Off-Grid Living in Union County, Iowa

I'll say upfront: Union County, Iowa is one of those rural counties where the paper trail runs thin once you get past septic and wells. I dug through the county's official site (unioncountyiowa.gov) and here's what I found, and didn't find.

Zoning: I could not locate a Planning & Zoning department or a county zoning ordinance anywhere on Union County's official site. Iowa Code Chapter 335 leaves county zoning optional for counties, so it's entirely plausible Union County has no countywide zoning ordinance at all, or handles land use informally through the Board of Supervisors. I'm not going to guess further, this needs a direct call to the County Auditor or Board of Supervisors.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs: Same story, nothing county-specific on the official site. Iowa's boards of adjustment can grant special exceptions to zoning ordinances, but that only matters if there's an underlying ordinance to except from, which isn't confirmed here.

Building permits: No building department shows up in the county's official departments listing. Iowa's state building code baseline (Chapter 103A) doesn't force smaller counties to adopt it, and Union County (population under 15,000) shows no sign it has. That suggests permits may not be required outside incorporated towns like Creston, but confirm before you build.

Septic: This one's solid. Union County Environmental Health runs septic permitting, and their own application form ties installation requirements to the Union County Board of Health and Iowa Administrative Code 567, Chapter 69. Systems must stay open for inspection, and the office wants advance notice before final sign-off. A neighboring county's site hints Union County may also have a homeowner self-install training option, worth asking about directly.

Greywater: Not addressed separately anywhere I found, state or county. Ask Environmental Health how they treat it relative to standard septic rules.

Rainwater harvesting: No county or Iowa DNR rule turned up either permitting or restricting residential catchment. Looks like open territory, but unconfirmed.

Wells: Also handled by Union County Environmental Health, which issues Well Construction permits. Their septic paperwork even cross-references existing wells on a property, so the office clearly coordinates the two.

Off-grid/utility disconnection: No ordinance bans living unhooked from utilities. But regardless of grid status, you'll still need to satisfy Environmental Health on septic and well permitting for an occupied dwelling.

Bottom line: septic and wells are clearly regulated and county-administered under state code. Zoning and building permits are a genuine gray zone that only the courthouse can settle for you.