Highlands Ranch home remodeling runs on two approvals that most of the metro never deals with together. Highlands Ranch is an unincorporated community in Douglas County, and with more than 100,000 residents at the 2020 census, it's the most populous unincorporated community in Colorado. There is no city hall. Building permits come from Douglas County, and nearly every exterior change goes through the Highlands Ranch Community Association. This page covers how those two tracks work together, what the HRCA's guidelines say about additions, windows and garages, and what each part of the community tends to need. For soils and radon across the county, see our Douglas County remodeling guide.
What Douglas County Checks on a Highlands Ranch Remodel
The two reviews answer different questions. Douglas County's Building Division checks that the work meets the adopted building code. For a basement finish, for example, the county wants construction documents showing smoke and carbon monoxide alarm locations, egress windows and the existing furnace and water heater, and homes with automatic fire sprinklers need written approval from the fire district for the basement sprinkler design.
HRCA Architectural Review Runs on Its Own Clock
The HRCA's Architectural Review Committee checks that exterior changes fit the community's covenants. Its Residential Improvement Guidelines are blunt on scope: any improvement not specifically listed requires ARC review and written approval. Under the Community Declaration, the ARC must act within 30 days of receiving all required materials, and that clock doesn't start on an incomplete submittal.
What the HRCA Guidelines Mean for Common Remodel Projects
Interior remodeling generally isn't the HRCA's concern. The friction starts when a project changes how the house looks from outside.
| Project | What the HRCA guidelines consider |
|---|---|
| Additions | Materials and colors must match the house, roof pitch should match as closely as possible, and additions generally should not extend beyond the side plane of the original home. HRCA approval and a county permit are both required before work starts. |
| Replacement windows | Color and style must match the windows that remain, and gridding must be consistent on each side of the house. |
| Air conditioning equipment | Ground-level units are reviewed for location, screening and proximity to neighbors; units above street level are not permitted unless fully concealed. |
| Garage changes | Enclosing a garage door opening with a fixed exterior wall is not allowed, and changing a garage's use needs Douglas County approval. |
Remodeling Homes Across Highlands Ranch's Neighborhoods
The Mission Viejo Company bought the land in 1978 and built Highlands Ranch as a series of named neighborhoods threaded with green belts. The community is commonly divided into four areas, each anchored by an HRCA recreation center:
- Northridge, the earliest area, where the first recreation center opened in 1982 and many homes date from the 1980s
- Eastridge, another early area that includes several gated enclaves
- Westridge and Southridge, the later areas to build out, with larger homes and some lots backing to natural areas
Within those areas, the Highlands Ranch Golf Club neighborhood surrounds the original course, and BackCountry is a gated community beside the roughly 8,200-acre Backcountry Wilderness Area. The age gradient is predictable: Northridge homes are on their second or third round of updates, while newer Southridge and BackCountry homes more often need a finished lower level. Basement finishing in Highlands Ranch is mostly an interior project, but an added egress window well on a visible side can still need ARC review. In the older areas, a dated primary suite is the usual starting point for a Highlands Ranch bathroom remodel.
Neighbors to the east and north work under different rules; see our pages on remodeling in Lone Tree and Littleton home remodeling.
Ready to line up county and HRCA approvals for your project? Start planning your Highlands Ranch remodel