Off-Grid Living in Eaton, New Hampshire

I've been digging through Eaton, New Hampshire's town documents for anyone thinking about buying land here and living off-grid, and here's what I found, with the caveat up front that I'm researching this from published sources, not practicing law or living there myself. Always confirm specifics with the town before you buy or build.

Zoning is real here. Eaton is not one of those unzoned New Hampshire towns. The town's Zoning Ordinance, adopted under state authority (RSA 674:16 and related statutes), sets up a Rural Residential District along with a Steep Slope Protection Overlay and a Ridgeline Protection Overlay. If your land has a slope over 15 percent, the Board of Selectmen or its agent gets to make the final call on what you can do there, and they can require you to pay for a survey. Waterfront parcels also fall under the state's Shoreland Water Quality Protection Act, which Eaton has incorporated wholesale into its own rules.

Full-time RV or tiny-home-on-wheels living looks tough. The ordinance allows RVs in the Village and Rural Residential districts, but caps occupancy at 45 days on a lot, so year-round living in an RV isn't permitted under town rules as I read them. A stick-built tiny home would need to clear the ordinance's minimum floor area rules and go through the Building Inspector. Accessory dwelling units are allowed townwide with Selectmen approval, capped at one per lot, and the primary home can't be a mobile home or condo for an ADU to qualify.

Building permits run through a local Building Inspector, David Pandora, per the town's officer listings. That's consistent with how New Hampshire generally handles this: the state sets baseline codes, but enforcement and permit issuance happen at the municipal level.

Septic is a state matter, but Eaton's ordinance leans on it directly. The zoning ordinance requires applicants to get an Approval for Construction certificate from NH DES's Subsurface Systems Bureau under RSA 485-A:38 before final local approval. I didn't find a separate town rule on composting toilets, so that likely falls back to whatever DES considers acceptable, worth a direct call to confirm.

Greywater and rainwater harvesting: I found nothing town-specific. Eaton's regulations page lists cluster development, floodplain, excavation, site plan, and subdivision rules, but nothing addressing greywater reuse or rainwater collection. That means you're likely working off the general (and often ambiguous) state baseline, not a local ordinance either way.

Wells: no Eaton-specific ordinance turned up beyond the state's Water Well Board rules, so I'd treat state requirements as the operative ones here.

Going off-utilities entirely looks workable in Eaton in principle, since much of the town isn't served by municipal water or sewer anyway, but you'll still need to clear state DES septic approval and comply with zoning (ADU limits, the RV 45-day cap, minimum floor area) to live there legally.

Bottom line: Eaton gives off-gridders more room than many towns, especially with no forced utility hookups, but the RV occupancy limit and steep-slope overlay are real friction points worth planning around.