Off-Grid Living in Readsboro, Vermont

I've been digging through Readsboro, Vermont's zoning bylaw and Vermont state wastewater rules to figure out what off-grid living actually looks like here. Short version: Readsboro is a zoned town, not one of those unzoned Vermont townships you sometimes hear about, so raw land use and building are locally regulated even before you get to the state's water and wastewater rules.

Zoning and land use. Readsboro adopted a Zoning Bylaw (the copy I found dates the current version to 2021, with an earlier version on file with the state from 2013), and it's administered by the town's Zoning Administrator with a Development Review Board handling appeals. The bylaw is explicit: no zoning permit gets issued except in conformance with the bylaw, and the Zoning Administrator reportedly does a site visit for each application. So if you're eyeing raw land here for an off-grid setup, you'll need to work through the town's permit process, not just show up and build.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs. The bylaw incorporates the state's mobile-home siting statute (Vermont has its own manufactured-home law) and adds a local wrinkle about spacing between mobile homes. It also requires a Certificate of Occupancy from the Administrative Officer before any structure is occupied. I did not find specific language addressing tiny homes on wheels or long-term RV living, so I'd call that not confirmed, and worth a direct call to the Zoning Administrator before you commit.

Building permits. Readsboro requires a zoning permit before construction and a Certificate of Occupancy before you move in. I did not find a separate town structural building code, and Vermont as a state doesn't impose a statewide residential building code for owner-occupied homes, so this is mostly a permitting-and-occupancy process rather than a code-inspection one, but confirm specifics with the town.

Septic, greywater, wells. These are all handled at the state level, not by the town. Vermont's Department of Environmental Conservation has held universal jurisdiction over wastewater systems and potable water supplies since 2007, meaning any new septic system, well, or non-conventional (greywater) wastewater setup for a single-family home needs a permit through DEC's Regional Office system. Readsboro doesn't appear to layer its own separate septic ordinance on top of this.

Rainwater harvesting. I found no Readsboro-specific rule restricting rainwater collection, and no added state barrier beyond general water-supply guidance, so this looks permitted, but I'd flag that as a "nothing found" rather than an explicit green light.

Utility disconnection. Nothing in the bylaw excerpts I reviewed bans living off-grid electrically. You'll still need your zoning permit and Certificate of Occupancy from the town, and your water/wastewater setup still needs state DEC sign-off regardless of grid status.

Bottom line: expect two layers of paperwork here, town zoning/occupancy and state DEC water/wastewater permitting, with no unusual local prohibitions found beyond that.