ADUs in Highlands Ranch, CO
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ADUs for Highlands Ranch homes
Highlands Ranch is in Douglas County, which is a subject jurisdiction under HB24-1152 — so since June 30, 2025 an ADU must be allowed where detached single-family homes are, through administrative approval, without owner-occupancy or ADU parking mandates. Importantly, the law’s requirements also reach planned unit developments and homeowners associations within subject jurisdictions, which is directly relevant in a community governed as thoroughly as this one.
That said, an ADU here is the most approval-heavy project in our service area: Douglas County for the permit, the Highlands Ranch Metro District for water and sewer impacts before the county will issue it, and HRCA’s ARC for anything exterior — and a detached unit is entirely exterior. Your neighborhood’s Supplemental Declaration matters. We map all three paths at feasibility, before you spend on design.
Permits and approvals in Highlands Ranch
ADUs at this scope is permitted work, and we pull the permits and schedule the inspections for you. In Highlands Ranch that runs through the Douglas County Building Division, via the county’s permitting system, under the International Residential Code as adopted by Douglas County.
Highlands Ranch has the most layered approval process in our entire service area, and it catches nearly everyone. It isn’t a city — it’s an unincorporated community in Douglas County, so the county’s Building Division is the authority having jurisdiction, not a city hall. On top of that, the Highlands Ranch Metro District reviews projects on behalf of Highlands Ranch Water for impacts to the public water and sewer systems, and Metro District approval is required before Douglas County will issue a building permit or a certificate of occupancy. That’s two approvals before you break ground.
You can be fully permitted by Douglas County and still be in violation with HRCA. Three approvals, in the right order, is how a Highlands Ranch project stays out of trouble.
We build ADUs across Highlands Ranch, including Northridge, Southridge, Eastridge, Westridge, Backcountry, Highwoods, Timberline Ridge, and Shadow Canyon, and the surrounding neighborhoods.
Working on more than one space? We also handle kitchen remodeling in Highlands Ranch and bathroom remodeling in Highlands Ranch, and everything we do locally is on our Highlands Ranch remodeling page.
ADUs FAQs — Highlands Ranch
Douglas County is a subject jurisdiction under HB24-1152, so an ADU must be allowed where detached single-family homes are, through administrative approval. Notably, the law’s requirements also reach HOAs and planned developments within subject jurisdictions — which matters a great deal here.
Three: Douglas County for the permit, the Highlands Ranch Metro District for water and sewer impacts before the county will issue it, and HRCA’s Architectural Review Committee, since a detached ADU is entirely exterior. We map all three before design.
No — state law bars subject jurisdictions from requiring owner-occupancy. Your neighborhood’s Supplemental Declaration is still worth reading for design standards.
Let’s build something right here in Highlands Ranch.
Send a note about your project, your timeline, and your budget — we’ll set up a free in-home walkthrough, usually within a few days. You’re a neighbor, not a lead.