Off-Grid Living in Londonderry, Vermont

I've been digging into what off-grid living actually looks like in Londonderry, Vermont, and the short version is: this is a zoned town, and it's actively rewriting its rules, so a lot depends on catching the Zoning Administrator at the right moment with the right question.

Zoning is real here. Londonderry adopted its Zoning Bylaw to guide development under the Town Plan, and land development that isn't specifically authorized is prohibited outright. That's a stricter baseline than a lot of rural Vermont towns. The town is also mid-rewrite, working through drafts of a new "Unified Development Regulations" package (they were on Draft 7 as of the last planning commission meeting I found), so whatever I describe here could shift. Always confirm which version is currently in force with the Zoning Administrator before you plan around it.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs: I could not find a clear, specific rule addressing tiny houses or RVs as permanent dwellings in either the 2009 bylaw or the draft revisions. There is language allowing development of legally subdivided undersized lots that predate current dimensional standards, which is a state-law protection, not a town invention. But tiny home/RV occupancy is exactly the kind of thing being hashed out in the draft rewrite right now, so this is a "call before you build" situation.

Building permits: The town doesn't appear to run a separate building code on top of zoning, but you do need a zoning permit, administered by the Zoning Administrator under the bylaw's Administration and Enforcement article. Appeals go to the Development Review Board through the Town Clerk.

Septic, greywater, wells: I found no town-specific ordinances on any of these. They fall to the State of Vermont, specifically the Department of Environmental Conservation's Wastewater System and Potable Water Supply Rules, which govern septic design, greywater, and well construction statewide. Londonderry is doing a village-area water/wastewater capacity study, but that's municipal infrastructure planning, not a private-system permitting scheme, so it shouldn't affect an individual off-grid property directly, though it's worth knowing the town is thinking about this.

Rainwater harvesting: No town provision found either restricting or explicitly authorizing it. Nothing suggests it's an issue.

Utility disconnection: I didn't find any Londonderry rule forcing a hookup to municipal water, sewer, or electric. That said, whatever septic or well system you install still needs to satisfy the state DEC rules regardless of whether you're grid-connected.

Bottom line: Londonderry's zoning bylaw is the gatekeeper for what you can build and where, state DEC rules govern water and waste, and because the bylaws are being rewritten right now, a phone call to the Zoning Administrator before you buy or build is money well spent.