"We believe that the resolution that needs to happen is for
the easement itself to be eliminated."
The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has launched an unprecedented
public relations campaign about the Main Street Plaza, mailing
thousands of informational packets throughout Salt Lake and
Davis Counties.
Included
in those packets, sent to religious, business and government
leaders, is a letter from LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley.
The packet
is called a perspective on 'the new church plaza,' and this
is just one of several days developments in this continuing
controversy.
It has been
a busy week, not on Main Street Plaza, but about it.
In the
informational packet, a letter addressed 'To Our Neighbors'
from President Hinckley refers to the church's new Conference
Center built in October 2000.
He writes: "The prayer of dedication included a plea that
the plaza be seen as a place of peace - an oasis in the midst
of this bustling city. Unfortunately, some have since felt
that this should be a place of protest. A distressing legal
battle has ensued."
"The
whole idea of the plaza from the outset was that this was
to be a place of community. The idea of the plaza really originated
with the community, through its elected representatives. It
was an idea that the church was supportive of, and we're hopeful
that now that the community can come together and resolve
it now in the short run," says Elder Lance B. Wickman
of the General Counsel with the LDS Church.
Church leaders say from the beginning they requested that
there be no demonstrations or protests on the plaza because
of its proximity to the temple. The temple, via the plaza,
is a backdrop to many wedding pictures.
The ACLU
took the free speech issue to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals
and won. Salt Lake Mayor Rocky Anderson won't give the easement
back to the church, but is hoping he can propose time, place
and manner restrictions to ease the situation. LDS Church
leaders say they won't agree to his ideas, but he's not alone
in City Hall.
On Thursday,
Attorney John Martinez, representing the Salt Lake City Council,
announced a legal opinion on how to resolve the stalemate...
the members could pass a new ordinance which would give the
church the public easement.
"I
would absolutely veto and I would also challenge the authority
of the council to pass such an ordinance," Anderson says.
That
same day, the 10th Circuit Court ruled once again on the matter,
saying it would not hear the church's appeal on the free speech
issue. Church attorneys will now take their case to the United
States Supreme Court.
So, now
there are four parties, each with different opinions on the
Main Street Plaza. The mayor says the city should continue
controlling the public easement. The city council may vote
to give that easement to the church. The ACLU says if the
council does that, it may file another lawsuit, and church
leaders want the plaza to be a place of peace in the city's
center.
"Is
it really too much to ask, a place of sacredness, a place
of tranquility, a place that people can enjoy without all
the aspersions and all the hyperbole that seems to flow when
it becomes a public forum," says Bishop H. David Burton,
Presiding Bishop for the LDS Church.
In
his letter, President Hinckley has invited public opinion
on this. He wants to hear from the community. The legal appeals
continue as well.
