Off-Grid Living in Putney, Vermont

I've been digging into what it would actually take to live off-grid in Putney, Vermont, and here's my honest read of the research, with the caveat up front that I'm not a lawyer and this isn't a substitute for a call to Town Hall.

Zoning covers the whole town. Putney adopted permanent zoning back in 1971, rewrote it in 1978, amended it multiple times (most recently 2021), and the Planning Commission is mid-rewrite again in 2025. That means, unlike some rural New England towns, there's no "unzoned" corner of Putney where you can just build without a permit. The Town's zoning bylaw covers the whole municipality plus overlay districts like a Forest Block Overlay, and any "land development", which includes dividing land, building, or changing land use, needs a zoning permit from the Town, sometimes with Development Review Board (DRB) sign-off for conditional uses or site plans.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs: I could not find Putney bylaw language specifically addressing tiny homes or RVs as year-round dwellings. What I do know is the DRB has authority to grant waivers from dimensional standards under state law (24 V.S.A. §4414(8)), so unusual housing setups aren't automatically dead on arrival, but they need to go through the permit and possibly waiver process. Call the Zoning Administrator before you buy a tiny house or park an RV as a residence.

Building permits: Vermont has no statewide residential building code forcing owner-builders into inspections, so Putney's zoning permit is really the main local gate for new construction, additions, or change of use.

Septic and wells: this is where the State of Vermont, not the town, runs the show. Since 2007 the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has had universal jurisdiction over wastewater systems and potable water supplies statewide, including composting toilets, greywater, and wells. Putney's zoning office hands out DEC's homeowner guides and fact sheets, but the actual permit comes from DEC's regional office network. There's no distinct Putney bylaw on greywater that I found, so it falls under this same state program.

Rainwater harvesting: I found no Putney or Vermont rule restricting collecting rainwater for non-potable use, so I'm treating it as permitted, though it's not something I can point to explicit language confirming either way at the town level.

Utilities: Putney doesn't appear to mandate hookup to municipal water or sewer outside the sewered village area; there's a separate Sewer Use Ordinance for people inside that district. Off-grid land outside the village center would run under the state wastewater/well rules instead of a town utility mandate.

Bottom line: Putney is a zoned town where the town controls land use and structures, and the State of Vermont controls septic, well, and water permitting. Confirm specifics with the offices below before you commit to a piece of land.