Off-Grid Living in Hill, New Hampshire

I've been digging into Hill, New Hampshire for folks who dream of buying a few acres and living quietly off the land, and the short version is: Hill is zoned, so you can't just do whatever you want on raw land here the way you might in an unzoned town further north.

Zoning. The Town of Hill's Zoning Ordinance (last revised 09/2022) sets up several districts, including a Rural Residential district that's likely where most off-grid-minded buyers would look. That district requires a minimum 3-acre lot with 200 feet of frontage, and setbacks of 50 feet in front and 20 feet on the sides and rear. If your lot's over 6 acres, the ordinance allows up to two single-family dwellings on it. This is all local, set by the town, not the state.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs. I couldn't find specific language in the ordinance addressing tiny homes, RVs as permanent dwellings, or manufactured homes directly. The ordinance does cap building height at 2.5 stories. For anything nonstandard, I'd call the Planning Board or Zoning Board before buying land, since unwritten local practice often matters as much as the text.

Building permits. Hill issues its own building permits locally, using a town-specific form. New Hampshire's state law (RSA 155-A) sets the underlying building code framework, but Hill's own office handles permit issuance and inspection.

Septic and composting toilets. This one's mostly a state matter. NH DES's Subsurface Systems Bureau has to approve any septic system before it's installed, replaced, or expanded, and towns can add their own local regulation on top of that under state law (RSA 485-A). Worth noting: Hill has a Wellhead Protection Overlay District tied to its municipal water source, so septic siting near that zone likely gets extra scrutiny, confirm with the town directly.

Greywater. I found nothing specific from Hill or NH DES addressing residential greywater reuse. This is genuinely unclear, ask DES and the Selectmen's office directly before you build a system around it.

Rainwater harvesting. No town restriction turned up in my research, so the state baseline (which generally allows non-potable indoor use) seems to apply. Not fully confirmed for Hill specifically.

Wells. Private wells are licensed at the state level through the NH Water Well Board. But Hill also runs its own municipal water utility and has a wellhead protection overlay tied to its water source, which could affect well siting or other activity near that protected area.

Off-grid disconnection. Statewide, any structure with a water supply must also have a wastewater disposal system, so you can't legally skip sewage treatment just because you're off-grid. Hill-specific rules on full utility disconnection weren't found in what I reviewed.

Bottom line: talk to the town before you buy.