Off-Grid Living in Iron County, Utah

Iron County, Utah is one of the more clearly-regulated rural counties I've researched for off-grid living, mostly because the county has adopted its own zoning code (Title 17) and building code additions (Title 15) rather than leaning entirely on Utah's state default rules. That cuts both ways: you get more clarity, but also more explicit restriction than in counties that just leave zoning unincorporated.

Zoning and camping on raw land. Iron County's Title 17 zoning ordinance, per county planner Reed Erickson, lets an owner camp on their own lot with an RV or camper for up to 16 days without a permit, similar to dispersed camping on BLM land. Stay longer (17 to 180 days) and you fall under the county's "seasonal use" provision instead. Some zones, like R-1/2, subdivisions, and PUDs, don't get the owner-occupant exemption at all, so check your parcel's zone with the county first.

Tiny homes and RVs. The county doesn't lump these together. Its dwelling-type table treats RV/travel trailers (not for year-round living) under RVIA standards separately from tiny homes on wheels, park model RVs, and foundation-based tiny/manufactured homes, which fall under ANSI, HUD, or IRC standards depending on type. Ordinance 2021-1 built out this whole framework, including the temporary (1-16 day) and seasonal (17-180 day) use sections.

Building permits and water. This is where Iron County adds real teeth: every building permit application has to name its proposed culinary water source, and the Southwest Utah Public Health Department (SWUPHD) or Utah DEQ has to review and approve it, whether that's a public hookup, an existing private system, or a new well or spring. If you're planning a well-supplied off-grid build, that well needs sign-off before your permit is issued.

Septic. SWUPHD administers septic permitting locally, and Utah's certified-designer/percolation-test rules apply. Iron County has one quirky local add-on: septic permits also require a prairie dog habitation clearance from the Division of Wildlife Resources. Composting toilets aren't addressed in what I found, so I'd call SWUPHD directly.

Greywater and rainwater. No Iron County-specific ordinance was found for either, so the state rules apply as-is: greywater reuse is regulated and permitted through the local health department (SWUPHD here), and rainwater harvesting is generally allowed under Utah's registration framework.

Wells. This is the county's biggest wrinkle. Iron County sits mostly within the Cedar Valley basin, where the Utah Division of Water Rights has been moving toward a groundwater management plan because the aquifer is over-appropriated and declining. Practically, that can mean new well rights are harder to get than the standard statewide Start Card process suggests, sometimes requiring purchase of existing rights instead.

Utilities. There's no blanket rule found requiring hookups for occupancy, but since a building permit needs an approved water source, you can't legally build off-grid without SWUPHD or DEQ sign-off on your water plan. Whether a certificate of occupancy also demands septic or power isn't spelled out in what I found.