We are neighbors, old friends, and new acquaintances from the tri-city area (Westwood, Westwood Hills, and Mission Woods) who came together a few months ago to have our voices heard by Westwood's governing body — with the simple goal of preserving and expanding Westwood's green space.
Westwood is a warm and welcoming city in Johnson County. The Council’s desire to further increase commercial development by allowing it in a residentially zoned (until their recent vote) area is just not practical in our small community!
We invite you to join the hundreds of other citizens who are speaking out about the future of Westwood.
On Friday, November 15, 2024, the Kansas Court of Appeals reversed the District Court's decision that had been in favor of the City of Westwood! The District Court had not allowed anyone from our side to testify, and had ruled that our protest petitions were invalid. The Appeals Court very, very strongly and unanimously disagreed with that decision. They ruled that the City must go back to the lower (District) court, to the same judge, and do the trial all over, but this time the judge had to allow us to be a party to the case and present our testimony. We could not have hoped for a better outcome.
The appellate judges went through the City's arguments one by one and either rejected them outright or poured cold water on them. It is our understanding at this time that, if the City wants to proceed with this development, their choices are:
1) to go back to the District Court and do the trial over,
2) to move to Federal Court and start over,
3) to petition the Kansas Supreme Court to hear their case, or
4) to conduct a referendum of registered voters residing in Westwood.
Though no one can predict the future, we do not think the City will give up their current pursuit. Their P.R. campaign is already underway. Westwood has published a news release that Friends of Westwood Parkland believes, to put it politely, is not forthright. There is also a collection of residents that are in support of the new development, as is their right. We maintain the belief they should be allowed to voice their support — and others their disapproval — in a city-wide vote.
Thank you for your interest in this matter and continued support of Friends of Westwood Parkland.
To watch the oral arguments before the Kansas Court of Appeals, click here: https://youtu.be/_ULtkfmBKd0?t=2277
On November 8, 2023, the City of Westwood sent a cease-and-desist letter to the lawyer representing residents who oppose the proposed development, threatening legal action. When brought to the attention of the Kansas Justice Institute (KJI), a public-interest litigation firm protecting the freedoms guaranteed by the Kansas and United States Constitutions, they sent a letter to the Westwood City Attorney. In their rebuke, Sam MacRoberts, General Council and Litigation Director of the KJI, wrote,
“…the City of Westwood’s letter is heavy-handed, unacceptable, and antithetical to the First Amendment. Accordingly, as to those portions of the letter that implicate the First Amendment, they should be immediately—and publicly—withdrawn.”
Mr. MacRoberts went on to say in a public statement, “It doesn’t matter what side of the debate you’re on, what matters is that you’re able to debate it without being threatened with a lawsuit by the government,” and that, “The City of Westwood should immediately—and publicly—withdraw its threatening letter and affirm the right of the people to speak freely on matters of public concern.”
To learn more about the Kansas Justice Institute and to see their Media Release regarding this issue, check out the Westwood - Free Speech page on the KJI website.
With the sale of the former Westwood View Elementary School land impending, now is the time for the City of Westwood to buy.
The City has a choice:
● Expand the existing 0.9-acre park by over 9X or
● Allow a private developer to build multiple multi-story office buildings
We would like to see further discussions to enlarge the park to over 8 acres...and we're not the only ones. Experts at the Urban Land Institute (ULI) agree. In their 2021 report they recommended the City of Westwood "Acquire Westwood View elementary school property for park expansion and new civic area."
This is one example of what the park expansion could be (taken from the ULI 's 2021 report "Redevelopment Opportunities for the City of Westwood, Kansas").
For those unfamiliar, on October 12th, 2023, the Westwood City Council voted to approve the rezoning and sale of Westwood park land for a commercial development to be built on the site of Mayor Joe D. Dennis Park (herein, the Park). The land for Joe D. Dennis Park was sold to the City of Westwood in 1969 by Fred D Ellis and Bessie Mae Ellis; at this time, it was known as "Westwood Park." In 1973, after receiving Federal funding through HUD, the park was dedicated on October 6, 1973. On July 3, 2002, the park was rededicated as the Joe D Dennis Park after the mayor of Westwood. This parkland has been the jewel of our community for more than 50 years. It is our hope that it remains a city park.
The proposed development spans W 50th Street to W. 51st Street along Rainbow Boulevard and west past Adams Street, encompassing the Park, the adjacent vacant green space (formerly Westwood Christian Church), and part of the former Westwood View Elementary site. It includes two surface parking lots, a below-ground parking garage, four two- to four-story buildings and two one-story buildings.
We, Friends of Westwood Parkland, oppose this rezoning and over the past several months have made several appeals to slow down this plan that was quickly pushed through by Westwood's governing body, this plan that did not include adequate investigation of other options (for development and funding), nor an actual bid process for the selection of developer and the sale/transfer of the public land. When public park land is up for a sale/transfer, a public vote can be required. It is the right and just thing to do. And it's the law.
Though the Westwood City Council vote to move forward this commercial development passed 5 – 1, a statute in Kansas law (12-1301) regarding "Land for park purposes; sales or exchanges in connection with parks" allows the opportunity to file a protest petition, enforcing a citywide vote to approve this transfer of park land…thereby leaving it up to the people of Westwood.
Despite the voting by the City Council, the proposed development of the Westwood Park, adjacent old church lot, and former Westwood View Elementary School may not yet be a done deal.
As the petition has been submitted, we eagerly await the announcement of a voting date so ALL REGISTERED WESTWOOD VOTERS CAN HAVE THEIR VOICES HEARD!
If you would like to sign up for our newsletter, volunteer your talents, or run for city council, we'd love to have you.
If you can, please help fund our legal battles to obtain Westwood residents' rightful vote on this issue.
Mail checks to:
Friends of Westwood Parkland
2407 W 49th Ter
Westwood, KS 66205
Use Venmo!
@friendsofwestwoodparkland
