Off-Grid Living in Washtenaw County, Michigan

If you're eyeing a piece of land in Washtenaw County for off-grid living, the first thing I want you to understand is that Washtenaw County itself has no countywide zoning ordinance. Zoning is handled by each of the county's 20 townships and its cities/villages separately, so whether you can legally live on raw land, park an RV long-term, or build a tiny home depends entirely on which township your parcel sits in. I'd treat "check the township zoning ordinance and map before you buy" as rule number one, no exceptions.

That said, some functions ARE consolidated at the county level, and this is where things get more concrete. Septic and well permitting run through the Washtenaw County Environmental Health Division, regardless of township. Michigan's Public Health Code sets the baseline (state authority), and the county has its own Environmental Health Regulation that supplements and, per the county, supersedes weaker local standards. Practically: you need a soil evaluation before building anywhere not served by municipal sewer, sewage system work has to be done by county-certified installers, and permits have expiration terms you should confirm directly with the division. Composting toilets as a sole system aren't addressed in what I found on the county's public pages, so I'd call and ask directly before assuming that's a workaround.

Building permits are also partially consolidated: the Washtenaw County Building Department enforces the state building code (plus adopted electrical and mechanical codes) for a specific list of townships and one city, Dexter, but not for Ann Arbor or Ypsilanti, which run their own departments. Know which bucket your property falls into.

Wells are permitted and administered by the same Environmental Health Division, and in some areas (like near the known Gelman dioxane plume) there's added reason to loop them in early on water quality.

On greywater and rainwater harvesting, I found no Washtenaw County-specific rules, so my read is these default to Michigan's state plumbing and residential codes, administered by LARA. Treat that as unclear at the county level and confirm with your township's building official if you're planning a greywater system.

As for going fully off-grid, no utilities at all, I didn't find an outright ban, but the practical hurdle is real: at least one township (Pittsfield, as an example) requires copies of approved well and septic permits before it will issue a building permit. So even though disconnecting from public water and sewer isn't illegal per se, you can't get a legal building permit without the county signing off on your private well and septic first.

Bottom line: the county sets the water/wastewater rules, your township sets the land-use rules, and you need both boxes checked before you build anything permanent.