The city of Westwood’s new park envisions walking paths, natural play and restrooms — but planning is on hold indefinitely due to an active lawsuit.
On Thursday, the Westwood City Council during a work session got a first look at three different ideas for a new park planned for the former Westwood View Elementary site.
This proposed 3.8-acre park is part of Karbank Real Estate Services’ controversial Rainbow Boulevard project, a six-building office-retail development that the city approved last year.
In exchange for building on Joe D. Dennis Park — which is Westwood’s main park — Karbank agreed to give the city money to purchase the original Westwood View Elementary property for a replacement park.
The city is stopping all park planning where it currently is — with the meeting on Thursday — due to a lawsuit that is trying to block the sale of Joe D. Dennis Park to Karbank.
The lawsuit is an appeal case from spring 2024
In January, the city of Westwood tossed out a citizen petition that sought to hold a public vote on the controversial plan to sell Joe D. Dennis Park for Karbank’s development.
The resident-led protest petition came after months of pushback from residents, known as Friends of Westwood Parkland, on the Karbank project.
In late January, the city of Westwood asked a Johnson County judge to determine whether the protest petition that it tossed out earlier that month was valid.
Judge David Hauber of Johnson County District Court Division 7 in February ruled that the protest petition was invalid. A Westwood resident filed an appeal to that decision on Feb. 28.
Since then, the city and the school district have both voted to extend the closing date of the sale of their respective properties — Joe D. Dennis Park and the original Westwood View — to February 2025.
In October, the Kansas Court of Appeals heard oral arguments from the attorneys representing the city and residents, according to the city’s website. Oral arguments are reviewed, but there is no specific timeline for a ruling to be issued.
City Administrator Leslie Herring told the city council on Thursday that the park can only happen if the property sales can close. A number of scenarios can lead to the property sales closing; regardless of which scenario, the issue of selling Joe D. Dennis Park has to be settled in court first.
The city plans to fund the creation of the park with public tax increment financing dollars generated from the development itself. No public incentives are going to the developer for the office-retail project.
“This cannot happen until and unless we close on the purchase of the school district property and sale of the city property that fronts Rainbow,” Herring said. “If we can’t close, then this does not happen and we don’t get this.”
Feedback from residents emphasize shade, trails
Andrew Moddrell, a partner at design and architecture firm PORT, told the city council on Thursday that online and in-person feedback shows Westwood residents and nearby neighbors are prioritizing the following for a new park:
- Trails, specifically walking or jogging loops
- Restrooms, shade structures and benches
- An activity lawn and space for community programming
- Nature play areas, courts for tennis and pickleball
Moddrell also said that 80% of the people who currently go to Joe D. Dennis Park visit on foot, taking away the need for a large parking lot for the new park.
There are three different ideas
Moddrell shared three different concepts for a new park. Moddrell said the concepts are preliminary, and the intent is to “mix and match” pieces of each concept before a final design is chosen.
Each of the current plans are designed around existing trees that are in good health, with only a handful in bad health planned to be torn down. There are also plans to transplant trees from the planned Karbank site to the new park, as well.
Here’s a brief overview of each of the three concepts, all of which can be seen in greater detail online here.
- Meanders: This concept focuses on trails that connect different open spaces like activity lawns, meadows and rain gardens. There are natural play areas, a picnic pavilion, plaza, fireplace and a smaller shade structure.
- Activity loops: This concept increases the amount of activities happening along a winding path that connects park patrons to the north and south ends of the park. A picnic pavilion and plaza are underneath existing oak trees, and there is space for performances, a fire pit and a smaller pavilion included in the activity loops concept.
- Central activity: The final concept features the most activities including a court for tennis and pickleball, a connection to a potential restaurant on the Karbank development and activity lawns. This concept also tries to keep all of the activities and programming in the middle of the park, following a central walking path.
Councilmembers, mayor weigh in
Mayor David Waters said he prefers the first two options, meander and activity loops, because the softness of the circular or oval features in these options offer a “better counterbalance” to the Karbank development.
Others like Councilmembers Jason Hannaman, Holly Wimer and Laura Steele encouraged residents to continue to provide feedback online.
Councilmember Jeff Harris said the renderings of what could become a new park help to make what was previously “vague and unknown” easier to visualize.
Harris said the architect’s presentation, which included some history of Westwood dating back to the 1800s, “struck” him about how much the city has changed over the years.
Harris said that a Westwood resident from the 1920s (one of the dates included in the presentation) would see a much different city today.
“I started getting quite a bit more comfortable with this idea, that I know some people aren’t comfortable with, that we’re gonna change again, and that’s such a good, healthy thing to do,” Harris said. “To hold onto 1970, let alone 1920, is looking the wrong direction.”
What happens next?
- The process moving forward is contingent on the sale of the former elementary school and the city-owned land.
- Due to the ongoing lawsuit, no further action is being taken at this time.
- If the sales close, then the city can move forward with finalizing the design of the park and beginning construction.
- Residents and park patrons outside of Westwood can still — and are encouraged to — provide feedback online here.
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