Editorial

When the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently

announced its plans to build its first Orange County temple in Newport

Beach, one couldn’t help but evoke visions of the temple off the

Interstate 5 in La Jolla.

A large white edifice reminiscent of Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty

castle, the temple is hard to miss while driving to San Diego.

Newport Beach Planning Director Patricia Temple -- no pun intended, of

course -- says the city’s Greenlight initiative will not be a problem and

there will be no limit as to how big the temple can be built.

That’s great news for the church. However, church and city leaders

should still be wise to the city’s needs.

Whereas the 60,000-square-foot temple may work in La Jolla, it would

more than likely stick out like a sore thumb in Newport Beach. It would

appear the church is well aware of this and will certainly make that a

factor in determining what will be built.

A spokesman for the Orange County branch of the Mormon Church said the

temple being considered would be smaller than the 30,000-square-foot

Bonita Canyon Road church. That comment alone should bring a sigh of

relief to Newport residents who would prefer something smaller than the

La Jolla temple.

While the church does have large temples in West Los Angeles, La

Jolla, and in its home base of Salt Lake City, officials seem quite aware

that Newport Beach is a special case in which a conservative temple

should be erected.

We look forward to watching this story unfold, and we urge those of

skeptical nature to await the church’s pitch patiently, and with an open

mind, before making any judgments.