Off-Grid Living in Sebago, Maine

I've been digging through Sebago, Maine's town ordinances and state code references, and here's what I found for anyone considering off-grid living there.

Zoning: Sebago is not unzoned land. The town has its own Land Use Ordinance, adopted under Maine's municipal zoning enabling statutes (Title 30-A), and it divides the town into several districts. If you're anywhere near water or a wetland, within 250 feet, you fall into the separate Shoreland Zoning Ordinance, which is stricter and requires you to contact the Code Enforcement Office before doing any work. Don't skip this step; shoreland rules in Maine towns tend to be tightly enforced.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs: The ordinance sets specific standards for manufactured housing, including siting on a permanent foundation (a compacted gravel pad with blocking) and skirting requirements. HUD-certified homes (built after 1976) are treated as meeting safety standards automatically. I did not find anything in Sebago's ordinance addressing tiny homes on wheels or RVs as full-time dwellings, so that's a gap you'll want to ask the Code Enforcement Officer about directly.

Building codes: This one's nuanced. Maine's state building code (MUBEC) is only mandatory for towns with a population of 4,000 or more. Sebago is well under that threshold, so it's not automatically required to enforce MUBEC, though it could choose to adopt it voluntarily. Sebago's own ordinance references compliance with "duly adopted building codes and ordinances of the Town," but whether that includes MUBEC specifically isn't confirmed in what I could find. Call the Code Enforcement Officer to nail this down before you build anything.

Septic: Permitted and regulated at the state level, with the local CEO enforcing Maine's subsurface wastewater disposal rules. The town points residents to the State of Maine's Septic System Permit Search tool.

Greywater: No separate Sebago ordinance turned up in my research. It's likely folded into the state's subsurface wastewater rules that the CEO enforces, but I couldn't confirm any additional local restrictions.

Rainwater harvesting: I found nothing in Sebago's ordinances addressing this either way. Treat it as unclear until you ask the town directly.

Wells: No Sebago-specific well ordinance surfaced in my search. Maine's Private Well rules (state level) would apply by default.

Utility disconnection: There's no explicit ban on living off-grid that I found, but any dwelling still needs a Certificate of Occupancy from the CEO and has to meet the siting and foundation standards in the Land Use Ordinance, whether it's grid-tied or not.

Bottom line: Sebago is a real, zoned town with an active Code Enforcement Office, and a lot of the specifics you'd need (MUBEC adoption, tiny home rules, rainwater rules) just aren't spelled out publicly. This is a "call before you buy land or build" situation.