Off-Grid Living in Kalamazoo County, Michigan

I've been digging into what off-grid living actually looks like in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, and the first thing I need to tell you is a structural quirk that changes everything: Kalamazoo County has no county-wide zoning ordinance. Zoning and building rules here are set individually by each of the county's 24 townships, cities, and villages. So when you ask "can I put a tiny house on raw land" or "can I live in an RV while I build," the honest answer is: it depends entirely on which township or city you're in, not on the county.

The county government's actual jurisdiction is narrower but important: Environmental Health (septic systems, wells, drinking water) and Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Control (SESC)/drain permitting. Everything else, zoning districts, permitted uses, dwelling types, RV occupancy, building permits, is handled locally. As an example of how local control works, Ross Township runs a "permissive" zoning system, meaning land can only be used for purposes the ordinance specifically lists as allowed. Kalamazoo Township, on the other hand, routes its building trade permits through the multi-jurisdictional Kalamazoo Area Building Authority (KABA). Your township could look completely different. Contact them directly before you assume anything.

Where the county does have clear authority is septic and wells, and it's stricter than people expect. The Kalamazoo County Sanitary Code, adopted under the state Public Health Code, requires every plumbing fixture that produces sewage (toilets, sinks, showers, laundry) to connect to an approved onsite sewage treatment system. That means a composting toilet as your sole waste solution isn't a clearly independent legal pathway here, you'd want Environmental Health to sign off on it as an approved alternative system. Greywater is addressed at the state level: Michigan law defines an "acceptable alternative greywater system" and lets local health departments approve it, but I didn't find a county-specific greywater standard beyond that state framework.

Wells are permitted and regulated by County Environmental Health under Michigan's Well Construction Code (Part 127, Act 368). The county issues several well permit types, private, Type III, geothermal, industrial, irrigation, and test wells, and also offers well evaluations for vacant land or real estate deals.

Rainwater harvesting appears to just follow the state baseline (the 2012 Michigan act and the state plumbing code's Appendix A1303), with no added county restriction I could find.

On full utility disconnection, there's no explicit county ban I found, but don't read that as a green light. Environmental Health ties approved water and sewage systems to land divisions and building permits, and it responds to complaints about missing approved water/sewage. In practice, living without any approved system on the books can trigger a code complaint even without a named "off-grid ban" ordinance.

Bottom line: start with your specific township or city for zoning and building, and go to Kalamazoo County Environmental Health for septic, well, and greywater questions.