Off-Grid Living in Hood River County, Oregon

I've been digging through Hood River County, Oregon's planning and environmental health documents to see what off-grid living actually looks like here, and the short version is: it's a layered system where the county, the City of Hood River, and the State of Oregon each have a piece of the puzzle. Nothing here is a free-for-all, but nothing outright bans off-grid living either.

Zoning is administered countywide by Hood River County Community Development, which is worth noting because not every Oregon county has full zoning coverage. The county's zoning ordinance splits land into zones like Exclusive Farm Use (EFU), Forest, Residential, Rural Residential, and Rural Center, each with its own use rules. If you're eyeing EFU land specifically, the county's stated policy is to preserve it for agriculture, so non-farm dwellings face extra scrutiny there. If your parcel sits inside Hood River city limits or its urban growth boundary, the City's own Planning Department takes over instead of the county.

Dwellings, tiny homes, and RVs are the murkiest area right now. County planning documents I reviewed show the county was actively debating whether to adopt Oregon's SB 1013 provisions, which would allow RVs as long-term dwellings, similar to what Deschutes and Clackamas Counties have done. As of the materials I found, the county had not finalized that decision, so I'd treat RV-as-residence status as unsettled and confirm directly with Community Development before relying on it. Tiny homes on permanent foundations, built to state standards, can qualify as permanent dwellings with a building permit; otherwise they're treated as manufactured homes, which face their own restrictions.

Building permits follow Oregon's statewide specialty codes (residential, structural, mechanical, energy). Inside the city, the City of Hood River issues building permits, but the county handles plumbing and electrical permits even for in-city projects. Outside city limits, Hood River County Building Services runs the whole permit process.

Septic systems require a permit from Hood River County Environmental Health, which acts as Oregon DEQ's local agent for systems under a certain wastewater volume; larger systems go straight to DEQ. I couldn't confirm whether composting toilets are accepted as a sole system, so ask Environmental Health directly.

Greywater and rainwater harvesting don't have county-specific ordinances that I could find, so the state's default DEQ rules likely apply, but I couldn't confirm local administration either way.

Wells fall under state well-construction standards; the county runs a voluntary groundwater monitoring program but that's not a permitting hurdle. Note that Farmers Irrigation District water rights overlap some parcels here, a local quirk worth checking on.

Living off-utilities isn't separately banned, but building permits functionally require an approved water and waste plan, so that's the real gate.