttime lighting of the temple have drawn objections from neighbors and others who don’t feel it’s a good fit for that neighborhood.

A group of nearby residents formed a group called “Preserve Our Cody Neighborhoods” to push for the temple to be built elsewhere; they’ve set up a lighted crane in an attempt to simulate what the spire would look like, hired an attorney and gathered signatures on a petition.

Meanwhile, the church hosted an open house in Cody last week to offer information about the project and church members are gathering signatures from supporters in Cody, Powell, Meeteetse and Burlington.

Through late May, the city had already received a couple hundred pages worth of comments. The Planning and Zoning Board will take more input during Thursday’s public hearing, but the decision is not a popularity contest.

Rather, board members will determine whether the city should issue a permit for the house of worship in the rural residential zoning area and for the tower topping out at 101 feet.

In a 44-page staff report issued Friday, City Planner Todd Stowell recommended approval of the permit for the temple and said the church doesn’t actually need permission to build the tower. Although buildings in that zoning area are generally limited to 30 feet in height, the regulation only applies to the top of the main roof and not to unoccupied spires or towers, Stowell wrote. Since the main building tops out at 25 or 26 feet, it’s in compliance, he said.

Assuming the board agrees with that interpretation, “there is no further authority available to limit the height of the temple building, without being subject to a claim of being arbitrary and capricious,” Stowell wrote. “The City does not want to be in that position, particularly when the view impacts of otherwise permitted uses of the property could have as much or greater impacts to views than the proposed temple — trees, streetlights, flagpoles, etc.”

He also concluded that the traffic generated by the temple will be comparable to what would happen if the 4.69-acre property was developed into a 42-lot subdivision. As for the light from the temple, Stowell said it will “be almost entirely retained within the property boundaries.”

In his report, the planner acknowledges that some of his conclusions may be sharply criticized — some commenters have already complained about him being a member of the church — but he said he’s treated the application as he would any other and has tried to put the city in “the most legally justifiable position.”

The comments the city received through May 25 were posted online, showing significant opposition, but also support.

Former Cody Mayor Nancy Tia Brown and her husband Bob wrote that, while they’re excited about Cody being chosen to host a new temple, they “think it would be better if a more appropriate site that more folks are comfortable with could be found.”

Others were more critical.

“Why would the [Planning and Zoning board] allow a minority group to dominate the Cody skyline, blocking the protected scenic view of the neighbors, with a colonial-style building?” attorneys representing Preserve Our Cody Neighborhoods wrote in a 21-page letter last month.

While most commenters stuck to the proposal, a handful drifted into criticism of the religion.

Doug Andersen, the church’s Salt Lake City-based director of media relations, said at last week’s open house that he hopes the discussion remains civil — and he appreciates the fact that Cody people care about their community. 

The church doesn’t want the temple to stand out as an eyesore, he added, noting that the facilities are “the ultimate in worship” for members. Currently, members in the Big Horn Basin must travel to the temple in Billings.

“What we do, who we are, how we act, how we speak, comes from what we’re taught in that sacred space,” Andersen said.

If there are specific aspects of the plan that the planning board doesn’t like about the Cody temple’s design, then the church can make adjustments, Andersen said.

“We’ll contribute, we’ll help them to understand what we’d like to do. And then in the end, we follow, we comply with exactly what they want us to do,” he said. “Hopefully, you know, they’re representing all the interests of the community. And we think that we have a strong interest and presence in this community.”

In a message to the Planning and Zoning Board last month, former board member and Cody City Councilwoman Heidi Rasmussen said she thinks the temple will be a great addition to the neighborhood. She also thanked the board members for their service, noting it isn’t an easy job.

“Not everyone will be happy with your decisions,” Rasmussen wrote. “All you can do is listen and decide as you think best.”

The board will meet in a closed-door executive session at 5:30 p.m. to “consider or receive any information classified as confidential by law,” according to the agenda. The public portion of the meeting will then begin at 6 p.m. in the Cody Auditorium.