Off-Grid Living in Hocking County, Ohio

I'll be upfront: Hocking County, Ohio doesn't have a countywide zoning code, which surprises a lot of people looking to go off-grid here. That absence of county zoning is both an opportunity and a source of confusion, so let me walk through what I found while researching this place.

Zoning is a patchwork. The county itself doesn't zone rural land. The city of Logan has its own zoning that governs land within city limits, and a few townships (Hocking Township is the one confirmed in my research) have adopted their own zoning resolutions independently. So whether you can put a dwelling on raw land, and what kind, really depends on which township you're in. I can't give you one countywide answer here, you'll need to check with the specific township trustees or the Regional Planning Office. What IS countywide is the Regional Planning Office's authority over subdivision regulations, lot splits, and floodplain determination, regardless of whether your township has zoning.

Building isn't handled by a "building department." This is the county's quirk: the Hocking County Health Department, not a building department, issues placement permits for most residential structures outside Logan and outside licensed manufactured home parks. Manufactured homes and any commercial buildings (including cabin rentals) go through the Ohio Department of Commerce's Industrial Compliance Division instead. New construction in the unincorporated county needs Health Department plan review for plumbing, septic, and water systems, plus a floodplain determination from Regional Planning.

Septic is well-documented; composting toilets are not. The Health Department issues septic (STS) permits, requires a site/soil evaluation from a sanitarian, and mandates installation by a registered installer (or the homeowner if they pass an exam). I found detailed county construction specs beyond state minimums. Composting toilets simply aren't addressed on the county's public pages, so treat that as an open question for the Health Department.

Wells and cisterns are both covered under one program. The Health Department's private water systems permit covers wells, springs, cisterns, hauled water tanks, and ponds. That means if you want to rely on rainwater collection for your household water, it likely falls under this same permitting umbrella, though I didn't find a rainwater-specific county page. Greywater reuse also isn't addressed locally as far as I can tell, so the state's OAC 3701-29 framework is probably what applies, with the county Health Department implementing it.

Living off the utility grid itself: I found no county rule mandating hookup to electric or public water/sewer. But don't read that as "no permits needed": your well/cistern and septic still need Health Department sign-off regardless of grid connection.

Bottom line: Hocking County gives you real flexibility because of the lack of countywide zoning, but that flexibility shifts responsibility to the township and Health Department level. Call before you buy land or break ground.