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Most Highlands Ranch homes were built sometime between 1981 and 2000 so if you’ve noticed some fading or failing paint on your home, it may be time for a refresh! If you live in Highlands Ranch you’re probably familiar with HRCA or the Highlands Ranch Community Association. We all have feelings about HOAs and what living in a covenant controlled community means but we’ve got everything you need to know for your Highlands Ranch exterior painting project, including how to submit colors to HRCA.
Sometimes it can be a bit frustrating getting that letter from your HOA saying it’s time to paint so we thought it might help to understand what the process is for citing those. According to HRCA, “Paint is reviewed on the basis of street aesthetics and the effect on property value based on the condition of a home’s paint and it’s curb appeal”. This means HRCA is actively trying to protect the value of your home and the homes around you by maintaining strict rules and regulations regarding the appearance of homes within the community. In general, HRCA is looking for failing paint, chipping, fading, discoloration, and more. They are primarily looking at your siding, trim, accent areas, and front doors for these areas of failure. For a full list of what is reviewed during paint surveys click here.
Whether you’ve received an HOA letter or not, you may be looking to paint. Exterior painting is an affordable and easy way to keep your home looking beautiful and well maintained. Having a professional painter makes that even easier but first, you’ll need to find the right painter for your home. The BBB recommends getting 3-5 quotes to compare. When you’re comparing painters be sure to look at their online presence, reviews, warranty, and the feeling you have when coordinating and working with their team. For more information about comparing painters check out this article.
The Highlands Ranch Community Association does have preferred exterior paint color schemes however, you will still need to submit these colors for approval. You can find a catalog of color schemes for The Villages at Highlands Ranch Here. To review color schemes for HRCA you should visit your local Sherwin Williams store where they should have a book of choices available. It is important to note that your colors do NOT have to come from this pre-selected list. You can choose alternative HOA friendly colors and submit those for approval. Just keep in mind that most HOAs, especially HRCA will be looking for muted, earth tones to keep with the general theme of the neighborhood.
Each HOA is different when it comes to submitting your existing colors for approval; however, HRCA does require you to submit whether you are changing colors OR staying with your same colors. This ensures that they have accurate colors on file for you to access in the future if needed.
If you’ve recently purchased your home or just need access to your colors you can contact the HRCA Community Improvement Services Department directly at (303) 471-8821. For more contact information click here.
To submit your paint colors to HRCA you can submit online here (go to the bottom and click ‘Select a form to continue’). Along with your basic information you will need to provide the paint manufacturer, or paint brand, the paint color, and color code. If you are using custom colors then you will need to drop off samples at the Eastridge Recreation Center so we recommend choosing actual colors whenever possible. There is a section to attach files and this should be used to include digital images of each paint color; be sure to have them labeled properly with the color name and placement.
The HRCA Architectural Review Committee meets twice a month, on the first and third Wednesdays of the month. During the busy season of spring and summer the committee can review as many as 700 submissions in a single meeting so getting your colors submitted sooner rather than later will always help this process go smoothly for you. For your colors to be reviewed, they must be submitted no later than noon the Friday before the meeting. Most approvals take about 2 weeks and you should receive a written response with the committee’s decision; however, HRCA does reserve the right to take as many as 30 days to process submissions. HRCA does not provide immediate approval on paint colors and requires that they go through this process so plan your projects accordingly.
There are a variety of reasons as to why your colors may not be approved by the Architectural Review Committee. The committee looks at several factors when deciding whether to approve or deny colors. These factors include determining whether the color harmonizes with the other homes, the home’s architecture, the color and type of any stone or brick accents, your roof color, and the colors of your neighbor’s homes. As a rule, you cannot have the same or similar colors to the houses directly surrounding your home so keep that in mind as you select colors.
We know how upsetting it can be when your colors are denied but the best thing to do is to let it go and get to work selecting another set of colors. In some cases you may be able to change just one of your colors but you will still need to submit all colors again for approval. If this will cause a delay in your paint project be sure to give your painter a call to let them know so your dates can be updated accordingly.
You can also schedule a time to talk directly with the committee at one of their meetings if you would like to discuss your plans or if you’ve received a denial. You do have to schedule this ahead of time and you are allowed 15 minutes during your time slot.
Congratulations! Now that you’ve received your color approval you should contact your painter to give them your final colors. If you are one of our clients, you can submit your colors here.
If you’ve made it this far, thank you so much for your time! We hope this helped you with how to submit paint colors to HRCA and what to do afterwards. There are a few other things to keep in mind with HRCA and submitting your colors.
We hope you’ve found this article helpful! If you have any other questions please check out the Highlands Ranch Community Association website or call our office at (720) 370-3063 and we’d be happy to help anyway we can!