Westwood, Kansas

Westwood is in Johnson County, Kansas, in the northeastern corner near the Kansas City state line.

Westwood is served by the Shawnee Mission School District, including Shawnee Mission East High School. Confirm the assignment for a specific address with the district.

Westwood is known for its small size, walkable neighborhoods, and proximity to the Country Club Plaza and the University of Kansas Medical Center area.

The ACS median value of owner-occupied homes in Westwood is about $404,200.

The mean travel time to work for Westwood residents is about 16.7 minutes, well below the national average.

No. Westwood prohibits the sale, storage and use of fireworks. Source

1,750 at the 2020 census, up from 1,506 in 2010. The city covers 0.41 square miles. Source

Hunt Midwest bought the site at 50th and Rainbow and plans a neighborhood called Westwood Reserve, with single-family homes and attached villas. The Planning Commission reviewed it on Oct. 5, 2026, and the City Council is expected to vote in November 2026. Source

Wednesday. GFL collects trash and recycling, and carts should be at the curb by 7 a.m. Source

In June 2026 the Westwood City Council approved allowing residential construction under 2,500 square feet under the 2018 building codes to stay in line with SB 418, the 2026 state by-right housing law. In July 2026 the city administrator said the city was mostly in compliance with the rest of the law (Johnson County Post, Aug. 21, 2026).

As of the Oct. 8, 2026 City Council packet, Westwood had 43 permitted rental properties, nine of them short-term rentals. Short-term rentals need a city rental permit, and since January 2026 owners must show they notified neighbors and must post house rules (City Code Chapter 5, Article 11).

The City Council adopted a FY2027 budget of $9,274,024 on Sept. 10, 2026, with an ad valorem property tax levy of $1,451,420. The council also voted that day to exceed the revenue-neutral rate. Both votes were 6-0.

Ordinance 1054, passed Nov. 13, 2025, adopted the 2024 International Residential Code with local amendments. In June 2026, to comply with the state’s SB 418 housing law, the council allowed residential construction under 2,500 square feet to be built under the 2018 building codes.

Under City Code Sec. 14-102, the limit is 35 mph on Rainbow Boulevard and Shawnee Mission Parkway, 30 mph on 47th Street and State Line Road, and 25 mph on other residential and business streets. Lower time-of-day limits apply on parts of W. 50th Street and Mission Road.

9.475% inside city limits as of October 2026 (state, Johnson County and city combined), and 2.975% on groceries (local tax only; Kansas dropped its state sales tax on food on Jan. 1, 2025). Nearby, rates run from 7.975% in Lake Quivira to 10.0% in Edwardsville. Rates can differ by address. Look up any address with the Kansas Department of Revenue rate locator. Source: Kansas Department of Revenue, October 2026.

The Westwood City Council meets on the second Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 4700 Rainbow Blvd. Meetings can also be joined by Zoom.

Reimagine Rainbow is a proposed update to Rainbow Boulevard between 47th Street and Shawnee Mission Parkway: a mill and overlay, restriping, new crosswalks and traffic signal changes. Westwood and Mission Woods applied for KDOT cost-share funding on Sept. 23, 2026, and the city expects awards by the end of 2026.

Westwood Reserve is Hunt Midwest’s proposed development in Westwood. It needs a rezoning, a preliminary development plan and a preliminary plat. The Westwood Planning Commission considered all three on Oct. 5, 2026, and the City Council is scheduled to take up the commission’s recommendations in November 2026.

Westwood set up the Westwood Foundation to collect and pay out donations for the park. The money goes toward the city’s $750,000 match for the Variety KC grant and toward future park upkeep. The Foundation’s bylaw change and its agreement with the city were on the Oct. 8, 2026 council agenda.

In August 2026 Westwood won a $3 million grant from Variety KC’s Ten Parks Project to turn Joe D. Dennis Park, the city’s largest park, into a fully accessible park. The grant requires a 20% local match from the city, and the final design is still being worked out.

Yes. On Sept. 10, 2026, the City Council approved a total city levy of 27.199 mills for the 2027 budget. That is above the revenue-neutral rate of 24.797 mills, so the city held the public hearing that Kansas law requires.

City staff say KDOT plans a mill and overlay of Shawnee Mission Parkway in 2028. To prepare, the Council approved a $100,402.50 concrete repair contract with Kansas Heavy Construction in October 2026. More than half of that work is curb, sidewalk and drainage repair along the Parkway.

Yes. Westwood’s zoning ordinance permits one accessory dwelling unit per single-family lot in the R-1 district, placed in the rear yard. A unit over 500 square feet needs one additional off-street parking space, and the combined footprint of all accessory structures is capped at 662 to 704 square feet depending on the R-1 sub-district (Sec. 4.3.5).

As reported by KCTV5 in December 2025, Hunt Midwest planned to start infrastructure work in August 2026 and home construction in early 2027, with full build-out in about five years. The City Council is scheduled to consider the Planning Commission’s recommendations on the Westwood Reserve rezoning, preliminary development plan and preliminary plat on Nov. 12, 2026.

Under the zoning ordinance, a primary home can be up to 35 feet tall and two stories (2.5 stories in the R-1(E) district). Buildings can cover no more than 40% of the lot in R-1(A) and R-1(E), and no more than 35% in R-1(B), R-1(C) and R-1(D) (Sec. 4.3.2).

Yes. Westwood’s stormwater utility fee is $1.00 per month for every 500 square feet of impervious surface, such as roofs, driveways, patios and pools. It appears as a special assessment on the property tax bill; for example, a home with 2,000 to 2,500 square feet of hard surface pays $60 a year.

Westwood’s zoning ordinance (Article 4.3.10(B)) caps residential driveway width at 18 feet. A homeowner who wants more has to ask the Board of Zoning Appeals for a variance at a public hearing. One such request, to keep an extra 9 feet 10 inches of driveway, was on the board’s Aug. 31, 2026 agenda.

Yes. Westwood takes part in Johnson County’s “Contain the Rain” stormwater cost-share program, which the City Council renewed in March 2026. The county reimburses 50% of eligible residential project costs, up to $75 per rain barrel (two maximum), $150 per native tree (two maximum) and $1,000 for projects such as rain gardens and permeable pavers.

Under Charter Ordinance No. 20 and Resolution 152-2026 (adopted in early 2026), the city website, westwoodks.org, is Westwood’s official city newspaper. Notices that state law requires to appear in print run in The Legal Record.

Westwood’s code (Section 8-402(e)) treats weeds and grasses on residential property as a nuisance once they grow taller than 8 inches. Ornamental grasses such as pampas grass are excluded. This is from a code excerpt in a city meeting packet, so confirm with City Hall.

You can’t burn leaves. Westwood’s code bans burning garbage, trash, refuse, grass or leaves in the city. Grills, barbecues, outdoor residential fireplaces and chimineas are exempt (City Code Sec. 7-204).