Off-Grid Living in Schoharie County, New York

Schoharie County, New York is one of those places where the county itself stays mostly out of your way on land use, and the real decisions happen at the town level. There's no countywide zoning ordinance here. The Schoharie County Department of Planning & Community Development Services says its role is to act in a staff capacity to the Planning Commission and provide technical assistance to towns, not to zone your land directly. That means whether your off-grid plans fly depends entirely on which town you're in, Schoharie, Gilboa, Fulton, Cobleskill, or one of the others, each with its own Code Enforcement Officer and zoning map.

For dwellings, tiny homes, and RVs as permanent residences, I couldn't find a county-level rule. It's a town-by-town call, administered through the local Code Enforcement Officer via building/zoning permit applications (the Town of Schoharie's process is a decent example of the paperwork you'll run into). Building permits generally follow the New York State Uniform Code, but towns enforce it locally, so confirm specifics with your town's CEO before you break ground.

Septic is where the county does step in directly. The Schoharie County Department of Health requires septic plans to be submitted by a licensed Professional Engineer or Registered Architect for review, with a Permit to Construct issued before installation and a final inspection before burial. If you're in the NYC Watershed portions of the county, roughly most of Conesville and southern Gilboa and Jefferson, the NYC DEP gets involved too, jointly reviewing plans and witnessing soil tests. This authority traces back to New York's Public Health Law and the State Sanitary Code, enforced locally by the county's Environmental Health Division. Composting toilets aren't specifically addressed in what I found, so I'd ask the county Health Department directly.

Wells fall under that same Environmental Health Division, which reviews well siting alongside septic plans and enforces state sanitary code standards, meaning a licensed driller and no DIY drilling.

Greywater reuse and rainwater harvesting don't have Schoharie County-specific rules that I could find. State baseline rules would likely apply by default, but I'd call the Environmental Health Division to be sure before setting up a greywater system, since enforcement gaps are exactly where you can get surprised later.

Living off the grid entirely, no utility hookup, doesn't appear to be countywide-mandated either way. Again, it comes down to what your specific town's zoning and building code requires.

Bottom line: Schoharie County sets the septic and well health rules, but zoning, building, and dwelling questions are a town-by-town matter. Call the town first.