Off-Grid Living in Hartland, Connecticut

I've been digging into what it actually takes to live off-grid in Hartland, Connecticut, and I want to be upfront: this is one of those towns where the public-facing documentation is thin, so a fair amount of this comes down to "call and ask" rather than "here's the ordinance text."

Zoning. Connecticut doesn't have a statewide zoning code, it's left to towns, and Hartland is a zoned town with its own Planning & Zoning Commission and a Zoning Enforcement Officer. Before you can get a building permit, that officer checks your proposed site against Hartland's Zoning and Wetlands Regulations. I couldn't find the actual text of those regulations online (lot size minimums, occupancy rules for raw land, etc.), so treat that as an open question for the Zoning Enforcement Officer, not something I can confirm from here.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs. Nothing Hartland-specific on tiny homes or RVs turned up in my research. This would fall under the same local zoning regulations mentioned above, so again, a direct call to the Zoning Enforcement Officer is the honest next step.

Building permits. Hartland contracts its building inspection services out to the Town of Granby. Granby's page notes a permit fee structure tied to construction value, and state statute gives the Building Official up to a set number of days to review a permit application. For the exact current fee schedule, go straight to Granby's building department page rather than relying on secondhand numbers.

Septic. Connecticut's Public Health Code governs septic permitting, administered locally by a Director of Health or regional health district. I could not pin down which specific health district actually covers Hartland, nearby districts serve other towns, but Hartland's own affiliation wasn't confirmed anywhere official I found. Call the Selectmen's Office to get pointed to the right agency.

Greywater. No Hartland or regional-district page on greywater reuse turned up. Unclear, not confirmed.

Rainwater harvesting. I found no Hartland restriction on collecting rainwater, so the state building code baseline appears to apply and rainwater collection looks fine, though I'd still mention it if you're pulling a building permit.

Wells. Private wells in Connecticut are permitted through the local Director of Health or regional health district under the Public Health Code and Department of Consumer Protection well drilling regulations, with a licensed well driller filing the application before drilling starts. Same caveat as septic: I don't know which health authority actually administers this for Hartland specifically.

Full utility disconnection. As in other CT towns, actually living in a structure typically requires an approved water/septic system and a Certificate of Occupancy from the building official (here, Granby) before it's legal to occupy. Going fully off-grid on power looks feasible in principle, but the water/septic and CO requirements are the real gatekeepers.

Bottom line: Hartland is small enough that a lot of this isn't spelled out in searchable documents, so plan on a couple of phone calls to the town before you buy land or break ground.