Off-Grid Living in Goshen, New Hampshire

I've been digging into what off-grid living actually looks like in Goshen, New Hampshire, and the honest answer is: it's doable, but you're working within a real, adopted zoning ordinance, not a regulatory blank slate.

Zoning. Goshen is a zoned town. The Town's "Zoning and Building Ordinances" (amended 2020) sets up districts and general provisions covering things like buildings-per-lot and area/yard requirements. If you want to do something outside the strict terms of the ordinance, the Zoning Board of Adjustment handles variances and special exceptions under state law (RSA 674:33). So whether raw land can be occupied off-grid really depends on which district it sits in, and that's a question for the town, not something I can generalize.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs. The ordinance covers dwelling units per building and allows one Accessory Dwelling Unit per lot, subject to Zoning Board review. I did not find a specific carve-out for tiny homes on wheels or RVs used as full-time residences, so treat that as unconfirmed and ask the Code Enforcement Officer directly before you commit.

Building permits. Goshen has a Code Enforcement Officer whose job is inspections and code compliance for both town and state rules, and enforcement of zoning and land use ordinances. A building permit application is on the town's website under Forms. Any structure you build will likely need to go through that office.

Septic and composting toilets. This one's set at the state level, not by Goshen. New Hampshire's RSA 485-A:32.I requires any building with plumbed fixtures that discharges sewage to connect to a septic system or sewer, no matter what your water source is. Composting toilets and privies are fine for human waste, but they can't legally substitute for a septic system if you've got plumbing elsewhere in the structure. NH DES issues the septic approval, and Goshen's Code Enforcement Officer may be involved locally too.

Greywater and rainwater. I didn't find any Goshen-specific ordinance on greywater reuse, so it's genuinely unclear at the town level, confirm with the Code Enforcement Officer. Rainwater harvesting looks fine by default under the state building code baseline, with no town restriction turned up in my research.

Wells. Ordinary domestic wells are licensed at the state level through the NH Water Well Board (RSA 482-B) and aren't restricted by Goshen's local rules. Worth noting: Goshen's zoning ordinance does prohibit "water mining" in all districts, which is aimed at large-scale commercial withdrawal, not your household well.

Utility disconnection. I found no blanket Goshen requirement to hook up to public water or sewer, and as a small rural town it likely doesn't have that infrastructure everywhere anyway. The main hook is the state septic rule above, which only kicks in once you've got plumbed fixtures discharging sewage.

Bottom line: nothing I found makes off-grid living in Goshen impossible, but zoning district, ADU rules, and septic compliance are the three things you need to nail down with the town before you buy or build.