Off-Grid Living in Manassas Park city, Virginia

I'll be upfront: Manassas Park is a tiny, mostly built-out independent city, and that shapes everything here. It's not rural Virginia. If you're picturing raw land with a well, an outhouse, and no permits, this is probably the wrong city for that plan.

Zoning. Every parcel in Manassas Park sits inside a zoning district under the city's own ordinance (Chapter 31 of the city code, administered by the Planning & Zoning office). There's no unzoned land where you could just set up and live without an approved use. There is an A-1 Agricultural district along with the residential zones, but "off-grid homesteading" isn't a use that gets a free pass just because a parcel is zoned agricultural.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs. The city amended its zoning rules (through what the city calls ZOTA #21-02) to specifically say that travel trailers and similar vehicles can be parked as an accessory use, but they cannot be lived in, cooked in, or slept in while parked or stored in any zoning district. So no, you can't quietly live in an RV or camper on a residential lot here. I didn't find a specific Manassas Park tiny-house-on-foundation ordinance; if you're going that route, the state's Appendix Q pathway (part of the building code) is likely how the city's Development Services office would evaluate it, but confirm directly with them.

Building permits. Like every Virginia locality, Manassas Park enforces the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code through its own Development, Zoning, and Code Enforcement Services office. Most construction, additions, and utility work need a city permit and inspection. There's a size exemption mentioned for small accessory sheds, but check with the city permit office for anything you're planning.

Septic, wells, and greywater. This is the big one for off-grid plans: Manassas Park doesn't run its own septic/well program. That's handled regionally by the Prince William Health District, part of the Virginia Department of Health. Any property not on public sewer needs a VDH-issued septic permit before the city will issue a building permit, and the same goes for private wells. I found no Manassas Park-specific rules on greywater or rainwater collection beyond that state/VDH baseline, so assume the state framework applies unless the health district tells you otherwise.

Utilities. No ordinance forces a grid-electric hookup that I could find. But because occupancy of a dwelling requires an approved sewage system (and an approved well if you're not on public water), true "unplugged" off-grid living, in the sense of skipping permitted water and waste systems entirely, isn't a legal path here. Most of the city is already on public water and sewer through the city's own Water & Sewer Services Division anyway.

Bottom line: Manassas Park is workable for grid-tied homesteading with permitted septic/well if you're outside the public utility footprint, but it's not set up for unpermitted off-grid living.