Arapahoe, Jefferson & Douglas County Permits Explained

Littleton is an unusual case: the city's own municipal boundary spans three counties, and our service area follows suit. Here's how local government actually breaks down across it.

Three real, active counties

Arapahoe, Jefferson and Douglas each run genuine, active county government — a real governing authority for county roads, unincorporated-area permitting and countywide matters, not just a planning body. Our own yard sits in Arapahoe County.

Incorporated cities and towns

Several communities we serve are their own separately incorporated city or town, each with real municipal government of its own: Centennial, Englewood, Sheridan and Golden are incorporated cities; Bow Mar and Morrison are incorporated towns. Each sets its own local rules, separate from its county.

Unincorporated communities

Highlands Ranch, Ken Caryl, Indian Hills and Conifer are unincorporated — they have no city or town government of their own. They're governed directly by their county, and in the case of Highlands Ranch and Ken Caryl, a special-purpose metro or ranch district also runs community facilities like parks and trails, without being a municipal government.

Why this matters for a dumpster delivery

Which office handles a public-street placement permit, or any local rule question, depends entirely on which of these three shapes your address falls into. We never assume one city's rule applies to a different one — we confirm per address.

The short version

City or town: that government's own office. Unincorporated: the relevant county directly. Any doubt: call us and we'll point you to the right one.