diff --git a/tools/webpack b/tools/webpack
index 59a681de9c..78e6296f66 100755
--- a/tools/webpack
+++ b/tools/webpack
@@ -2,22 +2,13 @@
 
 import argparse
 import os
-import sys
 import json
 import subprocess
 
 if False:
     from typing import NoReturn
 
-# check for the venv
-from lib import sanity_check
-sanity_check.check_venv(__file__)
-
-sys.path.insert(0, os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), '..'))
-os.environ['DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE'] = 'zproject.settings'
-from django.conf import settings
-
-os.chdir(settings.DEPLOY_ROOT)
+os.chdir(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), '..'))
 STATIC_PATH = 'static/'