Buying or selling in Parker

Property in Parker is valued by the Douglas County Assessor, taxed through the Douglas County Treasurer, whose public tax search shows the account for an address, and recorded with the Douglas County Clerk and Recorder.

Inside the town limits, the Town of Parker's Building Division handles all building permits and inspections, through its eTRAKiT portal, and the town says permits are required for practically any work. Its Planning Division processes land use applications such as rezonings, site plans and subdivision plats. An address outside the town limits is not the Building Division's, so check the parcel record for the jurisdiction before assuming whose rules apply.

The town says it plainly: the Town of Parker does not provide water and sanitation services. They come from separate water and sanitation districts, including Parker Water and Sanitation District and Cottonwood Water and Sanitation District. Parker Water and Sanitation District notes that even a Parker home may be served by another district, depending on the subdivision, and it sets its own outdoor watering days and hours.

Ask which district serves the address, and get its rules in writing. Those districts are separate local governments, and so are metropolitan districts, which the town names alongside homeowners associations as the likely owner of common-area landscaping. A metro district adds its own levy to the property tax bill, and the guide to metro districts explains how to look one up before you offer.

Douglas County School District serves Parker through three high school feeder systems. The district's school locator shows the neighborhood school for an address, and the district notes that assignments are set by its planning department and approved by the Board of Education, so confirm with the district rather than a listing. Here is how to check which school district an address is in.

Parker Road, which is State Highway 83, runs through the town, and E-470, a toll highway, serves Parker as well. Parker is inside RTD's service area, and RTD runs a Parker FlexRide service by reservation within the town.

Cherry Creek runs through Parker, and the town manages its floodplains using FEMA's flood insurance study and rate maps. The town participates in the National Flood Insurance Program, and it points out that flood damage is not covered by a standard homeowner's policy. If a house is near the creek or one of its drainageways, check the map before you offer, and see the Douglas County land page if you are also looking at acreage outside the town.