Build Guide: Leawood, Kansas

There is no design review board at the city level

Leawood publishes no architectural or design review board for residential exterior work. Design compliance is handled through the ordinance standards at permit stage, against a submitted and approved plot plan. That is not the same as no design review: many Leawood neighborhoods have homes associations running their own architectural review under private covenants, and city code gives those associations a formal place in the permit timeline.

The Board of Zoning Appeals is the city body a residential project reaches, and only when it cannot meet a standard. It hears setback exceptions, height exceptions of up to two additional feet for a maximum of 37 feet, and maximum square footage exceptions of up to 20 percent.

A participating homes association can hold your permit for 25 days

Under Leawood’s residential code, a legally constituted homes association may file a written request with the Building Official to receive notice of any permit application for exterior alterations of 10 percent or more, or for demolition. Where the association participates, the Building Official does not act on the application until 25 days have elapsed since the plans were emailed or mailed, though an applicant may submit the permit application 10 business days after preliminary plans have been mailed. On a re-roof, no permit issues until two full business days after receipt of the application.

The city says the same thing plainly on its demolition page: if your homes association participates in the city’s notification process, there may be up to a 25 day waiting period before your permit can be issued. Establish early whether the association covering an address participates, because it is a schedule item rather than a footnote.

House size is set by a formula, not a coverage percentage

Leawood does not publish a maximum lot coverage percentage for the house itself. Instead the R-1 district caps square footage with a formula: 0.23 multiplied by the base lot area, multiplied by lot width divided by minimum lot width, multiplied by lot depth divided by base lot depth, plus a garage allowance of 450 square feet. Base lot area is 15,000 square feet and base lot depth is 150 feet. Square footage means livable area and excludes the basement.

Much of Leawood is zoned RP-1 rather than R-1, and RP-1 uses the same formula with a base lot area of 12,000 square feet, a base lot depth of 120 feet, and a 12 foot side setback. Confirm the district before running the numbers, because the two produce meaningfully different answers on the same lot. Alongside that, 30 percent of the lot must remain open space, and accessory structures are limited in height by ordinance.

Rebuilds are held to lower height limits than new houses

A new dwelling in R-1 may reach 35 feet, measured at grade at the front door. A rebuilt or remodeled dwelling is capped at 30 feet. Exterior wall height at the side yard setback may not exceed 23 feet as measured from the front door elevation, with one additional foot of height allowed for each additional foot of setback, up to 30 feet.

Two further rules shape replacements. If the rebuilt dwelling sits between two two-story dwellings, it may not exceed the taller of the two neighbors. And a rebuilt or remodeled dwelling may always be built to the dimensions of the dwelling it replaces, which on an older lot is often the most useful provision in the ordinance. The natural grade of the lot may not be vertically altered by more than one foot unless the alteration is required for compliance with storm and waste water regulations.

Setbacks, including the rear setback formula

R-1 requires a 35 foot front setback, subject to the setback regulations in Section 16-2-4.5, a 15 foot side setback, and a 30 foot corner side setback. The rear setback is 30 feet on lots with a depth of 150 feet or less. On deeper lots it is calculated as 70 percent of the lot depth minus 150, plus 30 feet, so a 250 foot deep lot carries a 100 foot rear setback. That formula is easy to miss and it materially changes the buildable envelope on a deep lot.

Street trees are protected, and the ordinance was updated in 2025

Leawood adopted an updated street tree ordinance on June 16, 2025. A street tree is one located in the public right of way, in the landscaped strip between the curb and the property line, and a Right of Way permit is required before removing one. The updated rules also protect trees originally planted in 2015 or earlier and set spacing requirements.

A Tree Protection Zone is required for a new residential structure on a vacant lot, for a demolition or rebuild, for a remodel adding more than 400 square feet to the footprint, and for a remodel affecting more than 10 percent of the existing structure. Tree plans route to a Parks certified arborist. Trees on private ground away from the right of way are treated differently, and the city publishes no removal permit for them.

Land disturbance and drainage

No construction permit is issued until a land disturbance permit is secured for the same site, with small work exempt. Article 9 requires a drainage and grading plan for reconstructions adding 400 or more square feet of impervious surface, and a stormwater study where a project increases impervious surface by more than half of what exists.

The city’s post-construction stormwater runoff rules expressly exempt single lot residential developments that are not part of a larger common plan, and expansions adding less than 5,000 square feet of impervious surface. For a house inside an existing subdivision, the City Engineer reviews the plot plan’s finished grades and drainage direction before the building permit is issued.

Permit and demolition windows

A new construction permit expires 365 days after issuance, or in 180 days if work has not commenced within 180 days of issuance. The building official may grant one written extension, requested before expiry, of up to 180 days, and only on a finding that the project is more than 50 percent complete. That extension provision expressly excludes moving and demolition permits.

Demolition permits are short dated and the length depends on the scope: a complete structure demolition permit runs 15 days and a partial structure or interior demolition permit runs 30 days. Demolition requires a site plan, evidence that all public utilities have been disconnected, and erosion control evidence, and the city may require proof of rat abatement at least ten days before the demolition.

Contractors have to be licensed in the city and the county

Permits are issued only to parties holding both a valid Johnson County contractor license and a valid City of Leawood business license, and all licenses must remain current throughout the period of construction. Subcontractor permits are issued as part of the general contractor permit provided those subcontractors are also licensed.

Homeowners occupying and personally performing work on their own residence may obtain permits without a contractor license, but any contractor they hire must still be fully licensed.