Off-Grid Living in Hubbardton, Vermont

I've spent some time digging through Hubbardton's zoning bylaw, the Rutland Regional Planning Commission's town plan, and Vermont's state wastewater and drinking water rules to figure out what off-grid living actually looks like here. Here's what I found, and where the gaps are.

Zoning is real here, not a free-for-all. Hubbardton adopted a Zoning Bylaw back in 2017, and it's a zoned town, not one of Vermont's unzoned townships. In Zone B, the minimum lot size is 10 acres. The town's own plan (via Rutland RPC) says growth "should be managed and consistent with the rural character of the area," and conserving open space is a stated priority. So raw land isn't a blank check; whatever you want to do with it needs to fit the district rules, which the Zoning Administrator handles locally.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs: genuinely unclear. I couldn't confirm from available sources whether Hubbardton's bylaw specifically addresses tiny homes or living in an RV. The bylaw document likely has language on this, but I couldn't verify the specifics. This is a "call the Zoning Administrator" situation, not a guess-it-yourself one.

Building permits run through the Town Office, which is the local permitting authority for the area. Vermont doesn't impose a single statewide residential building code the way some states do, so a lot of what applies comes down to what Hubbardton's own bylaw and Town Office require. Confirm specifics before you build anything.

Septic and greywater are state matters. Since Hubbardton has no municipal sewer or water service, every wastewater system here is on-site, and it falls under Vermont DEC's statewide Wastewater System and Potable Water Supply Rules. That includes greywater reuse, composting toilets, the works. I didn't find any town-specific greywater carve-out, so assume the state baseline applies.

Rainwater harvesting looks fine for non-potable use. I found no Hubbardton bylaw restricting it.

Private wells are the norm, not the exception, given there's no municipal water. Well siting and construction fall under state DEC standards, not a town ordinance.

Living off-grid (no municipal power, water, sewer) is essentially the default condition in Hubbardton, not some special exception you need to justify. The town plan's rural-character language backs this up. That said, state permitting for your septic and water systems still applies no matter how disconnected you are.

Bottom line: zoning and building sign-off happen locally through the Town Office and Zoning Administrator, while water and waste systems are governed by the state DEC regardless of what the town says. Call ahead before assuming anything about lot use or dwelling type.