Off-Grid Living in Rock Island County, Illinois

I've been digging into Rock Island County, Illinois for anyone thinking about going off-grid here, and the first thing I need to flag is a jurisdiction split. If your land sits in unincorporated county territory, the Rock Island County Zoning & Building Department calls the shots. If it's inside the City of Rock Island, Moline, East Moline, Milan, or any other municipality, that town runs its own separate planning and zoning department with its own rules. This brief is built around the unincorporated county baseline.

Zoning: The county adopted the Quad City Unified Ordinance back in 2000, and the zoning rules live in the County Code of Ordinances, Title XV. The Zoning & Building Department handles variances, rezoning, special use permits, and complaints. Nothing here says raw land occupancy is banned, but it's clearly a regulated process, not a free-for-all.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs: This is where things get restrictive. The county's definition of a single-family dwelling requires a permanent masonry or concrete foundation extending below the 42-inch frost line, plus specific roof pitch and siding standards. That effectively rules out a tiny house or RV as a legal permanent residence. RVs specifically can only be parked on a property for short stretches (24 hours at a time, capped frequency within a week) and must stay road-ready, licensed and insured, not converted into a stationary home. Factory-built or modular homes are fine if certified to current building codes and Illinois Department of Public Health standards, then they're treated the same as site-built houses.

Building permits: The county Building Department reviews plans and issues permits and occupancy permits for unincorporated land. New construction plan review requires a site plan showing water and sewer or septic lines, plus sign-off from the County Health Department's Environmental Division on well and septic plans.

Septic: Permitted with a permit. The Health Department runs a Private Sewage Disposal Ordinance under the state's IDPH framework, which covers septic tanks, seepage fields, and small discharge systems. Composting toilets aren't separately addressed in what I found, so I'd confirm directly with the Health Department whether they treat it differently from the state baseline.

Wells: Also permitted with a permit, through the Health Department under a Water Supplies and Closed Loop Well Ordinance, tied into the statewide IDPH well program.

Greywater and rainwater: I couldn't find county-specific rules on either. That's a genuine gap in the public record, not a green light, so ask the Health Department's Environmental Division before you build a system around either one.

Full off-grid disconnection: No ordinance explicitly bans cutting ties with the grid, but because dwelling standards demand a permanent foundation and well/septic plans go through Health Department approval regardless, you can't simply skip permitting by going off-grid. I'd call that effectively restricted rather than clearly permitted.

Bottom line: the county baseline is stricter than a lot of rural counties, and everything shifts again if your parcel is inside a city. Call before you buy.