On April 16th, the Heritage Hills Metro District Brick Wall Committee held its second meeting. For the first time, residents were invited to attend via Zoom in listen-only mode — and twelve neighbors showed up. That kind of community engagement matters, and we hope to see even more of it as this process continues.

The committee brought in structural engineer Donald Harvey from ANA, who also teaches masonry at CU Boulder and has studied brick wall systems here in Heritage Hills and for the City of Lone Tree. He walked the committee through sections of our walls showing signs of deterioration — sagging panels, exposed steel, and other structural concerns. As he rightfully pointed out, some of our walls do have real issues that deserve to be addressed.

But before any decisions can be made, there is a foundational question that needs to be answered first.

Nobody knows who owns these walls.

Depending on where the property lines fall — which has not yet been determined — portions of our brick walls may sit on Metro District property, on individual homeowner property, or some combination of both. The committee also learned that some sections sit on South Suburban land. A survey of the neighborhood will be needed to sort this out, and that survey has not yet happened.

In addition, before any work begins, the Metro District would need a recorded easement agreement — a legal document signed by every affected homeowner. That means homeowners with landscaping, trees, patios, or anything built up near their wall would need to agree to provide access and potentially see that area disrupted during construction. This kind of process is generally considered expensive and time consuming, and if even one homeowner declines, it creates a legal complication that would need to be resolved before work could move forward.

The two options being explored

The committee is evaluating two primary paths — repair in place, or full replacement. Cost estimates for both are still being gathered. Repair costs can be harder to estimate because the extent of the damage may not be fully known until the walls are opened up. A repair quote obtained by one board member came in at approximately $2.9 million. Replacement of all walls has been estimated at $15 million in previous discussions.

Our Metro District's service plan — the governing document filed with the state that defines what the district can and cannot do financially — currently caps bond financing at $3 million. Replacing all of the brick walls would certainly cost more than that, and those estimates do not yet include the cost of the survey, easement agreements, potential utility or landscaping impacts, or legal costs.

When one committee member asked how this would all be funded — bonds, bank loans, special assessments — the honest answer was: we don't know yet. A special assessment, it is worth noting, would mean a direct additional charge to every homeowner.

The City of Lone Tree comparison

Throughout the meeting, comparisons were made to the City of Lone Tree, which is currently going through its own brick wall evaluation. It is worth noting that Lone Tree's walls were built differently, failed earlier, went through litigation, and the city's financial situation is entirely different from ours. These are not the same walls, and the decisions being made for the city may or may not be the right decisions for Heritage Hills.

What happens next

The committee is working on gathering cost estimates for both repair and replacement and evaluating the condition of the existing wall foundations. The next committee meeting has not yet been scheduled, and we will share that information as soon as it is available.

This is a complex situation with a lot of unknowns. The committee members are your neighbors volunteering their time on a genuinely difficult problem, and that deserves to be recognized. At the same time, this conversation affects every homeowner in Heritage Hills — financially, aesthetically, and personally.

The best way to stay informed and make your voice heard is to attend the Metro District's monthly board meeting, held on the second Friday of every month at 8:15 AM in the clubhouse and via Zoom. Every meeting includes a public comment period right at the top — even a few minutes makes a difference.

The next meeting is this Friday, May 8th.
To attend via Zoom Videoconference, use the link below:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87379592690

We hope to see you there!

Thanks, friends.
— Jill, Katie & Faith