Off-Grid Living in Alburgh, Vermont

I've been digging into what off-grid living actually looks like in Alburgh, Vermont, a small town up on the Champlain Islands in Grand Isle County. Here's what I found, and where the gaps still are.

Zoning is real here. Alburgh is not one of those unzoned Vermont towns some off-gridders go hunting for. The town has adopted Land Use and Development Regulations, drafted with the Northwest Regional Planning Commission and administered under the state's Title 24, Chapter 117 enabling law. That means a Zoning Permit from the town's Zoning Administrator is required for basically any land development, construction, expansion, or change of use, unless it's specifically exempted. The Official Zoning Map lives with the Town Clerk. If you're picturing raw land you can just build on quietly, that's not this town.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs. I couldn't pin down exact language on tiny homes or RVs as permanent dwellings in the bylaw excerpts I reviewed. The regulations do govern "structures" and "uses" broadly under Article 3 and Article 4, so there's likely something that applies, but I'd call the Zoning Administrator (through the Town Clerk's office) and ask specifically before you commit to a build.

Building permits. Alburgh doesn't appear to layer on a separate residential building code beyond the state baseline, but you still need that zoning permit, and once issued, state law (24 V.S.A. §4465) gives it a 15-day appeal window before it's final. There's also a public-notice posting requirement during that window.

Septic and water supply are state matters, not town matters. Since 2007, Vermont's Department of Environmental Conservation has had universal jurisdiction over wastewater systems and potable water supplies statewide, including composting-toilet setups, new construction, and private wells outside the village water district. That permitting flows through DEC's Regional Office program, not through Alburgh's town hall. Greywater reuse falls under the same DEC rules, no separate Alburgh ordinance exists that I found.

Rainwater harvesting doesn't appear to have any town-specific restriction, so it's a matter of following the general state guidance, though I didn't find a dedicated Vermont statute addressing it directly.

Utilities. No Alburgh ordinance requires hookup to municipal electric, water, or sewer for properties outside the village. The Village of Alburgh does run its own Water and Sewer Departments for in-village connections, but if you're outside the village proper, going off-grid on utilities looks permitted, subject to getting your DEC wastewater/water permit in order.

Bottom line: the zoning permit and the DEC state permit are your two real gatekeepers here. Everything else, tiny homes, RVs, greywater specifics, I'd confirm directly rather than assume.