Off-Grid Living in Ulster County, New York

I'll be upfront about the one big structural fact that shapes everything in Ulster County: there is no countywide zoning code here. Zoning, building permits, and land-use control are handled town by town (and by the City of Kingston and the various villages), each with its own zoning law and building department. The county government's direct hand in off-grid living is mostly on the public health side, through the Ulster County Department of Health's Environmental Health Services Division, which covers septic and well matters countywide.

Zoning and raw land. Because there's no county zoning code, whether you can occupy raw land, what minimum lot sizes apply, and what structures are allowed depends entirely on which town your parcel sits in. The county maintains a directory of each municipality's planning and zoning board, and that's your starting point for figuring out which office actually governs your land.

Tiny homes and RVs. I couldn't confirm specific rules at the county level, and I didn't find an official town code page settling this either. Some commercial tiny-house sites claim Ulster towns treat foundation-built tiny homes as accessory dwelling units while treating tiny houses on wheels like RVs (restricted from permanent occupancy), but that's not sourced to an official page, so treat it as unconfirmed and call the specific town's building department.

Building permits. These are issued by the town or city building department where your land is, not the county. The Town of Ulster's building department and Kingston's building department are examples of the local offices that review plans, inspect, and issue permits, all working under the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code that applies statewide.

Septic and composting toilets. This is genuinely county-regulated: the Ulster County Department of Health's Environmental Health Services Division issues sewage disposal system permits countywide, and any septic design needs sign-off from a NYS-licensed professional engineer, registered architect, or exempt land surveyor. Local town sewer codes back this up by requiring county Health Department sign-off before a system goes into service. Composting toilets aren't separately addressed in what I found, so the state DOH baseline likely applies but isn't confirmed at the county level.

Greywater. No county-specific greywater ordinance turned up in my research. The county's water and wastewater regulation program covers wastewater broadly, but I found no distinct greywater standard, so this defaults to the state baseline until you check with the county Health Department.

Rainwater harvesting. Nothing county-specific here either. It appears to inherit the New York State baseline, which is generally permissive for non-potable use.

Wells. The Ulster County Health Department oversees private wells countywide, including well-testing programs, and construction must follow New York State Residential Code and Department of Health standards, installed by a DEC-registered well contractor.

Utility disconnection. No countywide statute requires a grid connection. This is a town-by-town question, and many towns effectively require compliant septic and well systems before issuing a certificate of occupancy even if grid power isn't mandated.