Off-Grid Living in Derby, Vermont

I've been digging into what off-grid living actually looks like in Derby, Vermont, and the short version is: Derby is zoned, so you can't just buy a piece of land and do whatever you want with it. The town's Unified Development Bylaw, adopted January 8, 2024, splits the town into districts like Rural Residential, Village Commercial (Derby Line), and Village Residential, each with its own rules on what's allowed and how much of your lot you can cover with buildings.

Zoning and building basics. Whatever district your land sits in, the Derby Zoning Administrator's office is your first stop, and a zoning permit is required for most construction. For a lot of projects, you'll also need site plan approval from the Development Review Board (DRB) before a permit gets issued, per state enabling law under 24 V.S.A. Chapter 117. If the Zoning Administrator turns you down, you can appeal to the Zoning Board of Adjustment, again under that same state statute. I didn't find Derby-specific language on tiny homes or RVs used as permanent dwellings in the bylaw excerpts I reviewed, so if that's your plan, call the Zoning Administrator directly rather than assuming.

Septic and water. This one's mostly out of the town's hands. Vermont's Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) runs the Wastewater System and Potable Water Supply Permit program statewide, and that covers new septic systems, water supplies, and even swapping a composting toilet for a flush one. DEC does have specific composting toilet guidance, and there's a narrow exception for "primitive camps" used no more than a set number of days a year where a waterless toilet may be allowed without a full permit, but check with DEC before counting on that. Greywater reuse falls under this same state wastewater permitting scheme; I didn't find any Derby-specific greywater ordinance.

Wells. Replacing an existing well on a single-family property doesn't require a state permit, but you do need to file its location in the town land records. New potable water supplies go through the same DEC program mentioned above. Derby's bylaw also has a section classifying lots by their water and sewer service source, which ties back into zoning approval.

Rainwater harvesting. I found nothing in Derby's bylaw addressing this specifically, so it looks like it falls under whatever general state baseline applies, not a town-specific rule. Worth confirming with the Zoning Administrator if you're planning a substantial catchment system tied to a permitted structure.

Living off-grid generally. Nothing I found says you can't disconnect from utilities in Derby. But that freedom doesn't erase the paperwork: any structure you build still needs a Derby zoning permit and, if it involves plumbing or a water supply, a state WW/potable water permit too.

Bottom line: Derby's zoning bylaw controls what and where you build, the state controls septic, water, and wastewater, and villages within Derby (Derby Line, Derby Center) may have their own local contacts worth calling separately.