Off-Grid Living in Brunswick, Maine

I've been digging into what it actually takes to live off-grid in Brunswick, Maine, and the short version is: this is a zoned town with real oversight, not a wide-open rural county. That doesn't mean off-grid living is impossible here, it just means you're working within a system rather than around one.

Zoning. Brunswick's Department of Planning and Development runs zoning, and the town is carved into districts like Rural Protection zones (RP1/RP2) and the Village Review Zone. What you can do with raw land depends entirely on which district your parcel sits in, so the first move is checking the town's GIS system or calling the Code Enforcement Office. If you're within 75 feet of a 15% slope in RP1/RP2, or within 250 feet of a river/wetland (75 feet of a stream), you'll need a Steep Slopes or Shoreland Zoning Permit before you do much of anything.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs. Maine state law (Title 30-A) now requires towns to allow tiny homes as dwellings on lots zoned for single-family homes, subject to the same land-use rules as any house. That's a real state mandate Brunswick has to follow. I found a reference to a 180-consecutive-day limit on RV occupancy in Brunswick's ordinance, cited by a legal blog, but I could not verify that section number against the town's own ordinance text, so treat the exact figure as unconfirmed until you check with Code Enforcement or the town's Municode listing directly.

Building permits. Maine uses the Maine Uniform Building and Energy Code (MUBEC), amended by the state in 2025 with 2021 I-codes taking effect for permits applied for after April 7, 2025. Brunswick enforces this locally. Plumbing and electrical work each need permits, and a licensed Maine plumber or electrician must do the work unless you're the owner-occupant doing it yourself.

Septic and composting toilets. Septic is state-regulated but locally administered: every Maine town, including Brunswick, has a Local Plumbing Inspector who reviews and approves septic permits under state subsurface wastewater rules. Most applications need a licensed Site Evaluator. If you're in the shoreland zone, add a Shoreland Zoning Permit on top.

Greywater and rainwater. I found no Brunswick-specific rules on either; the state's septic/site-evaluator framework is the baseline for greywater, and rainwater harvesting doesn't appear to have a town or state permit requirement I could confirm. Ask Code Enforcement before assuming.

Wells. Well construction runs through the state's Water Well Commission; I didn't find a Brunswick-specific well ordinance layered on top.

Utilities. There's no explicit town ban on going off-grid utility-wise, but you're still boxed in by building permit compliance, septic permitting, and zoning use approval, all administered through Planning and Development.

Bottom line: Brunswick is workable for off-grid living, but plan on real paperwork through the town's Code Enforcement office and Maine's state wastewater program, especially near water or slopes.