Westwood voters on Tuesday killed a controversial office and retail project along Rainbow Boulevard by rejecting the proposed sale of city parkland that would have been used for the development.
According to unofficial final results from the Johnson County Election Office, 52.8% of voters opposed the sale of Joe D. Dennis Park at the corner of 50th Street and Rainbow Boulevard, compared to 47.2% in support.
The final margin in the April 1 mail-in ballot measure was less than 50 votes, with 441 residents voting against the park sale and 394 residents in favor of selling the land.
Turnout for the election in the small northeastern Johnson County suburb was 60%, a sign of the interest the park sale question generated.
The result effectively kills Mission Woods-based Karbank’s proposal to build six multistory office buildings on the site of Dennis Park and a neighboring plot of empty land where a church once stood.
In turn, Karbank had also promised to pay to acquire a former elementary school property just to the west that would have been converted into a new city park that would have been bigger than Joe D. Dennis Park.
The project has been a point of contention between residents and the city for the past two years, culminating in this week’s vote.
Residents and the city at one point traded legal threats over whether a specific state statute dealing with park sales applied to Joe D. Dennis Park.
After the city council had already approved Karbank’s plans, a group of residents launched a petition effort that ultimately made its way to the Kansas Court of Appeals, which prompted the city to put the issue before a public vote.
How did we get here?
Since 2023, the city and a group of residents opposed to the project have been in a legal back-and-forth over the sale of Joe D. Dennis Park.
The effort came after Karbank proposed a development featuring six multi-story office buildings to replace the park and the former Westwood Christian Church site to the south.
In exchange, Karbank planned to give the city money to buy the former Westwood View Elementary building immediately to the west. The city hoped to use that land to develop a new 3.86-acre park, for which renderings have already been designed. (Joe D. Dennis Park is about one acre in size.)
The city needed to sell the former church land and Joe D. Dennis Park before the project, which the city has already approved, could move forward.
A group calling itself Friends of Westwood Parkland strongly opposed the Karbank project, arguing that the idea jeopardized the city’s character.
After the Westwood City Council approved the project in October 2023, the group argued that Joe D. Dennis Park is subject to a state statute (K.S.A 12-1301) that requires notice of intent to sell parkland.
A protest petition submitted by residents in December 2023 wound up before the Kansas Court of Appeals, which sided with residents.
Late last year, the city council reversed corse and agreed to put the controversial park sale up for a public vote.
Election results deal final blow to Karbank project
Tuesday afternoon’s unofficial final results show the special election drew more than 830 residents to fill out mail-in ballots, a voter turnout of nearly 60%.
The results not only scuttle the Karbank project but also kill the city’s plans to redevelop the former Westwood View Elementary building into a park.
The city has previously been clear that a “no” result would mean neither the project nor the new park on the former school land would move forward.
“Today, the residents of Westwood have voted for the City to retain ownership of Joe D. Dennis Park,” city staff wrote in a statement to the Post. “The City of Westwood respects and accepts the outcome of this election.”
City staff also acknowledged the “strong voter participation” in the special election, and encouraged residents to remain informed and engaged with city leaders to voice their opinions and “shape the projects and priorities that matter most.”
Resident groups weigh in
Rebecca Brown, a member of the Friends of Westwood Parkland group opposed to the office project, said she appreciates the neighbors who voted and weighed “the impact of selling Joe D. Dennis Park.”
“For the past couple of years, we’ve spent our time and money asking Westwood leaders to do the right thing and put the sale of the park to a vote,” Brown wrote of the opposition group’s position.
“Now let’s work together to make Joe D. Dennis Park the best green space in NE Johnson County,” Brown said in an emailed statement.
Spencer Day, a member of New Park for Westwood, a resident group supporting the sale of the park, told the Post in a Tuesday interview that they are disappointed with the results.
Day said he thinks Joe D. Dennis Park will likely “remain kind of unimproved and falling apart,” and that the city is losing out on an additional source of tax revenue without the new office and retail spaces.
He also lamented that the city will now likely have less control of what will happen with the former Westwood View property.
“The ‘no’ vote side made a lot of promises of a better deal, and I don’t think there is one out there,” Day said. “The school district is going to sell the property [next door], and we will see who buys it.”
What happens next?
- Like in any other election, the Johnson County Election Office still needs to present the provisional ballots to the canvass board. That is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on April 9.
- After that, provisional ballots will be tabulated and counted into the results.
- The Board of County Canvassers, made up of Johnson County commissioners, will then officially certify the final election results.
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