Off-Grid Living in Barnet, Vermont

Barnet, Vermont is a zoned town, which surprises some people who assume rural Vermont towns are wide open. I've dug through the town's records and the state's wastewater program to give you the real picture, but I want to be upfront: some specifics (especially around dwelling types) just aren't spelled out in what I could find, and you'll need to call the town to nail those down.

Zoning: Barnet has an adopted Zoning Bylaw (last updated July 23, 2018, per the Northeastern Vermont Development Association's file copy), administered by a Zoning Administrative Officer with a combined Planning Commission/Zoning Board of Adjustment. The bylaw sets up districts and permitted-use tables, and construction generally needs a zoning permit issued by the Administrative Officer before you break ground. I've also seen a note that the bylaw itself may be undergoing a rewrite, so don't rely on an old PDF, always confirm you're looking at the current version with the town.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs: This is the fuzziest area. I found reference to district-specific rules (like a "Rural Residential Zone") in a variance case, which tells me the bylaw does differentiate by district, but I couldn't confirm specific minimum size requirements or RV/camper occupancy rules from the text I reviewed. Call the Zoning Administrative Officer before you buy that tiny home or park an RV long-term.

Building permits: Barnet requires a zoning permit for construction, but I found no separate town-level structural building code, which lines up with Vermont's general lack of a statewide residential building code. Permit questions go to the Zoning Administrative Officer; forms are handled through the Town Clerk's Office.

Septic and greywater: This one's clear and it's a state matter, not a town one. Vermont's Department of Environmental Conservation has held statewide jurisdiction over wastewater and potable water permitting since 2007. Any new septic system, greywater system, or water supply for a residence in Barnet needs a state Wastewater System and Potable Water Supply permit through the DEC regional office; Barnet has no local delegation of this program.

Rainwater harvesting: I didn't find any Barnet bylaw restricting rainwater collection for non-potable use, so this looks fine, though I'd treat this as "no news is good news" rather than an explicit blessing.

Wells: Same state program as septic. Private well construction, siting, and testing are governed by DEC's regional office standards, not town rules.

Off-grid living generally: Nothing in Barnet's bylaw requires hooking up to municipal utilities (which makes sense, since it's a small town without extensive municipal infrastructure). But going off-grid doesn't get you out of the zoning permit or the state wastewater/water permit if your structure has plumbing.

Bottom line: Barnet is workable for off-grid living, but it's not a legal blank slate. Layer the town's zoning permit requirement on top of Vermont's state-run wastewater and water permitting, and you've got the two big hurdles. The gaps in my research (dwelling specifics) mean a phone call to the Zoning Administrative Officer is worth your time before you commit to a plan.