Off-Grid Living in Epping, New Hampshire

I've been digging into what it would actually take to live off-grid in Epping, New Hampshire, and the short version is: Epping is a fully zoned town, so "off-grid" here means working within the Zoning Ordinance and state rules, not escaping them.

Zoning. Epping has a Zoning Map and a 2023 Zoning Ordinance covering Residential, Industrial/Commercial, and other districts, administered by the Zoning Board of Adjustment and the Planning Board. You can't just buy raw land and do whatever you want on it, only one principal structure is allowed per lot, and if a parcel straddles two zoning districts, the more restrictive district's setback, frontage, and lot-size rules apply to the whole lot. Any non-standard use (excavation, certain land splits, etc.) may need a Conditional Use Permit from the Planning Board under the state's RSA 674:21 enabling statute.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs. Single-family homes, including manufactured and pre-site-built housing, are addressed as a permitted use category with their own dimensional standards in the ordinance. I could not confirm whether a tiny home on wheels or an RV can be used as a year-round residence in Epping, that detail needs to come straight from the Zoning/Building offices.

Building permits. Required, and issued locally by Epping's Building Department at Town Hall, per the town's delegation of enforcement under state law (RSA 155-A:2, III).

Septic and composting toilets. This is state-driven: NH DES's Subsurface Systems Bureau must approve any septic system before it's installed, replaced, or expanded, and any structure with a water supply connection must also be connected to an approved wastewater system. That means a composting toilet alone doesn't get you out of needing an approved septic system if you have running water. No Epping-specific composting toilet rule turned up in my research.

Greywater. I found nothing, town or state, specifically addressing residential greywater reuse. Treat this as an open question and ask NH DES and the town Building Department directly before building a system.

Rainwater harvesting. No Epping ordinance restricting it turned up in my research, and no added state restriction either, but I'd confirm with the Building Department since this wasn't explicitly addressed.

Wells. Well construction is regulated at the state level by the NH Water Well Board under RSA 482-B; I didn't find any Epping-specific well ordinance layered on top.

Full utility disconnection. The state septic linkage rule (any water supply needs an approved wastewater system) is the biggest practical constraint on going fully off-grid here. I didn't find a separate Epping ordinance mandating municipal hookups, but Epping doesn't have universal municipal water/sewer anyway, so most of this comes down to the state septic rule.

Bottom line: nothing here says "off-grid is banned," but nothing says it's a free-for-all either. Zoning district, lot layout, and the state septic/water linkage rule are the load-bearing pieces, and I'd call the Zoning Board, Planning Board, and Building Department before committing to a plan.