Off-Grid Living in Griswold, Connecticut

I've been digging through the official record for Griswold, Connecticut, and here's my honest read on what it takes to live off-grid there.

First, the big-picture fact: Griswold is a zoned town, not one of those rare unzoned Connecticut spots. The Town's Zoning Regulations have been in place since 1973 (revised since), and they're administered by the Building Official/Zoning Enforcement Officer alongside the Department of Planning and Community Development. There's also an Aquifer Protection Overlay in parts of town, and the separate Borough of Jewett City has its own zoning layer. So where your land sits matters.

Zoning and raw land: You can't just buy acreage and do whatever you want. The zoning code governs permitted uses by district, with stated goals around safety, health, and preventing overcrowding.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs: The code has a distinct chapter for mobile homes and trailers, separate from standard dwellings, meaning those structures get their own rules. Before anyone occupies a new or enlarged building, the Zoning Enforcement Officer has to issue a Certificate of Zoning Compliance. I did not find a clear answer on whether a tiny home or RV can serve as a full-time, permanent residence, so I'd call the town about that specifically.

Building permits: Most construction, additions, decks, garages, pools, or use changes need a building or zoning permit, and the Building Department urges people to call first rather than guess. Notably, Uncas Health District approval is required as part of the building permit process for these projects.

Septic and composting toilets: Griswold doesn't run its own septic program, it's delegated to Uncas Health District, which serves Griswold and ten neighboring municipalities. Statewide, Connecticut Public Health Code lets the local Director of Health permit septic systems up to 7,500 gallons per day. I found nothing specific on composting toilets, so that's unconfirmed, worth a direct call to Uncas Health District.

Greywater: No Griswold or Uncas Health District rule on household greywater reuse turned up in my search. That's a genuine gap, not a "it's fine" answer, so confirm before building a system.

Rainwater harvesting: I didn't find any Griswold-specific restriction. The State Building Code's general permit baseline would apply.

Wells: Most of the town outside Jewett City relies on private wells, which Uncas Health District permits under state Public Health Code. Zoning regulations can also add conditions on time, place, and manner for well or spring-water collection operations.

Utilities disconnection: There's no outright ban on living off-grid that I found, but the system is set up so full occupancy gets tied to health-district-approved water and waste systems plus a zoning compliance certificate. In practice, that makes going fully "off the books" much harder than in an unzoned town.

Bottom line: Griswold isn't hostile to off-grid living, but it channels everything through permits, and two agencies (Town Building/Zoning and Uncas Health District) both need to sign off.