Off-Grid Living in Switzerland County, Indiana

I've been digging into Switzerland County, Indiana for anyone thinking about buying land here and living a bit more independently, and here's the honest picture based on what the county and state actually publish.

Zoning. Unlike some rural Indiana counties that skip zoning altogether, Switzerland County has countywide zoning under Chapter 153 of its Code of Ordinances (hosted on American Legal Publishing). That means raw land here isn't a blank slate; whatever district your parcel sits in comes with use rules, so I'd check with the county's Building Inspector, Planning and Zoning office before assuming you can do anything you want with a piece of ground.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs. The county ordinance is specific about manufactured homes: they need to meet minimum square footage tied to single- or two-family zoning, be larger than 950 square feet of occupied space (or whatever the district requires, if greater), and sit on a permanent foundation that goes below the frost line. That's a real hurdle for anyone hoping to put a small tiny home on wheels down as a permanent residence. I couldn't confirm a specific county rule on RVs as full-time dwellings, so treat that as open and ask the building department directly.

Building permits. Required, under Chapter 150: Building Regulations, administered by the county Building Commissioner's office, layered on the state's IRC-based minimum code.

Septic and composting toilets. Onsite sewage systems are a state program (Indiana Department of Health, 410 IAC 6-8.3), but permitting and inspection happen locally through the Switzerland County Health Department. Composting and incinerating toilets are covered by an ISDH guideline document rather than a distinct county ordinance, so I didn't find county-specific rules there.

Greywater and rainwater. I couldn't find a Switzerland County ordinance addressing either one specifically. That's genuinely unclear territory here, not a green light, just unconfirmed, so I'd ask the health department how they'd want greywater handled given septic rules, and check with the building department on rainwater plumbing tie-ins.

Wells. Private well water use itself is unregulated day-to-day, and the county health department offers voluntary testing support if you want peace of mind about water quality. Well construction and licensing fall under the state's DNR framework.

Utilities. I didn't find any county rule forcing a hookup to electric or water. The one real catch is a state rule: if a sanitary sewer is reasonably available near your property (more likely close to Vevay or Patriot), you're required to connect to it rather than install a septic system.

Bottom line: Switzerland County isn't a no-rules frontier. Zoning and building permits are real and enforced, manufactured home standards are stricter than you might expect, and several off-grid-adjacent questions (greywater, rainwater, RVs as dwellings) just aren't spelled out in what I could find, so they need a direct call to confirm.