Off-Grid Living in New Milford, Connecticut

I've been digging into what it would actually take to live off-grid in New Milford, Connecticut, and the short answer is: it's a zoned town, and that changes the calculus quite a bit compared to unzoned rural counties out west.

Zoning comes first. New Milford adopted its Zoning Regulations back in 1971 under the authority granted by Section 8 of the Connecticut General Statutes, and the local Zoning Commission administers them. The frustrating part for research purposes is that the full ordinance text isn't hosted on eCode360, the town's usual code host, so you can't just search it online. You'd need to visit the Town Clerk's office or the Zoning Enforcement Officer to see how your specific parcel's zone affects setbacks, structure size, and allowed uses. I can't tell you from here whether a given lot allows the kind of minimal, off-grid dwelling you might have in mind, that's a "go ask them" situation.

Tiny homes, ADUs, and RVs as residences are another area where I found no dedicated town-level guidance. The State Building Code sets a general threshold for what counts as a tiny home structurally, but whether New Milford's Zoning Regulations allow one as a permanent residence, or whether an RV can be lived in long-term, isn't confirmed by anything I found. Call the Zoning Enforcement Officer before you commit to a plan.

Building permits run through the New Milford Building Department, which locally administers the State Building Code (per Connecticut General Statutes Section 19-395e, which makes the state code the building code for every town). Before you get a permit, expect to need sign-off from multiple departments, Health, Sewer Authority, Zoning, and the Fire Marshal among them.

Septic is governed by New Milford's own Sanitary Code. Permits to construct a system are only valid for a limited window before they expire, soil tests have to be observed by the Director of Health or an authorized agent, and the Director of Health has to inspect and sign off before you can cover a new or rebuilt system. Composting toilets aren't addressed separately in what I found, so that's an open question for the Health Department.

Greywater reuse has no New Milford-specific ordinance that I could locate, mirroring a similar gap at the state level. Rainwater harvesting looks fine; I found no town restriction, so the State Building Code's general provisions would apply through the Building Department.

Wells are handled through the Housatonic Valley Health District, which serves as New Milford's health authority, working alongside state Department of Public Health standards.

Bottom line on disconnecting from utilities entirely: the sign-off requirements before a building permit issues (Health, Sewer, Zoning, etc.) effectively mean you need a code-compliant water and waste solution to get occupancy approval. Going fully off-the-books isn't something the town process seems to accommodate.