Off-Grid Living in Franconia, New Hampshire

I've been digging into what it actually takes to live off-grid in Franconia, New Hampshire, and the short version is: this is a zoned town, so you're working within a real ordinance, not an open frontier. Here's what I found, dimension by dimension, and where the record runs out.

Zoning. Franconia has a formal Zoning Ordinance administered by the Franconia Planning Board, which also acts as the Special Use Permit granting authority under state law (RSA 674:21 II). The town is split into residential districts (Residential A and B, among others), and subdivision rules require that any new lot have the prescribed street frontage for its zone along an existing street or way. If you're eyeing raw land, the frontage and subdivision standards are the first thing to check with the Planning Board before assuming you can just put a structure on it.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs. I could not find a Franconia-specific rule addressing tiny houses on wheels or living in an RV as a permanent dwelling. The ordinance covers manufactured housing and non-conforming uses in general terms, but nothing explicit on this turned up in what I reviewed. This is a "call before you commit" situation, direct to the Planning/Zoning office.

Building permits. New Hampshire runs on a state building code, and Franconia enforces it locally through its Building Inspector, who's referenced throughout the zoning ordinance (including floodplain administration notices). Expect a local permitting process even for off-grid builds.

Septic and composting toilets. This one's set at the state level by NH DES. Any structure that discharges wastewater and has a connected water supply needs a septic system, permitted under DES's Subsurface Systems Bureau (Env-Wq 1000 framework). Privies (true outhouses, not flush systems) are allowed without a full septic system, but only with local health official sign-off on location and construction, and only where waste won't reach groundwater. I found no Franconia-specific septic bylaw layered on top of this.

Greywater. Genuinely unclear. State guidance distinguishes greywater from septic-regulated wastewater in one narrow 2024 law about waterfront property transfers, but there's no general statewide or Franconia-specific greywater reuse rule that I could locate. Treat this as unresolved and ask DES or the town directly.

Rainwater harvesting. Permitted under the state's adopted plumbing/residential codes, and I found no Franconia rule that restricts it further.

Private wells. Governed statewide by the NH Water Well Board (RSA 482-B); no additional Franconia well ordinance surfaced in my research.

Utility disconnection. Not confirmed either way for existing lots. The subdivision section does tie new lot approvals to standards for streets, utilities, and drainage, which could matter if you're creating a new parcel, but I found no explicit ban on living off-grid utility-free on an existing lot.

Bottom line: Franconia leans on the state for septic, wells, and building code, but layers its own zoning, subdivision, and building inspection requirements on top. The gaps I couldn't fill (RVs, tiny homes, greywater, utility mandates) are exactly the questions to bring to the Planning Board and Building Inspector before you buy or build.