Off-Grid Living in Smith County, Tennessee

I've been digging into what it actually takes to live off-grid in Smith County, Tennessee, and the headline finding is this: unlike a lot of rural Tennessee counties that have no zoning at all, Smith County does. That single fact changes everything else, so read carefully if you're eyeing land here.

Zoning first. The Smith County Planning Office administers a countywide zoning ordinance and subdivision regulations, but only for land outside the three incorporated towns (Carthage, South Carthage, Gordonsville). If your parcel is inside one of those towns, the town itself handles zoning and building, not the county. Outside the towns, before you can get a building permit you need a permitted-use determination from the Planning Office, and if your intended use isn't listed you're looking at a rezoning or Board of Zoning Appeals process. This is a real gatekeeping step that a lot of "no zoning" counties in Tennessee don't have, so don't assume you can just plunk down a cabin.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs. I could not confirm whether Smith County has opted in or out of the state's Appendix Q tiny-home provisions, or how it treats RV living. The county's development guide does reference a "one principal building per lot" rule. Call the Planning Office directly before you commit to a tiny house or camper as a residence.

Building permits. The Planning Office itself issues building and electrical permits for unincorporated land, tied to that zoning approval sequence. Statewide, one- and two-family homes generally fall under the State Residential Building Code Enforcement Program unless a county has opted out by local vote or has its own enforcement exemption from the State Fire Marshal. I couldn't confirm from official sources whether Smith County has opted out, so check the Fire Marshal's list.

Septic and composting toilets. Septic permitting is a state program (TDEC, Subsurface Sewage Disposal Systems law) typically administered locally through a health or environmental office. I couldn't pin down exactly which office handles this day-to-day in Smith County, but TDEC's Groundwater Protection contacts are referenced in the county's development guide. No composting-toilet exemption is confirmed, so assume the standard state rule applies.

Greywater and rainwater. No county-specific rules turned up for either. Greywater inherits Tennessee's generally unclear plumbing-code treatment, rainwater harvesting is not restricted as far as I can find.

Wells and utilities. Private wells fall under the statewide Water Wells Act, licensed drillers required, through TDEC. Two utility districts, Smith Utility District and Cordell Hull Utility District, serve large parts of the county with public water, but nothing I found requires you to hook up if a well is available. Living disconnected from the grid electrically appears unrestricted at the state level, and I found no county mandate to connect to utility service.

Bottom line: Smith County's active zoning ordinance is the twist here. Call the Planning Office early, before you buy land or start building.