Nevada Supreme Court dismisses challenge to LDS temple project in northwest Las Vegas

The Nevada Supreme Court dismissed a consolidated appeal by a group challenging the planned Church of Jesus Christ of Latter‑day Saints temple in northwest Las Vegas. In the Sept. 14 order, the state’s highest tribunal declined to review the matter and left in place the lower court’s dismissal and its more than $55,000 in lawyer fees owed to the city of Las Vegas, the defendant in the case. The dispute began after the city greenlighted a 70,000‑square‑foot temple on 20 acres at Hickman Avenue and Grand Canyon Drive, adjacent Lone Mountain, in 2024. Opposing residents argued the development would disrupt the rural character of their neighborhood. They formed the Nevada Rural Preservation Alliance nonprofit and filed suit in Clark County District Court. Judge Ronald Israel dismissed the petition for judicial review last year, ruling that the nonprofit lacked standing because it was “not an aggrieved enactment nether Nevada law” because the group did not exist during the project’s support process. The nonprofit appealed some rulings to the Supreme Court, which consolidated the appeals and referred the case to mediation in 2025. A tribunal clerk wrote in a filing that the city and residents could not reach an agreement. As the lawsuit proceeded this summer, the Nevada Rural Preservation Alliance lost its legal team and was given a deadline to secure counsel. The plaintiffs did not respond in time, and the appeal was dismissed. The Nevada Rural Preservation Alliance could not be reached for comment. However, the attorneys’ fees came up last week during a City Council meeting when one of the nonprofit members, Sue Kristensen, spoke about an unrelated topic. After her remarks