Unincorporated Douglas County, Colorado Denver & the Metro

Barndominium Builders in Highlands Ranch, Colorado

Highlands Ranch is not a city at all. It is an unincorporated, master-planned community in Douglas County, so building permits come from the Douglas County Building Department, and every exterior change also answers to the Highlands Ranch Community Association's covenants. We build barndominiums for Colorado families, and plenty of our enquiries start from a Highlands Ranch address even though the build ends up somewhere else. The reason is simple: the community's guidelines are written for suburban houses, not for a shop bay with living quarters, and the lots are sized to match. What we can do from here is help you find and plan the right parcel within a reasonable drive, then carry the project through design, county permitting and construction. People searching for barndominium contractors from Highlands Ranch usually want the same thing: acreage south or east of the suburbs with room for equipment. [Start the survey](/survey/) and tell us how far you are willing to go.

Highlands Ranch at a glance

County: Unincorporated Douglas County
Building permit: County (unincorporated land)
Local facts on this page: 5, each linked to its source

Tell us about your land

Before you build in Highlands Ranch

The local answers that shape a build here, each taken from the office or document that publishes it. Rules change, so we confirm them again against your parcel before drawing.

County-issued permitWho issues the permit

Douglas County Building Department

Because Highlands Ranch is unincorporated, a building permit comes from the Douglas County Building Department. The HRCA's guidelines state that its own architectural approval does not replace county review, and that obtaining any Douglas County permits before work starts is the owner's responsibility. Zoning questions go to the Douglas County Zoning Department.

Source: HRCA Residential Improvement Guidelines and Site Restrictions (June 2025) (hrcaonline.org)

Covenant-controlled community: Highlands Ranch homeowners are members of the Highlands Ranch Community Association and must follow the covenants in its Community Declaration. The HRCA says all exterior home improvements require approval from its Architectural Review Committee.
Douglas County development guide: A Planned Community District Development Guide for Highlands Ranch was approved by the Douglas County commissioners on September 17, 1979. It sets minimum lot area, setbacks and maximum building height, and identifies permitted accessory building uses.
Accessory building limits: Under the HRCA guidelines, only one accessory building or storage shed is allowed per property, with a maximum size of 8 by 10 feet and 8.5 feet high unless the committee grants a variance. Metal, resin and plastic composite sheds are not permitted, and materials and colors must match the house.
No farm animals: The HRCA guidelines state that roosters and other farm-type animals such as goats, ducks, pigs and horses are not permitted on Highlands Ranch residential sites.
Community scale: The HRCA describes Highlands Ranch as a former cattle ranch that became a master-planned community in 1981, and says the association now serves over 30,000 households.

Building on land near Highlands Ranch

The candid answer is that a barndominium does not fit inside Highlands Ranch: open acreage is scarce and the lots are suburban, one small shed is the ceiling for outbuildings, and metal building homes would struggle to match the house styles the covenants expect. Buyers looking for land near Highlands Ranch generally head south and east through [Douglas County](/areas/douglas-county-co/) toward the larger rural parcels, or further out into [Elbert County](/areas/elbert-county-co/), where acreage, wells and septic are the norm. Check any subdivision there for its own covenants before you buy. Our [site preparation](/services/site-preparation/) crew plans the drive, pad and utilities once a parcel is chosen.

Where we build in this part of Colorado

Denver & the Metro

What we build in Highlands Ranch

Kits, custom plans and turnkey builds. The parcel decides the budget more than the floor area does, so we price against your land rather than a rate card.

Custom Plans

Custom barndominium plans for Colorado: floor plans drawn around your land, snow load and soils, ready for a licensed engineer's seal where required.

Barndominium Kits

Barndominium kits for Colorado land: steel or pole barn shell packages drawn to the snow load your own county or city sets for your elevation.

Turnkey Builds

Turnkey barndominium builds in Colorado: one team from land and permits through well, septic, shell and finishes to a house you move into.

See every service

Have land in or near Highlands Ranch? Tell us about the parcel and what you want to build, and we will check it against the local rules before anything is drawn.

Start your build survey

Building in Highlands Ranch: questions

Start the survey

How much does it cost to build a barndominium if I'm moving out of Highlands Ranch?

The biggest variable is the land you choose. Rural parcels bring well, septic, power and driveway costs that a suburban lot never had, and those can move the total more than the floor plan does. We price against a specific parcel rather than publishing a rate card. See our barndominium cost guide for sourced ranges, and use the survey to tell us about the land.

Do I need a building permit for a barndominium in Highlands Ranch?

Yes, and from two directions. There is no city government, so Douglas County issues building permits, while the HRCA's Architectural Review Committee must separately approve any exterior improvement. In practice the covenant rules on outbuildings and animals mean a shop house is not a realistic project on a Highlands Ranch lot. Our permitting service handles the county side once you have land elsewhere in Douglas County.

Where can I build post frame homes or steel homes within reach of Highlands Ranch?

Look at unincorporated Douglas County outside the planned communities, or at Elbert County to the east, and confirm each parcel's zoning and any covenants before buying. Steel homes and pole-framed builds are both common on that kind of acreage. Our steel construction and post-frame homes pages compare the bolted steel frame with the pole-and-truss approach.

Can I order barndominium kits and build on acreage south of Highlands Ranch?

Yes, provided the package is drawn to the loads and code the county enforces for that parcel. We check snow, wind and wildfire requirements before anything ships, review a package you already have, or supply barndominium kits prepared for the site, with a Colorado-licensed engineer stamping the structural sheets.

Keep reading

What usually comes next once you know what Highlands Ranch allows.

Barndominium Cost Guide

Sourced per-square-foot ranges by tier and size, and what moves the number on your land.

Read it

Is a Barndominium Legal in Colorado?

Zoning, septic and who inspects, before you buy the land.

Read it

How Long Does It Take?

From parcel to move-in, and which steps set the clock.

Read it

Sources for this page

The published pages behind the Highlands Ranch facts above. Rules change, so check the current version with the office before you rely on it.

Barndominium builders near Highlands Ranch

Nearby places we also build in. Across a city limit or a county line the permit office, zoning and septic rules can change, so each has its own page.

Douglas County

Colorado county

Centennial

Arapahoe County, Colorado

Castle Rock

Douglas County, Colorado

Parker

Douglas County, Colorado

Building in Highlands Ranch?

Start with the survey. Tell us where the land is and what you want on it, and we will come back with which office permits it, what it will allow, and a plan to fit.

Start the survey