Prepared Statement for the 8.11.2025 Town Council Meeting

My name is Jared Polivka, and I’m speaking on behalf of the Polivka property at 13700 Providence Rd.

First, I want to express gratitude to the Town Staff, the Planning Board, and the Town Council for the work you do. I’ve learned from speaking with many of you, attending meetings, studying the Unified Development Ordinance, and reviewing the 2024 Comprehensive Land Use Plan. 

Special thanks to Greg Gordos and Karen Dewey for your communication, knowledge, and professionalism.

I understand that many of you on the Council, including the Mayor, have additional jobs, families, and other commitments. Time constraints make it even more important that the Town Council rely on its advisory body—the Planning Board—for guidance on complex zoning and land-use decisions. That’s why what happened at the Council meeting this past January troubles me.

After a 16-month review process, meeting requirements, and investing over $100,000, the Polivka family’s application to build two additional office buildings was approved by the Planning Board and staff in November 2024. Yet in January 2025, the Council voted the application down, the main reason being that the Polivka property isn’t part of the downtown overlay.

That vote directly conflicted with the Planning Board's approval and position that the downtown overlay has no bearing on the Polivka family’s right to build. The property is zoned Mixed-Use, already has a commercial building, and is designated “Business” in the future land use map. Only 0.4% of properties in Weddington carry the “Business” designation, and the Polivka property is one of them.

I’ve had multiple experts review the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO), Land Use Plan, zoning ordinance, meeting minutes, and the January 13th Council Meeting video. The experts labeled the Council’s conduct in that meeting—and the corresponding vote—as arbitrary, capricious, and negligent:

• Arbitrary: a decision made without a rational basis or reason, often on a whim.
  
  
• Capricious: impulsive or unpredictable—acting suddenly without careful consideration.
  
  
• Negligent: failing to take proper care in fulfilling a duty, resulting in harm that a reasonable person would have avoided.

While the Town Council has discretion in conditional zoning, that discretion must be exercised within the bounds of reason, law, and fairness. Ignoring the Planning Board’s findings undermines trust in the process and in the government.

And this brings me to a deeper concern—one that weighs on my heart—that relates to the Polivka family’s application but also goes beyond it.

Councilman Tom Smith has called the Polivka family’s application to build additional offices a “political hot potato” — not because of any flaw in the proposal, but because a small group of extremist residents, driven by rigid ideology, oppose all progress and insist the town remain frozen in time.

In the January Council meeting video, Councilmember Darcy Ladner stated that she received emails from residents opposed to the Polivka application to build. Ladner stated in that meeting that she was on the fence—on one hand she agreed with Jeff Perryman's assertion that the Polivka's have a right to build, but on the other hand, she received emails from constituents who were against the Polivka family’s application. 

But as elected officials, your duty is not to yield to the loudest voices in the room, to emotional emails, or the most active poster on Facebook. Your duty is to uphold the rights of all citizens equally, follow the town’s ordinances and guiding documents—especially in conditional zoning—and make decisions based on facts and logical reasoning for the good of the town.

In a democratic constitutional republic, the rights of an individual citizen — in this case, my uncle Basil Polivka, a tax-paying property owner — must never be trampled by the demands of a vocal few. When that happens, we have mob rule.

A “mob” is a small group united by a negative purpose. While the image of an unruly crowd comes to mind, the defining trait is a shared intent to obstruct or harm—whether they are hundreds of people or just a handful. Here in Weddington, the “mob” is a small, loud cabal of residents who post inflammatory content online, spread fear-mongering rhetoric, circulate misleading flyers, and omit critical facts that would provide necessary context.

The opinion of a loud mob of citizens should never take precedent over the legal rights of an individual citizen who owns property and pays taxes in this town.

This isn’t about politics or popularity; it’s about safeguarding property rights, honoring due process, and ensuring the consistent, lawful application of zoning and land use policies. 

The Polivka family has a legal right to build.

In the upcoming months, the Weddington Town Council has an opportunity... an opportunity to show it respects its advisory body, its staff, its processes, its guiding documents, and the rights of its tax-paying property owners.

I’m not here to make enemies. I’ve reached out to residents who oppose this project, and I remain open to civil, respectful dialogue. I hope my hands—open and extended—will be met the same way, not with closed fists.

I’ll be back on September 8th, ready to continue this conversation.

Thank you.