Good evening, my name is Jared Polivka, and I’m speaking on behalf of the Polivka family property.

There is a vote tonight on whether to direct town staff and the Planning Board to do the research required to rationally consider amending the downtown overlay to include the Polivka property.

In this vote, I respectfully urge you to do the right thing: allow your advisory board and professional staff to review the facts, the history, and the documentation, and then provide this Council with their recommendation.

We believe the Polivka property belongs in the overlay. But belief isn’t what matters. Facts, context, and the rights of a property-owning citizen matter.

There are many factual and historical reasons why the Polivka property belongs in the overlay, and for the sake of time I can’t list them all here. But here are two that cannot be ignored:

The Unified Development Ordinance clearly states:

“The downtown overlay shall apply to those parcels designated as future business in the Town of Weddington Land Use Plan and zoning map.”

And in the 2024 Comprehensive Land Use Plan, the Polivka property is designated as “Business” on the future land use map, exactly like the properties across Providence Road that are included in the overlay. Only 0.4% of the entire town is designated “Business,” and that includes the Polivka property. By the plain language of the UDO, the overlay should apply here as well.

The question, then, is not whether the property deserves consideration—it clearly does—but whether this Council will allow its advisory body and professional staff to do their due diligence.

This Council has a sharp town planner and a Planning Board made up of people who care and who do their homework. Their role is to evaluate the evidence and provide you with a recommendation grounded in the town’s ordinances and plans. That is the orderly and honorable way this process should work.

To block even the study of this matter would be to dismiss the UDO, the Comprehensive Plan, and the Planning Board’s role. It would risk placing this Council in danger of acting arbitrarily and capriciously.

That would also run contrary to the oath each of you has sworn: to uphold the Constitutions of the United States and North Carolina, and to faithfully discharge the duties of your office. Both constitutions enshrine due process and property rights, and those protections apply to the Polivka family.

Tonight, I ask you to honor your oath, uphold the integrity of this Council, and support a fair process—not just for the Polivka family, but for all tax-paying property owners in Weddington.

Your decision tonight can help restore trust in local government and strengthen faith in the future of this town.

I’ve also left handouts and my contact information for both the Council and attendees. I’ve prepared rebuttals to some of the inflammatory claims circulating on social media, not to argue but to be transparent and truthful.

If you have concerns, or questions, I’m happy to listen and have a cordial discussion. 

IYou can email me directly at my first and last name at gmail.com

Thank you,

Jared Polivka