‘Vote no:’ Westwood residents fight to keep Joe D. Dennis Park
WESTWOOD, Kan. (KCTV) - A group of protesters took to the streets on March 13 in Westwood after a 2-year battle over Joe D. Dennis Park.
On April 1, voters will decide on the park’s future.
A yes vote will allow the city to sell the park to a commercial developer.
Those against the development near 50th Street and Rainbow Blvd. argue the proposed development will harm Westwood’s character.
The group of protesters, Friends of Westwood Park, claim the city needs to be more transparent.
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“Groups of people who are fighting now [at one time] sat down at a table together and talked out what we want for the city and this specific area,” said Westwood resident Beth Springgate. “The city has renderings, somewhere stuck in a closet, I guess, about what we wanted to see here. Nobody, not one person, said they wanted an office complex. What happened? Why?”
There is a group of residents who the new development. They call themselves New Park for Westwood.
A special mail-in ballot will decide the park’s fate. Completed ballots must be returned to a ballot drop-off box or mailed and received by the Johnson County Election Office by noon, April 1.
Click here for more on the special election.
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