Off-Grid Living in Holliston, Massachusetts

I'll be straight with you: Holliston is not a place where you can just buy a wooded lot and quietly live off-grid without anyone noticing. It's a conventionally zoned Massachusetts town, and the town's own bylaw says any use not specifically allowed in a zoning district is prohibited. That's a much stricter starting point than the "unzoned county" situations I cover in some other parts of the country.

Zoning. Holliston divides its land into Residential, Village Residential, Commercial, Industrial, and Apartment districts, plus a newer MBTA Communities overlay district (MCMOD) adopted in 2024 for multi-family housing near transit. Whatever you want to do with a piece of land, the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals are the people who can tell you whether your district allows it.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs. The bylaw addresses Accessory Dwelling Units specifically, capping their size relative to the main house and requiring state building code egress compliance. I did not find a town provision that lets you drop a tiny home or RV on land as a stand-alone primary residence outside the ADU framework, so treat that as unclear and confirm with the Building Department before you try.

Building permits. Everything runs through Holliston's Building Department at Town Hall, which handles permitting and inspections for construction, plumbing, gas, and wiring.

Septic and greywater. The town's Board of Health layers its own septic regulations on top of the state's Title 5 code, and it restricts where private sewage disposal is even allowed by district, it's limited to Industrial districts via special permit and barred from aquifer protection zones. I found no separate greywater allowance beyond the state Title 5 baseline, so assume greywater is folded into the same wastewater rules as septic.

Rainwater. Here's a surprise: Holliston's Board of Health well regulations flatly prohibit cisterns and surface-water supplies for domestic use. That's stricter than the state baseline, so don't plan on rainwater as your household water source here.

Wells. Wells are permitted, but the Board of Health sets specific setback distances from roads, lot lines, septic systems, and leaching areas, and your driller needs to be registered with the state Water Resources Commission.

Utilities. Full grid disconnection isn't directly addressed, but solar is welcomed: rooftop and freestanding accessory solar are allowed by right town-wide, and small-scale solar as a primary use is allowed by right in agricultural and industrial districts (special permit elsewhere), with setback rules for ground-mounted systems.

Bottom line: Holliston is workable for solar power and a legally sited well, but septic placement, dwelling type, and rainwater-as-potable-supply are all locally restricted or outright prohibited. Call before you plan anything.