Paulding planning panel backs Pulte changes, adds heat‑alarm stipulation

The Paulding County Planning Commission recommended approval of Pulte Homes’ request to amend stipulations on a previously approved R‑55 active‑adult development, voting 4–2–1 to forward the application to the Board of Commissioners on Feb. 11.

Pulte’s application revises a 2020 approval for Cedar Crest Village area property, reducing the proposed lot count from 70 to 51 on roughly 17.3 developable acres and asking the commission to remove or modify several prior stipulations, including the elimination of stipulation 12 (an architectural requirement) and stipulation 16 (a sales‑price restriction). The company also clarified parcel references in the existing condition that ties development to the status of neighboring lots and agreed to keep a 35‑foot landscape buffer along the southern boundary.

Why it matters: the changes affect the product, density and design rules for a built‑out neighborhood and set conditions the Board of Commissioners will review before permits are issued.

Adam Rosen, representing Pulte Homes, told the commission the plan keeps the existing R‑55 zoning and that the updated layout is “very similar to what was approved in 2020,” while reflecting a different home product and a lower lot count. He said Pulte worked with the Cedar Crest Village homeowners association and submitted a letter from the HOA board supporting the application.

Commissioner Roger Leggett pressed Pulte on fire‑safety measures for the age‑restricted community, asking whether units could include alarm devices that wake residents who may not hear conventional smoke detectors. Leggett said, “They need—they feel the vibration if nothing else to know something’s wrong. But that age, people are not gonna hear smoke detectors.” Ross Ripple, the Pulte land representative, responded, “We can agree to that,” and the commission’s approving motion added a bell‑type heat sensor as a required stipulation.

Commissioners also negotiated architectural details. Planning Commission member James Steele asked that two Prestige elevations (labeled LC113 and LC114 in the applicant’s exhibits) be removed; the motion approved that removal. Pulte also confirmed it would maintain landscaping around a detention pond bordering a neighboring driveway and clarified that parcels referenced in an earlier stipulation are now in the names James and Linda Loven and David Cowen.

Public comment included Michael McCravey, vice president of the Cedar Crest Village HOA, who urged the commission to ensure outstanding common‑area turnovers are resolved before final development permits proceed. Pulte representatives said condition 24 (parcel/ownership requirements tied to land‑disturbance permits) remains in force and that the company will not obtain a land‑disturbance permit until the specified parcels are in good standing.

The motion to approve the amended/deleted stipulations, to add the bell‑type heat sensor requirement, and to remove elevations LC113 and LC114 was made by Planning Commission member Sam Callahan and seconded by Ellis Aston. The motion passed 4 yes, 2 no, 1 abstain; commissioners identified the opposing votes as Planning Commission member Miss Fitzgerald and Commissioner Roger Leggett. The application will be heard by the Board of Commissioners at its Feb. 11 meeting; the applicant must attend for consideration.

The commission recorded several follow‑up items for plan review, including whether additional exterior material changes (for example, increasing brick coverage to the soffit on side walls) should be required for fire resistance and how plan reviewers and the fire department will address construction details and drainage between tightly spaced units.

For now, the approving recommendation preserves the R‑55 zoning, reduces the home count to 51, strikes or modifies named prior stipulations, adds the bell‑type heat sensor requirement, and forwards the file to the Board of Commissioners for final action.