Off-Grid Living in Utah County, Utah

I've spent time digging through Utah County's official planning, building, and health department pages to piece together what off-grid living actually looks like here, and the short version is: it depends heavily on whether you're in unincorporated county land or inside one of the cities (Provo, Orem, Lehi, Payson, and so on each run their own zoning).

Zoning and raw land. For unincorporated Utah County, the Community Development Department's Planning & Zoning division administers a countywide Land Use Ordinance. You can't just set up a yurt or tent camp on raw land as a matter of right, temporary uses (per the ordinance's Section 8.16, per my research notes) require an application, and general questions get resolved through what the county calls a Zone Clearance request. If you're inside a city, forget the county rule, that city's own code governs.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs. Same pattern: in unincorporated areas, RVs and mobile-home-style dwellings are treated as temporary uses needing a permit rather than something you can just move in and live in. I could not confirm county-specific size, lot, or duration standards beyond that, so I'd lean on the state baseline (foundation-built tiny homes get treated as residential-code dwellings, wheeled ones as RVs) until Planning & Zoning tells you otherwise.

Building permits. The Utah County Building Division enforces the State Construction Code for unincorporated areas, and a permit is required before you touch construction, use changes, or electrical/gas/mechanical/plumbing work. There are some exemptions, like certain agricultural structures not meant for human occupancy, but confirm specifics with the Building Official directly.

Septic. Utah County Health Department's Environmental Health division runs onsite wastewater permitting under the state's R317-4 rule. They handle septic tank applications, lookups, and abandonment permits. I couldn't confirm county-specific tank sizes or setbacks, or anything composting-toilet specific, in official sources, so ask Environmental Health directly.

Greywater and rainwater. I found no Utah County-specific ordinance for either. Greywater likely runs through the same Health Department under the state's R317-401 framework, and rainwater harvesting appears governed purely by state law (Utah Code 73-3-1.5) with no county overlay.

Wells. Wells and water rights are a state matter through the Division of Water Rights, though county wastewater applications may ask for a well permit or water-supply letter as part of the process. No dedicated Utah County well ordinance turned up.

Utility disconnection. Nothing explicit at the county level saying you must hook up to the grid. Occupancy approval seems tied more to having an approved septic/well setup than mandatory utility connection, but that's my inference, not a confirmed rule, so verify before you plan around it.

Bottom line: unincorporated Utah County has real, enforced rules on zoning, dwellings, and building, run by named county offices, but several water-related questions (greywater specifics, well permitting details) fall back to state rules with no distinct county layer that I could confirm.