Off-Grid Living in Lebanon, Maine

I've been digging through Lebanon, Maine's ordinances for anyone thinking about buying land here and living off-grid, and the short version is: this is a zoned town, not a wide-open free-for-all, even though it's rural and feels remote in parts.

Zoning. Lebanon isn't unzoned. The Town's Lot Size Ordinance sets baseline setbacks that apply everywhere: buildings, including manufactured housing, need to sit at least fifty feet from a street right of way and twenty-five feet from other boundary lines. On top of that, anywhere near the Salmon Falls River, ponds, streams, or wetlands, Lebanon's Shoreland Zoning Ordinance kicks in with its own districts, including a Resource Protection District, with tighter setbacks and Planning Board review. If your land touches water or wetland, budget extra time for that review.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs. Lebanon has a specific Tent & Recreational Vehicle ordinance, and within the shoreland zone camping is capped, roughly one campsite per lot or per 30,000 square feet, whichever is less, and each campsite needs a written sewage disposal plan approved by the Local Plumbing Inspector. Whether you can legally live in an RV or tiny home year-round outside a campground or mobile home park isn't spelled out in what I found. That's a call-the-Code-Enforcement-Officer question before you commit.

Building permits. Lebanon administers Maine's Uniform Building and Energy Code (MUBEC) through its own local ordinance, and the Code Enforcement Officer (CEO) issues permits for building, altering, or changing use of structures. As a town over 4,000 people, Lebanon has to enforce MUBEC, no way around that for a permanent structure.

Septic and greywater. Standard subsurface systems are required per state Subsurface Wastewater Disposal Rules (Maine CDC), enforced locally by Lebanon's Local Plumbing Inspector, who's also the CEO. Composting toilets and greywater systems fall under those same state rules; I didn't find a Lebanon-specific greywater ordinance, so it seems to default to state standards administered locally.

Rainwater and wells. I couldn't find any Lebanon ordinance on rainwater catchment, so that one's genuinely unclear, ask the CEO before you build a system you're relying on. Wells fall under state well-drilling law; no distinct local well ordinance turned up, though shoreland setback logic likely affects siting near water bodies.

Off-grid utility disconnection. No outright ban on living without grid utilities that I could find, but you can't avoid the practical net of MUBEC permitting, septic permitting, and shoreland compliance if you're building anything permanent.

Bottom line: Lebanon gives you real options for off-grid living, but almost everything routes through the CEO's office one way or another. Confirm specifics before you buy or build.