Off-Grid Living in Deering, New Hampshire

I've been digging into what off-grid living actually looks like in Deering, New Hampshire, and the short version is: this is a zoned town, so anyone thinking "rural means no rules" needs to reset expectations. Here's what I found, and what's still genuinely unclear.

Zoning is real here. Deering has an adopted Zoning Ordinance, put in place under New Hampshire's local land-use enabling law (RSA 674:16 et seq.), enforced by a Zoning Board of Adjustment and a Planning Board. On top of the base zoning, the town layers a Watershed Protection Overlay Zone, floodplain rules, and a Historic District Ordinance in certain areas. So where you sit on the map matters a lot before you buy land or plan a build.

Dwellings, tiny homes, and RVs are a gray zone. I found the ordinance addresses accessory dwelling units, including a requirement that any ADU have an approved sewage disposal plan under state law (RSA 485-A) before it's built. But I could not locate specific language on tiny homes on wheels or RVs used as full-time dwellings. That doesn't mean they're allowed or banned, it means you need to ask the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment directly.

Building permits are handled locally. Deering has its own Building Inspector / Code Officer, and the zoning ordinance requires Planning Board approval to precede permit issuance in applicable cases. The Building Inspector works by appointment, so call ahead through the Town Office.

Septic is state-regulated, composting toilets are murky. Any individual sewage disposal system in town falls under NH Department of Environmental Services rules (Env-Wq 1000), administered by the Subsurface Systems Bureau. Plans get submitted to the state, not just the town. I found nothing specific to Deering on composting toilets, which likely means it hasn't been separately addressed, not that it's off the table.

Greywater and rainwater harvesting: no town-specific rules found. These appear to fall back to whatever baseline state code applies through the building permit process, but I did not find a dedicated Deering or state DES residential greywater rule. Confirm directly before designing a system around assumptions.

Wells are state business. Private wells go through the state Water Well Board under RSA 482-B. Deering's zoning ordinance references groundwater mapping as a planning overlay tool, but I found no separate town well ordinance.

Full utility disconnection: nothing on record either way. Deering doesn't appear to run municipal water or sewer, so most residents are already on wells and septic by default. I didn't find any ordinance requiring hookup to anything, but I also didn't find one explicitly blessing total off-grid disconnection. Worth a direct question to the town.

Bottom line: Deering is friendlier ground for off-grid ambitions than a fully suburbanized town, simply because it's rural and lacks municipal utilities to mandate connection to. But it is zoned, and several important details (RVs as dwellings, greywater, composting toilets) are not clearly spelled out in what I could find. Call before you build.