Johnson County residents tried to stop controversial park sale. But judge sides with city

The city of Westwood will move forward with selling its lone park so it can be redeveloped into retail and office buildings, now that a Johnson County judge has ruled that a resident petition aiming to stop the sale is invalid.

Judge David Hauber on Friday sided with the city, deciding the residents who submitted the petition failed to meet several legal requirements to place the sale of the park on the ballot. Without being required to hold a public vote, city officials say they will now complete the sale this summer to pave the way for the redevelopment project.

The sale of the city’s only park has caused ongoing controversy in Westwood, with several residents concerned about losing the 1-acre Joe D. Dennis Park at Rainbow Boulevard and 50th Street to private development. After months of debate, the Westwood City Council in October voted 5-1 approving plans for a mixed-use development on 8 acres, including the park.

In addition to building the office space, Johnson County-based Karbank Real Estate Company and the city have reached an agreement to replace Joe D. Dennis with a new 3.8-acre park.

The site also includes the former Westwood View Elementary School, as well as a piece of vacant city property, previously occupied by the Westwood Christian Church. Karbank has agreed to pay off a $275,000 debt the city still owes on the church property. And it has offered the city $2.6 million to purchase the school property from the Shawnee Mission district, to demolish the building and grade much of the land so Westwood can build the new park.

Why won’t residents vote on park sale?

Residents — hoping to keep the current park and concerned the development will change the character of the area and worsen traffic — filed a petition protesting the sale, seeking a chance to vote on the land transfer at the ballot box.

Attorney Todd Hauser, who has represented some of these residents, wrote in a previous letter to the city that “such impactful change should not come at the community’s expense with lack of sufficient community voice.”

In the northern Johnson County city of 1,800 people, residents collected 220 signatures on the petition, and 169 were deemed valid and from registered Westwood voters by the Johnson County Election Office.

But city and county officials both determined that the petition did not meet the legal requirements to be placed on the ballot.

In a Jan. 17 letter, Johnson County Chief Counsel Peg Trent issued the opinion that the petition’s language did not comply with state law. And city officials agreed there were several flaws, including that the petition did not clearly state the question that would be posed to voters on the ballot, which is a requirement under Kansas statute.

The City Council voted unanimously that the resident petition did not meet the legal requirements to be placed on the ballot and sought a judge’s opinion on the matter.

And on Friday, the judge agreed that the petition is invalid.

He found several issues with the petition, including that it did not state the question that would be asked of voters, and that it lacked dates for each signature, as required by law. He said it also failed to include the required recital: “I have personally signed this petition. I am a registered elector of the state if Kansas and of Westwood, Kansas and my residence address is correctly written after my name.”

“The petition has glaring issues that ultimately fall short of what could be considered substantial compliance,” Hauber wrote in his decision. “While the Court recognizes the concerns of the petition participants, there must be substantial compliance.”

The judge wrote that a resident petition “does not have to be perfect.” But, he said, “there must be a significant attempt to comply with the statutory requirements which, if nothing else, is to prevent fraud. There are procedural safeguards to prevent misuse or abuse of the protest system. But there must be an attempt to comply beyond what occurred here.”

Fighting for the park

In a statement on Monday, Westwood Mayor David Waters said he is “grateful for the Court’s ruling, which allows for the City’s vision — as reflected in years of work, planning, and resident input — to become a reality.”

“We understand that some residents may still have concerns with this project, but we are thankful for their engagement, which led to significant positive changes in the original proposal. We hope residents will continue to be involved as we work to bring this exciting opportunity to life for our community.”

The opposing residents also had argued that the city should be following a state law that requires municipalities to publish two public notices of the sale of park land.

The city argued the Kansas statute does not apply to the sale, saying the land was never legally dedicated as a public park. In a lengthy letter, the city’s legal counsel demanded the resident group withdraw its claims and cease “slandering the City’s title.”

But a month after the residents argued that the city had not complied with the law, city officials published two public notices of sale as the statute requires, saying it was necessary to obtain title insurance as it faced litigation threats.

As part of the lawsuit, Westwood officials asked the judge to rule the state law is not applicable to the property and allow the sale to move forward.

In his ruling, the judge wrote that the city’s website shows the property has been used as a park for decades and includes features of a typical park. And he said the city has taken action, including posting notices of the sale, indicative that the state law does apply.

But he said a further evidentiary hearing would be necessary to rule on the issue. And he said the city suggested that a ruling on the validity of the petition was all that was needed to determine if a ballot measure was required.

City officials say they hope residents will continue offering feedback as it moves ahead with the sale.

The city has established a committee to discuss the new park design. The group is set to start meeting next month, with broader public engagement expected in the fall.