Home projects in Lone Tree

Lone Tree is a compact city along I-25 and C-470, home to the RidgeGate development, Park Meadows and neighborhoods such as Carriage Club, Wildcat Ridge and The Bluffs. Most houses date from the 1980s onward, many with walkout basements onto open space, and nearly all are governed by HOAs. The city issues its own building permits.

What makes Lone Tree different right now is how it adopted Colorado's statewide wildfire code. The city's version reaches into projects most homeowners wouldn't connect with wildfire at all.

When the wildfire code applies

Lone Tree's Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code (CWRC) applies to properties on the city's wildfire map. If your property is mapped, the city says completing any of the following improvements brings the code into play for that improvement, and may require additional mitigation on your property, such as removing plants immediately adjacent to your home:

1. Constructing new structures.
2. Installing new landscaping, planting new trees, or altering existing landscaping.
3. Constructing new fences or retaining walls.
4. An addition or alteration that adds or alters 500 square feet or more of an existing structure.
5. Replacing or repairing 25% or more of an existing roof.
6. Replacing or repairing 25% or more of existing exterior walls.

The city states that these activities require a permit from the City of Lone Tree. Interior renovations are exempt, and so is painting or staining exterior walls without removing or replacing wall material, along with certain small detached accessory structures.

That landscaping item surprises people. In a mapped area, redoing the beds around your foundation or planting new trees isn't just an HOA question. Call the Community Development department before you start.

What it means for common projects

Roofs. Hail-damaged roofs are common here. Because replacing 25% or more of a roof triggers the code on mapped properties, nearly any insurance re-roof will. Ask your roofer for a compliant assembly, typically Class A, and expect the city to look at materials and details. Colorado law still applies to the contract: roofers can't pay, waive or rebate your insurance deductible.

Decks and patios. Walkout lots mean many tall decks facing open space. New decks and major replacements are construction projects that can bring hardening requirements, and the plantings and mulch beneath them may come into the mitigation discussion.

Siding. Replacing a quarter or more of exterior walls triggers the code. Fiber cement and other noncombustible options make compliance simpler.

Landscaping and fences. On mapped properties, new landscaping, tree planting, fences and retaining walls need a city permit under the CWRC. Plan the yard and the hardscape together.

Basements and interior remodels. Exempt from the CWRC, though they still need ordinary building permits.

Housing and HOAs

Lone Tree's housing is mostly 1980s-2000s two-story and ranch homes, with newer homes and townhomes in RidgeGate. HOA design review is standard, and in this city, the HOA's landscape and material rules have to fit alongside the CWRC. Submit to the HOA and the city with the same plans, and ask the HOA how its guidelines handle ember-resistant zones near the house.

Practical tips

• Look up whether your property is on the city's wildfire map before you plan exterior or yard work.
• Bundle exterior projects. If you're replacing a roof and siding, design them together for compliance.
• Keep product data sheets and permit records. Insurers increasingly ask about wildfire hardening.

Hiring in a code-in-transition city

Because the CWRC is new in Lone Tree, contractors' familiarity varies. When you collect bids for roofing, siding, decks or landscaping, ask each one directly: Is my property on the city's wildfire map? Which of the CWRC triggers does this project hit? Which products in your bid are rated for it? Who applies for the city permit? A contractor who has already worked through the city's process will answer those quickly. Also ask for proof of insurance and, for any electrical or plumbing work, Colorado state license numbers you can verify on DORA's lookup.

Hail, wind and sun

Beyond wildfire, Lone Tree homes face the same south-metro weather as their neighbors: hail in spring and summer, wind across the ridges, and intense high-altitude sun on south- and west-facing walls and decks. Impact-rated roofing, composite or capped decking, and quality exterior coatings hold up best. Since many of those choices overlap with wildfire hardening, it's often possible to meet both goals with one set of materials.