Council to hear temple appeal

June Casagrande

A Mormon temple that won Planning Commission approval after much

controversy and compromise will be reconsidered by the City Council

after all, now that a group of residents has filed an appeal.

Kenneth A. Wong, a resident of the Seawind community, filed an

appeal Wednesday based on violations of state, federal and municipal

law, which means the matter will be brought up before the City

Council.

Wong said he is part of a group of homeowners from five different

communities, including Bonita Canyon, all three phases of Harbor View

Homes and Harbor View Knoll. Wong did not say how many homeowners had

come together to push for the appeal, but emphasized they share the

concerns of the hundreds of residents who have questioned the

project.

“The process whereby the decision of the Planning Commission on

Oct. 3 was made was very much flawed,” Wong said. “What is so

troubling to so many both inside and outside of city government is

that the staff recommendation at 100 feet did not change at all once

it was revealed that the existing stake center steeple was 68 feet

and not 86 feet.”

Weatherford Clayton, president of the church’s stake center on

Bonita Canyon Drive, said he is confident any council review will be

thorough and fair.

“If people want to exercise their right to appeal this, we’re

happy to revisit it with the City Council,” Clayton said. “I think

that during the appeal process it will be reviewed fairly by the City

Council. We believe that the temple, as its currently planned, will

be a great boon to the city.”

Many residents and officials said they were concerned about the

process after a resident-hired survey revealed that the stake center

steeple was 18 feet shorter than planning documents for the temple

had shown. Planning commissioners chastised temple planners for not

pointing out the discrepancy, even though some church representatives

said they had been aware of the incorrect 86-foot height designation.

Wong said that his group was not pushing for any pre-determined

reduction in height of the stake center steeple. Instead, he said,

the process, the temple steeple height and the lighting of the temple

all needed to be reconsidered.

Homeowners associations that fought the original plans for a

124-foot steeple will not appeal the decision.

“I told my constituents that if they asked me to bring it up, I

would,” said City Councilman Steve Bromberg, whose district includes

the temple site at 2300 Bonita Canyon Drive. “I’ve had meetings with

them and that’s not the way this thing’s going ... When and if it

does get appealed, I want to be able to meet with all the people

involved from every side, to look at this thing closely.”

The matter will be heard by the City Council on Nov. 12, 2002,

Councilman Dennis O’Neil confirmed Wednesday.

* JUNE CASAGRANDE covers Newport Beach and John Wayne Airport.

She may be reached at (949) 574-4232 or by e-mail at

june.casagrande@latimes.com.