Off-Grid Living in Glover, Vermont

Glover, Vermont is one of the more refreshingly simple towns I've researched for off-grid purposes, mostly because it doesn't have a zoning bylaw at all. Both the Glover town clerk's page and the Northeastern Vermont Development Association's town profile confirm it: Glover is unzoned. There's a Town Plan (adopted 2018), but a plan is just a policy document, not a regulatory bylaw, so it doesn't create districts, setbacks, minimum house sizes, or use permits the way zoning would in most towns.

That said, "no zoning" doesn't mean "no rules." Here's how I'd break it down by level of government:

Town level. Glover has adopted a Flood Hazard Area Bylaw, which is the one real regulatory bylaw I could confirm for the town, and it would matter if you're building near a floodplain or one of Glover's lakes. Glover also requires a driveway permit for new access, available through the Town Clerk's office. Beyond that, I found no town building permit system, no zoning administrator, and no building inspector position, which tracks with being unzoned.

State level. This is where the real regulation lives. Vermont has had universal statewide jurisdiction over wastewater and water supply since 2007, administered by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). That means any new septic system, including for a single-family home, needs a state Wastewater System and Potable Water Supply Permit, regardless of what Glover does or doesn't require locally. The same DEC rules cover greywater (no separate Glover rule exists) and private wells, which fall under Part II of the Water Supply Rules. If you're building near one of Glover's lakes, the town clerk's page specifically flags that you should check with the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) on shoreland requirements too.

Rainwater and utilities. I didn't find any Glover-specific restriction on rainwater harvesting, and Vermont's general posture toward non-potable rainwater use is permissive. Similarly, there's no town requirement to hook into municipal utilities, and honestly most of Glover isn't served by municipal water or sewer anyway (West Glover village is something of an exception with its own municipal septic history).

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs. Since there's no zoning bylaw, there's no town-level minimum size or RV occupancy rule that I could confirm. Just keep the Flood Hazard Bylaw and driveway permit requirement in mind, and check with the town for anything that's changed since my research.

Bottom line: Glover is about as light-touch as Vermont towns get on paper, but the state DEC still has real teeth around septic, greywater, and wells. Don't skip that permit just because the town itself stays out of your business.