Off-Grid Living in Ogunquit, Maine

I've been digging into what off-grid living would actually look like in Ogunquit, Maine, and the short answer is: this is a fully zoned coastal town with real oversight, not a place to quietly disappear into the woods. Here's what I found.

Zoning. Ogunquit is not unzoned. The Town has a Zoning Ordinance administered by the Code Enforcement Officer, who also serves as the Director of Codes and Planning. Because Ogunquit has so much beach and shoreline, a big chunk of town also falls under Maine's Mandatory Shoreland Zoning Act (38 MRSA §§435-449), which is a state law that layers extra restrictions on top of the local ordinance near water. If your land is anywhere near the shoreline, expect stricter setbacks and state DEP involvement on top of town review.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs. I could not find an Ogunquit-specific rule on tiny homes or living in an RV full time. The building code chapter confirms the CEO acts as Building Official and enforces adopted state/national codes, but the tiny-home/RV occupancy question just isn't spelled out anywhere I could verify. Call Codes & Planning before you buy anything you plan to live in year-round.

Building permits. The Town requires a building permit for most construction, per its own guidance. You'll need a site plan showing setbacks from property lines, wetlands, water bodies, septic components, and wells, plus proof of water/sewer authorization or a Subsurface Wastewater Design from a Maine Licensed Site Evaluator before anything gets approved.

Septic and composting toilets. Maine handles this at the state level through the HHE-200 permit process: a Licensed Site Evaluator designs the system, the Local Plumbing Inspector (a CEO function in Ogunquit) approves and issues it, and a copy goes to the state for recording. This state framework covers composting and alternative toilets too.

Greywater. No separate Ogunquit rule here that I found. It appears to just fall under the same state wastewater rules described above.

Rainwater harvesting. Nothing on this in any official Ogunquit source I reviewed. That's a genuine gap, not a green light, so ask before you build a catchment system.

Wells. The Town has its own Well Permit Application through the Codes & Planning office, layered on top of state well-construction standards.

Off-grid utilities generally. There's no standalone "off-grid" ordinance, but you can't skip the system: the building permit process requires septic and water sign-off before you can occupy a structure, so full utility disconnection isn't something Ogunquit's paperwork is built to accommodate quietly.

Bottom line: Ogunquit's rules run through one office, Codes & Planning, for almost everything, so that's your first call for anything not spelled out here.