Build Guide: Westwood, Kansas
Westwood, Kansas is a city of about 1,750 residents on 0.41 square miles in northeast Johnson County, bounded originally by 47th Street, Rainbow Boulevard, Shawnee Mission Parkway, and Mission Road, with a 1960 annexation extending it east toward State Line Road. It is a separate municipality from Kansas City, and it is a different city from Westwood Hills, Kansas next door, which its residents voted against consolidating with in 1973.
Faust Construction builds additions, whole-house renovations, and new homes in Westwood and the surrounding northeast Johnson County cities of the Kansas City metro.
What defines Westwood
Westwood is one of the smallest cities in the Kansas City metro, four tenths of a square mile pressed against the Wyandotte County line at Rainbow Boulevard, minutes from the University of Kansas Medical Center and the Country Club Plaza. Its land traces to the 1,290 acres patented to Captain Joseph Parks in the Shawnee era, and the 1898 Swatzell stone home still marks that history. The city incorporated in 1949.
Johnson County’s historic resources survey groups Westwood with Fairway, Westwood Hills, Roeland Park, and Prairie Village as the Nichols-era northeast suburbs, and documents Tudor Revival as the dominant style here, including 25 examples of simpler, mass-produced Tudor, alongside Colonial Revival and French Eclectic work.
Westwood is also the only one of these small cities actively reshaping its core. The Woodside Village development and the former Westwood View Elementary site have brought new density and a new park to a city that had been static for decades, which changes both the market and the neighbors on an infill project.
What homeowners should know
Westwood runs its own codes department, and it runs it for three cities. It is also on a more current code cycle than most of the metro. The requirements below come from the city’s Building and Planning and Building Permits and Inspections pages.
Westwood is the building department for three cities
The City of Westwood provides building codes and inspection services to Westwood, Mission Woods, and Westwood Hills. If your project sits in any of those three cities, the plan reviewer and the inspector are the same office at (913) 942-2130, and inspections require 24 hours’ notice.
That is worth knowing before you start, because the three cities have separate zoning codes and separate governing bodies even though they share a codes administrator. Mission Woods, for instance, has its own Architectural Review Board. Westwood does not.
Westwood is on the 2024 codes, which is ahead of most of the metro
Westwood has adopted the 2024 International Building, Residential, Existing Building, Fire, Plumbing, Fuel Gas, Mechanical, and Energy Conservation Codes, along with the 2023 National Electrical Code. Several neighboring Johnson County cities are still enforcing the 2018 International Residential Code.
For an owner, that mostly shows up in energy code and electrical requirements. For a builder, it means details and assemblies that pass a block away may not pass here, and the plans have to be drawn to the newer edition.
There is no design review board, but there is a Planning Commission and BZA
Westwood’s zoning ordinance establishes a nine-member Planning Commission serving three-year terms and a Board of Zoning Appeals composed of those same members. It establishes no architectural or design review board.
Where a hearing is required, notice is published at least 20 days ahead and mailed to owners within 200 feet. Protest petitions may be filed within 14 days, and a petition covering 20 percent of the affected area forces a three-quarters majority of the governing body to approve.
Permit fees are based on construction value
Westwood charges from a published valuation table. The first 1,000 dollars of construction value costs 50 dollars. From there it steps down: 17.50 per additional thousand up to 5,000; 13.50 per thousand to 25,000; 9.00 per thousand to 50,000; 5.00 per thousand to 100,000; 4.00 per thousand to 500,000; 3.00 per thousand to a million; and 2.00 per thousand above that.
Plan review is billed separately as the actual cost of the contractual services the city incurs, which means it is not a fixed percentage and should be asked about specifically. A right of way permit is 90 dollars, and dumpster or POD permits are valid for 10 calendar days.
What needs a permit, and what does not
Permits are required for additions, basement renovations, decks, demolition, garages, new buildings, sheds, fences, driveway approaches in the right of way, re-roofing, solar panels, interior remodels, cutting an opening in an existing wall, HVAC, water heaters, electrical, gas, mechanical and plumbing alterations, hot tubs and pools, screened porches, tenant finish, and change of occupancy.
The city’s published exemption list is short: painting, papering, tiling, carpeting, cabinets and countertops and similar finish work, and playground equipment. Applications go through the city’s govbuilt portal.
Contractors are licensed through Johnson County only
Westwood states it directly: the city does not issue a local contractor’s license, but a Johnson County contractor’s license in the respective trade is required. That is a simpler arrangement than Prairie Village, Shawnee, or Leawood, each of which layers a city license or business license on top.
Stormwater and trees
Westwood funds its stormwater utility at one dollar per month for every 500 square feet of impervious surface on a property, so added driveway, patio, and roof area has an ongoing cost as well as a permit. Encroachments into easements and rights of way, including fences, irrigation, and landscaping, require staff approval and are at the owner’s risk. Westwood is a Tree City USA community, which requires a tree board and a tree care ordinance.
What we did not put on this page
Westwood’s residential district setbacks, height limits, lot coverage, impervious caps, and minimum lot sizes live in Chapter 16 of the municipal code on a platform we could not read directly, and the overlay district standards sit in the same place. Rather than publish numbers we could not verify against the source, we have left them out. Confirm them with the codes office before a design is fixed.
| Construction value | Permit fee |
|---|---|
| $1 to $1,000 | $50.00 |
| $1,001 to $5,000 | $50 plus $17.50 per additional $1,000 |
| $5,001 to $25,000 | $120 plus $13.50 per $1,000 |
| $25,001 to $50,000 | $390 plus $9.00 per $1,000 |
| $50,001 to $100,000 | $615 plus $5.00 per $1,000 |
| $100,001 to $500,000 | Plus $4.00 per $1,000 |
| $500,001 to $1,000,000 | $2,465 plus $3.00 per $1,000 |
| Over $1,000,000 | $3,965 plus $2.00 per $1,000 |
| Plan review | Actual cost of the city’s contractual services |
Why Westwood projects take local experience
Faust Construction has built in the Kansas City metro for more than 25 years. Westwood is a half-square-mile city with a codes department that also serves Mission Woods and Westwood Hills, and it is running a newer code cycle than most of its neighbors. Both facts change how a project gets drawn.
Our pre-construction phase prices the design against the 2024 codes rather than the 2018 edition still in force nearby, confirms which of the three cities a specific address actually sits in, and works the valuation-based fee schedule and the separately billed plan review into the budget instead of leaving them as a surprise at submittal.
Pre-construction
We price the design, evaluate materials and alternatives, and build a schedule that accounts for city review milestones.
Construction
We work with a consistent group of craftsmen and trade partners, with daily on-site presence throughout the build.
Management
We track cost against budget transparently and meet monthly with the architect and homeowner.
What we build in Westwood
Westwood’s housing stock is largely Nichols-era Tudor, Colonial Revival, and French Eclectic on small lots, so the work is mostly about making a compact older house work harder.
- Additions. Kitchen, primary suite, and living space expansions on tight lots, where added impervious surface carries an ongoing stormwater cost as well as a permit.
- Whole-house renovations. Reworking layout, systems, and finishes in a Tudor or Colonial Revival while keeping the street elevation the neighborhood is known for.
- Interior renovations. Kitchens, baths, and basement finishes, which are permitted work here even when nothing structural changes.
- New construction and rebuilds. Replacement houses on existing lots, drawn to the 2024 residential code rather than the edition still in force in several neighboring cities.
Our completed work spans new construction, additions, and full renovations across the Kansas City metro. Westwood sits inside our regular service area alongside Mission Hills, Fairway, Prairie Village, Leawood, Overland Park, and the Kansas City, Missouri neighborhoods along Ward Parkway.
Recent work
Browse new construction, additions, and full-home renovations from across the Kansas City metro, including projects in established neighborhoods that share this area’s scale and housing stock.
Questions about building here
Answers to what homeowners ask before starting a project in this area.
Is Westwood, Kansas the same as Westwood Hills?
No. Westwood and Westwood Hills are two separate incorporated cities in Johnson County, Kansas, next door to each other. Westwood residents voted against consolidating with Westwood Hills in 1973 and the two have kept separate governments and zoning codes ever since. They do share a building department: Westwood provides building codes and inspection services to Westwood, Westwood Hills, and Mission Woods.
Who issues building permits in Westwood, Kansas?
The City of Westwood, through its own codes department at (913) 942-2130, with applications submitted through the city’s govbuilt portal. That same office also handles building codes and inspections for Mission Woods and Westwood Hills. Inspections require 24 hours’ notice.
What building code does Westwood, Kansas use?
Westwood has adopted the 2024 International Building, Residential, Existing Building, Fire, Plumbing, Fuel Gas, Mechanical, and Energy Conservation Codes, along with the 2023 National Electrical Code. That is ahead of most of the Kansas City metro, where several neighboring Johnson County cities are still enforcing the 2018 International Residential Code. Details and assemblies that pass a block away may not pass in Westwood.
How are building permit fees calculated in Westwood, Kansas?
By construction value, from a published table. The first 1,000 dollars costs 50 dollars, then 17.50 per additional thousand to 5,000, 13.50 per thousand to 25,000, 9.00 per thousand to 50,000, 5.00 per thousand to 100,000, 4.00 per thousand to 500,000, 3.00 per thousand to a million, and 2.00 per thousand above that. Plan review is billed separately as the actual cost of the contractual services the city incurs, so it is worth asking about specifically.
Does Westwood, Kansas require a city contractor license?
No. Westwood states that the city does not issue a local contractor’s license, but a Johnson County contractor’s license in the respective trade is required. That is simpler than Prairie Village, Shawnee, or Leawood, each of which layers a city license or business license on top of the county one.
Does Faust Construction build in Westwood, Kansas?
Yes. Faust Construction is a Kansas City metro custom home builder and remodeler working in Westwood along with Mission Hills, Fairway, Prairie Village, Leawood, Overland Park, Brookside, and the Country Club Plaza area. Brian Faust founded the company more than 25 years ago, and it builds new homes, additions, and full-home renovations.
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