Off-Grid Living in Charlotte, Vermont

I've been digging into what off-grid living actually looks like in Charlotte, Vermont, and here's my honest read on it, town rules layered on top of state rules, as usual.

Zoning is real here. Charlotte is not one of those unzoned Vermont towns. The town has adopted Land Use Regulations (LURs) under authority granted by the state, dividing Charlotte into eight zoning districts. The Zoning Administrator handles day-to-day interpretation, and anything bigger, like subdivisions, conditional uses, or variances, goes to the Development Review Board after a public hearing. If you're eyeing a piece of land here, start with the Planning & Zoning office before you assume anything.

Dwellings, tiny homes, and RVs are a gray area in my research. The LURs govern structure size and placement, but I could not confirm specific bylaw language on minimum dwelling size or whether you can legally live in an RV or tiny home long-term. This is a call-the-Zoning-Administrator question, not a guess-and-hope one.

Building permits are required locally. The town's own guidance points people to a "Do I Need a Permit?" resource, and if that doesn't answer it, you're supposed to talk to the Zoning Administrator directly. Applications go through the Planning & Zoning window.

Septic and composting toilets are where things got interesting. Charlotte used to issue its own Wastewater System and Potable Water Supply Permits under a state delegation dating back to 2007, but the Selectboard voted to end that arrangement, and as of March 1, 2024, the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources (specifically the Drinking Water and Groundwater Protection Division) took permitting back over. Any new soil-based wastewater system needs a state-licensed designer and a state permit. A standalone composting toilet (no soil dispersal) appears to avoid that requirement, but confirm your specific setup with the state office.

Greywater falls under that same state wastewater permitting umbrella, there's no separate Charlotte greywater rule that I found.

Rainwater harvesting has no town-specific ordinance that I could locate. It would fall under general state guidance for non-potable reuse, so this is genuinely open, not clearly restricted or clearly free.

Wells are the norm here. Most Charlotte residents already rely on private drilled wells rather than municipal water, and well permits now route through the same state regional office as septic.

Full off-grid disconnection from utilities looks permitted in practice. No town ordinance surfaced requiring hookup to municipal electric, water, or sewer, and Charlotte's default is already private wells plus onsite septic for most residents.

Bottom line: Charlotte is zoned and permit-conscious, but it's also a place where private wells and septic are already the norm, so off-grid infrastructure isn't unusual, just still permitted and inspected, now increasingly at the state level rather than the town level.