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Summarized by Kent Larsen
LDS Church Objects to Main Street Coverage
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH -- The LDS Church's Public Affair's Department started
taking a much more active public stance Friday, blasting the Salt Lake
Tribune's coverage of the lawsuits over the Church's Main Street Plaza for
its suggestion that the Church deceived the public about its intentions for
the new plaza. In public statements to the media and in press releases, the
Church claims that it made clear from the beginning that the plaza was to be
private property on which the Church controlled access.
However, a lawsuit filed by the ACLU last year against Salt Lake City claims
that a planning board recommendation limiting the Church's control over the
plaza was omitted from the measure considered by the City Council, leading
the civil rights organization to suspect that someone had changed the deal.
The ACLU's lawsuits against the city also claim that the sale of the plaza
unconstitutionally deprives the public of a place where protests are staged.
The Church's recent statements came in response to a Salt Lake Tribune
article on Monday, September 18th, in which Tribune reporter Rebecca Walsh
wrote, "Only documents filed by church attorneys in the American Civil
Liberties Union's federal court challenge of the city's sale of the street
hint at the church's plans. And they paint a different picture than what was
presented when the LDS Church sought to buy the deed of one block of Salt
Lake City's Main Street in 1998."
The article led the Church to respond on Thursday, September 22nd, saying,
"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints utterly rejects assertions
made in media reports this week that the church somehow deceived and misled
the citizens and public officials of Salt Lake City with regard to its
purchase of a one-block segment of Main Street." That same day Presiding
Bishop H. David Burton took reporters on a tour of the nearly-completed
plaza, giving one-on-one interviews with reporters in an effort to explain
what the plaza will be like.
However, the Salt Lake Tribune's article on Friday reiterated the claims
from City Council members, a Planning Commission member and nearby residents
who said that LDS Church representatives' description of what the plaza
would be like changed over time. Chief among the allegations are claims that
the Church indicated that the plaza would be like a city park, only with
limits on protests. The final sale agreement passed by the City Council also
has other limitations. Friday's Tribune quotes the ACLU's Carol Gnade
saying, "The public record is clear. In both the community council meetings
and the city planning meetings, this project was not proposed as a religious
gathering place, but rather a public park."
To clarify its position and show that its position hasn't changed, the LDS
Church put four documents on its website Tuesday. The documents include the
Church's press release on the issue, a fact sheet with statements about the
plaza, an overview of negotiations on the sale and a set of audio files with
statements by Church officials on the plaza. Also available was the Church's
original press release on the plaza sale.
Interestingly, the Church's documents also disclose that the Church had
talked about purchasing the street as much as 40 years ago.
Sources:
LDS Plaza: A 'Little Bit' of Church Property
Salt Lake Tribune 18Sep00 N1
By Rebecca Walsh: Salt Lake Tribune
Church Slams Media Over Plaza Controversy
Salt Lake Tribune 23Sep00 N1
By Rebecca Walsh: Salt Lake Tribune
LDS official calls church upfront about plans for downtown plaza
Deseret News 26Sep00 N1
By Alan Edwards: Deseret News staff writer
Church Rejects False Assertions About Plaza
LDS Church Press Release 22Sep00 N1
Fact Sheet about Church Rejection of False Assertions About Plaza
LDS Church Press Release 22Sep00 N1
Sound Bites on Church Rejection of False Assertions About Plaza
LDS Church Press Release 22Sep00 N1
Short Overview of Plaza Negotiations
LDS Church Press Release 22Sep00 N1
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