Off-Grid Living in Curry County, Oregon

I've spent a while digging through Curry County, Oregon's planning documents for this one, and the short version is: Curry County is not a "no rules" off-grid haven, but it's also not the strictest county in the state. Here's what I found, dimension by dimension.

Zoning. Curry County has countywide zoning administered by its Planning Division, not the "unzoned county" situation some off-gridders look for. In the Rural Residential zone, minimum lot sizes run 2, 5, or 10 acres depending on the comprehensive plan, and any dwelling application has to pass a lot-of-record, large-tract, or density-grid test. So before buying bare land, I'd call Planning and ask specifically whether your parcel can legally support a dwelling.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs. This is where people get tripped up. Curry County's zoning ordinance allows temporary RV or manufactured-home placement for a medical hardship (renewed annually, removed when the hardship ends) or while you're actively building a permanent home under a building permit. I did not find a pathway in the sources for a standalone RV or tiny-house-on-wheels as a permanent off-grid residence. If that's your plan, ask Planning directly, don't assume it's allowed.

Building permits. The county's Building Official enforces the Oregon state building code locally, which covers most construction, alteration, and installation of structures. This includes state rules on manufactured dwellings and recreational park structures.

Septic. Here's the unusual part: Curry County transferred its onsite septic program to the Oregon DEQ (out of the Medford office), rather than handling it through a local county health department like most Oregon counties. You apply through Oregon's e-Permitting system and select Curry County. Composting toilets aren't separately addressed at the county level in what I found, so confirm with DEQ if that's your plan.

Greywater and rainwater. I found no Curry-specific rules for either. Both appear to fall back on Oregon DEQ's tiered greywater permitting and the state's rooftop rainwater collection exemption. Treat these as state baseline until a local source says otherwise.

Wells and water rights. Wells are permitted but administered by the state, not the county. Curry County's own site refers residents to the Oregon Water Resources Department's District 14 Watermaster office for help, and notes that OWRD no longer offers walk-in service, just phone, email, and scheduled site visits.

Utility disconnection. Encouragingly, the county's zoning ordinance explicitly names "dwelling not served by community water or sewer service" as a recognized conditional use. That means living off-grid is anticipated by the code, but it goes through conditional-use review rather than being automatically allowed everywhere.

Bottom line: off-grid living is workable in Curry County, but zoning, building, and conditional-use review all apply, and septic runs through the state DEQ rather than a county health department, which is unusual for Oregon. Confirm your specific parcel and plans with the offices below before you buy or build.