Off-Grid Living in Herkimer County, New York

I'll say this up front: Herkimer County is one of those places where the county itself sets almost none of the rules that matter for off-grid living. There's no countywide zoning code. Herkimer County government coordinates planning (through a contract with Oneida County's planning department) but the actual zoning laws, lot-size minimums, and building permit issuance happen town by town, sometimes village by village. So the honest first step for anyone eyeing land here is figuring out which town it's in, because two parcels a few miles apart can have completely different rules.

Zoning and raw land. Some towns, like Litchfield, have their own local zoning law with specific lot-area and road-frontage minimums. Other rural towns in the county may have little to no zoning at all. I can't give you a countywide answer here, you have to check with the specific town clerk or code office.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs. I didn't find a countywide standard covering manufactured homes, tiny houses on wheels, or RVs as permanent residences. Litchfield's local law folds mobile/modular homes into its general lot and structure rules, which suggests other towns handle it similarly, locally. Absent a specific town law saying otherwise, this likely falls back to the general New York State approach, which classifies RVs and travel trailers as non-permanent dwellings.

Building permits. This is a real requirement, just administered locally. Herkimer County's Code Enforcement Officers work under the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code (or a locally-approved equivalent), but permits are issued by each town's own code office. The Town of Frankfort's process, for example, ties permit issuance to a 911 addressing step through the county's 911 center. Expect a similar town-level process wherever you build.

Septic and composting toilets. No county-specific septic ordinance turned up in my research. Herkimer County's public health department directs water-quality and septic questions to the New York State Department of Health's Environmental Unit, so the state DOH standards are effectively what governs on-site wastewater here, administered through that local health partnership. Composting toilet allowances specifically weren't confirmed at the county level, so ask before assuming.

Greywater and rainwater. Neither has a Herkimer-specific rule that I could find. These inherit whatever the New York State baseline is, greywater reuse is technically addressed in state code but restrictive in practice, and rainwater harvesting doesn't appear to face added local restriction.

Wells. This one's more settled: well drilling is regulated under state law (DEC-registered well contractors), and Herkimer County's Public Health Department plays a real role here as the local health department that can approve deviations from state well-construction standards.

Utilities. No countywide mandate to connect to grid power, water, or sewer. Whether you can live fully disconnected comes down to the town's own code, so this is another "call the town" situation.

Bottom line: treat Herkimer County as a patchwork. The county sets almost nothing directly; your town's code office is where the real answers live.