Off-Grid Living in Davison County, South Dakota

I've been digging into Davison County, South Dakota for anyone thinking about building an off-grid homestead here, and the honest picture is: it's workable, but there's real homework to do with a few different offices depending on exactly where your land sits.

Zoning first. Davison County isn't one of those "no zoning" counties you sometimes hear about out west. It has adopted its own countywide zoning ordinance under state law (SDCL 11-2), administered by the county's Planning & Zoning Office, and last revised in 2021. But that ordinance only covers unincorporated land. If your parcel falls inside Mitchell, Ethan, or Mt. Vernon, or inside Mitchell's extraterritorial jurisdiction area around the city, you're dealing with that municipality's own zoning code instead. So step one, always, is figuring out which jurisdiction actually governs your specific parcel.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs. The county ordinance sorts land into districts with permitted uses, but I could not confirm from official sources exactly how tiny homes or long-term RV living are treated in each district. This is a "call Planning & Zoning with your parcel number" question, not a guess-from-the-website question.

Building permits. The county's Planning & Zoning Office is your building permit authority outside city limits, and also handles 911 addressing, plats, conditional use permits, and variances. I couldn't confirm which specific building code edition the county has formally adopted, so ask directly.

Septic and composting toilets. Septic systems are regulated at the state level by South Dakota's Department of Agriculture & Natural Resources, with installer certification through the state Plumbing Commission. The county appears to process septic permit applications locally, but I couldn't find a Davison-specific site evaluation procedure spelled out online, so confirm that process with Planning & Zoning. Composting toilets aren't separately addressed anywhere I found.

Greywater and rainwater. Neither the county nor the state has a specific published rule on residential greywater reuse or rainwater harvesting that I could locate. Treat both as open questions for Planning & Zoning.

Wells. Wells fall under the state's DANR Water Rights Program. Ordinary household ("domestic") water use is exempt from needing a water-right permit up to certain usage thresholds set by the state; beyond that, or for irrigation and stock watering beyond small scale, a permit is needed. No county-specific well ordinance turned up, so the county appears to defer to the state's well construction standards.

Going off-grid generally. I didn't find any Davison County rule that outright bans disconnecting from utilities, but that doesn't mean it's a free-for-all: county zoning, any building permit requirement, state septic rules, and state well rules all still apply to your parcel. Electrical work is licensed statewide, though there's typically an owner's exemption for working on your own residence.

Bottom line: Davison County is zoned and permit-driven, not a blank slate, so start with a phone call to the right office before you buy or build.