KC Business Journal: Permit purgatory: Economy, high prices make Johnson County home building hellish
When Jim Kostusik appeared at Overland Park City Hall to obtain a building permit for a single-family home recently, the employee on the other side of the counter looked at him with surprise, then peered at the ceiling.
“I said, ‘What’s going on?’” recalled Kostusik, who owns Redstone Homes Inc. in Overland Park. “He said: ‘I’m waiting for the confetti and balloons to start dropping. You’re the first (single-family) permit this month.’”
What made the event strange was that Kostusik got his permit on Jan. 29. In a more typical year, Overland Park would have issued dozens of single-family permits by that date, and Johnson County would have been on target for another market-leading year of several thousand housing starts. But this has not been a typical year for wealthy Johnson County or its largest city, Overland Park (population: 173,000).
Related Posts:
- Op-Ed, Ben Hodge at RedState – 59% of Overland Park voters say city tax increases hurt the local economy. But Overland Park Council unanimously passes 46% tax increase.
- Chair Metsker Statement on Wysong Resignation
- Poll: 80% would throw out all JoCo government officials
- Weekend poll: do you trust local JoCo government?
- Op-ed, Ben Hodge in KC Monitor – Overland Park City Council wants to jam through a huge property tax increase
Tags: Jim Kostusik, Overland Park, Redstone Homes, regulation
