Off-Grid Living in Concord, Vermont

I'll say upfront: Concord, Vermont is zoned. I know a lot of small Vermont towns have no zoning at all, but Concord isn't one of them. The town has its own Zoning Bylaw and Land Use Regulations, administered by a Zoning Administrator and Planning Commission, and it splits the town into five districts. The official zoning map lives at the Town Clerk's office, and that's the final word on what applies to any given parcel, so I'd start there before assuming anything.

On raw land, the bylaw sets a five-acre minimum lot size in at least one district, and the town explicitly ties that number to supporting on-site sewage disposal and water needs, not just density preference. The town plan also describes a rural pattern where lots often run 10 acres or more to preserve rural character, so don't assume you can subdivide down to something small.

For dwellings, I found a genuine gap: Concord's own town plan admits its zoning bylaw doesn't address mobile home parks, which by state statute implies they're allowed town-wide by default. I didn't find explicit language on tiny houses or RVs as permanent dwellings in what I reviewed, so that's a call-the-Zoning-Administrator situation, not a guess I'm willing to make for you.

Building permits are required locally, Concord has its own Building & Zoning Permit Application and Certificate of Compliance process. Importantly, the bylaw itself says local sign-off doesn't substitute for state or federal compliance, especially for water and wastewater systems.

That leads to septic and greywater: this is where Vermont's state authority, the Agency of Natural Resources / DEC, takes over. Since 2007 the state has held universal jurisdiction over wastewater and potable water supply design and permitting for any new construction needing a system, and that includes composting or incinerating toilets, which need a DEC permit. I didn't find any Concord-specific greywater rule, so treat it as governed by that same state program.

Rainwater harvesting: I found no town restriction on it in the documents I reviewed, though I'd still ask the Zoning Administrator whether any overlay district (like a flood hazard zone) touches your parcel.

Wells fall partly under local zoning, since Concord's five-acre minimum is explicitly justified by water supply needs, and the regs also require a residence/well setback from agricultural operations. Actual well construction and siting standards, though, are a state DEC matter.

Living off-grid, disconnected from utilities: I didn't find an outright ban. The town plan says bylaws "tend to restrict" development to areas served by roads and utilities, which reads as a policy preference, not a hard prohibition. Still, confirm with the Zoning Administrator whether any district language addresses unconnected dwellings directly.