Off-Grid Living in Canterbury, New Hampshire

I've been digging into what off-grid living actually looks like in Canterbury, New Hampshire, and the short version is: this is a zoned town, not a rural free-for-all, so anyone thinking about raw land here needs to check with the town before assuming anything.

Zoning. Canterbury has had a Zoning Ordinance since 1956, revised repeatedly through Town Meeting warrant articles, and it's administered locally. The ordinance sets up multiple districts with a Table of Principal Uses spelling out what's allowed where, and land can't be used for a purpose that isn't permitted in its district. I also found records suggesting the town has kept some kind of building-permit cap in growth areas since the early 1980s, per Planning Board discussion notes, so it's worth asking the Land Use office directly what's currently in force on a given parcel.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs. The zoning ordinance caps structure height at 40 feet, but I did not find any Canterbury-specific rule addressing tiny houses on wheels or RVs used as residences. Standard dwelling-unit and nonconforming-use rules would presumably apply, but treat this as unconfirmed until Land Use / the Building Inspector weighs in.

Building permits. Required, and enforced locally. The Board of Selectmen appoints the Building Inspector, and Article 12 of the Zoning Ordinance gives the Selectmen that authority. New development, including many residential projects, may also trigger site plan review by the Planning Board under state law (RSA 674:43-44).

Septic and composting toilets. This is state territory. The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) regulates subdivisions and individual sewage disposal systems under its Env-Wq 1000 rules. You need a state-approved design from a licensed NH septic designer, plus separate NHDES approvals for construction and for operation before use. I found no Canterbury-specific allowance for composting toilets, so that would need direct confirmation with NHDES or the town.

Greywater and rainwater. I could not confirm any Canterbury ordinance or NHDES rule specifically addressing residential greywater reuse or rainwater harvesting. That doesn't mean it's banned, it likely just falls under general state building/plumbing code baselines, but nobody has written a clear yes/no that I could find.

Wells. Private wells fall under state licensing (RSA 482-B), and NHDES septic application forms ask about well location relative to septic systems, but I didn't find a Canterbury-specific well ordinance layered on top.

Living off-utilities. No explicit ordinance requiring hookup to town utilities turned up in my research. That said, Planning Board subdivision and site plan regulations apply to development or change of use of land generally, so if you're creating a new lot or changing use, that review could touch on infrastructure expectations even without a direct "must connect" rule.

Bottom line: Canterbury isn't hostile to off-grid living, but it's a regulated town where the details live in local zoning administration and state DES rules rather than in any blanket off-grid ordinance. Call before you build.