City officials got an up-close look this week at how developers of the proposed Cedarcroft subdivision might implement a residential feature new to Peachtree City — modular homes.

Representatives of Virginia-based Nationwide Homes gave a presentation at a special called workshop of the Peachtree City Planning Commission Tuesday morning at the library. Although several city officials attended, only two Planning Commission members were present and no action was taken.

Actually, no action is needed, because Cedarcroft developer Michael Rossetti can put these homes in now without any additional city approval. “We don't have anything that restricts that type of construction,” said city planner David Rast.

But Rossetti set up the informational meeting to help the city become better informed on this process. “The modular home concept is new to Peachtree City,” said Rast. “We wanted to make sure we had a better understanding of what he was proposing, and the Planning Commission and City Council were aware of that.”

Much of Nationwide's presentation emphasized its position that its homes, which are built in a factory and then transported in sections to each site, are built to standards of quality at least equal to and often above that of typical “stick-built” homes.

Nevertheless, companies like Nationwide often feel the need to present their case to counter the widely held assumption that “modular home” is a term synonymous with “mobile home,” when that is not the case.

Planning Commission Chairman Wes Saunders agreed with that assessment, saying, “They're certainly not trailer homes. They appear to be stick-built and up to all code standards.”

Both Rast and Saunders added that the homes will go through the standard permit and inspection process as far as Peachtree City is concerned.

Nationwide previously built all of its homes, which can range up to 6,000 square feet, at its Virginia facility. But the company recently purchased a plant south of Macon and could build Cedarcroft homes much closer to where they will eventually sit.

Rossetti said that he chose Nationwide Homes after investigating several potential companies for the Cedarcroft project. “It's a good product,” he said. “I wouldn't be looking at this if it weren't a quality product.”

From his perspective, there are several advantages to using a company such as Nationwide. He mentioned cost and labor as two such advantages.

“You have factory-controlled conditions, and weather's not an issue,” he said. “And it's a higher quality product. If it makes it through the trip here and there are no cracks, you know it's good.”

Rossetti said he would like to see the homes going in as soon as possible. His original site plan indicated a 218-unit development, but he pointed out that he can have up to 220 according to the development agreement.

When asked exactly where he stood in the Planning Commission process with the city, Rossetti declined to comment. But he later said that he originally applied for preliminary plat approval last July, and he has not received that approval yet.

Saunders said that there are still landscape issues to be addressed, and he still has concerns about the railroad's proximity to the overall site. He added that the city is awaiting word from consultants who are conducting a noise study, and those findings should be very important in considering the progress of the project.

Rossetti said that he has submitted a sound wall plan to the city, working with a manufacturer of concrete products similar to what is often seen on highway medians

“I designed a sound wall better than anything the city has out now,” he said. “We're in negotiations to get that approved.”

Saunders said he did not know when Rossetti would be appearing before the Planning Commission again.

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