Off-Grid Living in Pomfret, Connecticut

I've been digging into what off-grid living actually looks like town by town in Connecticut, and Pomfret is a good example of a place that looks rural and quiet but is fully zoned and fully layered with review requirements. Don't let the farmland fool you: this is not a "just go build" town.

Zoning. Pomfret's Planning & Zoning Commission runs a permissive-use model, meaning if a use isn't specifically listed as allowed, it's prohibited by default. That's a stricter posture than a lot of rural towns, so before you buy land or plan a build, get the parcel's zoning district confirmed and ask directly whether your intended use (tiny home, off-grid homestead, etc.) is on the allowed list. If you're anywhere near a wetland or watercourse, soil disturbance within 150 feet triggers a separate review by the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission, and I'd loop them in before you even file for a zoning permit.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs. I could not find Pomfret-specific rules on tiny homes or living in an RV long-term in the regulations I reviewed. The zoning code is organized by district, so size and dwelling-type rules likely vary depending on where the parcel sits. This is a "call the Zoning Office and ask" situation, not a guess-and-hope one.

Building permits. The Pomfret Building Office issues permits under the statewide Connecticut State Building Codes, and it's the state code, not a Pomfret-only code, that sets construction standards. Importantly, most building permits don't get issued until Planning, Zoning, Inland Wetlands, and Health have all signed off, so plan for a multi-department process, not a single stop.

Septic and wells. Neither of these run through the town directly. The Northeast District Department of Health (NDDH), a regional health authority, handles both. New construction needs a NDDH approval (what they call a B-100 letter) before you can get a zoning permit, and septic design follows the state Public Health Code technical standards administered locally. Well approvals go through the same NDDH review tied to new home construction. I did not find anything confirming whether a composting toilet alone would satisfy Pomfret/NDDH requirements as a sole system, so ask NDDH directly if that's your plan.

Greywater. I found no Pomfret-specific greywater ordinance, so this defaults to whatever baseline exists at the state level, and I'd call it unclear until NDDH or the state confirms otherwise for your situation.

Rainwater harvesting. Nothing in Pomfret's rules restricts collecting rainwater beyond what the state building code requires for any plumbing-related installation, so this looks permitted, with the Building Office as your permit contact if you're tying it into a structure.

Utilities. Because occupancy sign-off depends on zoning, building, wetlands, and health approvals all lining up, going off-grid on utilities doesn't exempt you from the well/septic and building review process. Living off-grid here is possible, but it happens inside the permitting system, not around it.