Off-Grid Living in Solon, Maine

I'll be upfront: Solon, Maine is one of those small towns where the paper trail is thinner than in a big county, so some of what follows comes with real gaps I'm flagging rather than papering over.

Zoning. Solon doesn't appear to have a comprehensive, town-wide zoning ordinance. What the town does have is a Shoreland Zoning Ordinance, which every Maine municipality is required to adopt under state law (38 M.R.S.A. §480-C) to cover land near water bodies. If your parcel touches a lake, stream, or wetland, that ordinance governs what you can build or clear. If it doesn't, land use outside the shoreland zone runs through the town's Building Ordinance and Planning Board review rather than a use-district map. That's actually pretty favorable for off-grid buyers, but I'd still confirm your parcel's exact status with the Code Enforcement Officer before assuming anything.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs. I could not find Solon-specific language addressing tiny houses or RVs as dwellings. The Building Ordinance talks about "structures" generally, tied to square footage, but how it treats a tiny home on wheels versus a stick-built cabin isn't spelled out anywhere I could verify. Ask the Code Enforcement Officer directly before you commit to a build type.

Building permits. Solon does require a building permit, issued by the Planning Board, for any structure over roughly 200 square feet (100 for additions), under a building ordinance dating to 1977 and amended since. The Code Enforcement Officer administers this and enforcement of adopted codes generally, so call before you break ground. One nice wrinkle: Solon does not require a Certificate of Occupancy, which is unusual and worth knowing.

Septic and composting toilets. This is state-run with local administration. Maine's Subsurface Wastewater Disposal Rules, enforced through the town's Licensed Plumbing Inspector, allow composting and alternative toilets. A Site Evaluator designs septic systems and the Local Plumbing Inspector approves and inspects them. Plan on going through that inspector regardless of which system you choose.

Greywater. No separate Solon ordinance exists here that I found; it falls under the same state Subsurface Wastewater Disposal Rules the Plumbing Inspector administers.

Rainwater harvesting. Nothing on the books in Solon addressing this either way, as far as official sources show.

Wells. No town restriction found. Maine's Drinking Water Program (District G) is the state contact for well and water-quality matters covering Solon.

Off-grid utility disconnection. No ordinance explicitly bans or governs living without grid utilities. In practice you'd hit any relevant requirements indirectly, through the building permit, plumbing/septic process, and shoreland review if applicable.

Bottom line: Solon looks genuinely workable for an off-grid setup, especially outside the shoreland zone, but several specifics (tiny homes, RVs, rainwater) simply aren't documented, so a call to the Code Enforcement Officer and Plumbing Inspector before you buy or build will save you headaches.