Off-Grid Living in Wilmington, Vermont

I've been digging into what off-grid living actually looks like in Wilmington, Vermont, and the short version is: this is a zoned town, and Vermont's state environmental rules layer on top of whatever the town requires. So you're dealing with two levels of authority here, not one.

Zoning. Wilmington adopted its current zoning ordinance through the Selectboard back in 2019, with amendments as recently as 2024. It's administered day to day by the Zoning Administrator, with conditional uses reviewed by the Development Review Board. The ordinance says every use needs a permit unless specifically exempt, so raw land isn't a blank slate here, you're working within district standards. There's a small-lot allowance for building a single-family home even on undersized parcels, down to an eighth of an acre with certain width/depth minimums, but I'd confirm your lot qualifies with the Zoning Office before assuming anything.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs. I couldn't find an explicit Wilmington bylaw addressing tiny houses or RVs as permanent dwellings. The ordinance sets height, size, and placement standards by district, but the specific treatment of alternative dwelling types isn't spelled out in what I found. This is a "call the Zoning Office" situation.

Building permits. The town's permit is a zoning permit, issued by the Zoning Administrator, who also tracks whether construction was permitted and completed in conformity with the rules. I did not find a separate town-level building code beyond that; Vermont's statewide energy standards (RBES) come into play at the state level for residential construction.

Septic and composting toilets. This is squarely a state matter. Vermont's Agency of Natural Resources, through DEC, requires either a compliant wastewater system or a valid State Wastewater Permit. Composting and incinerating toilets need their own ANR permit under the same rules, though DEC's guidance notes a "primitive camp" with just sink-water disposal may be able to use a waterless toilet without the full wastewater permit. Adding bedrooms or occupancy can also trigger updated permit requirements based on DEC's per-bedroom occupancy formula.

Greywater and rainwater. I didn't find a Wilmington-specific bylaw on either. Greywater falls under the same state Wastewater System and Potable Water Supply Rules mentioned above. Rainwater harvesting doesn't appear to have a distinct town rule either way, so I'd treat it as governed by the general state baseline and confirm nothing local applies.

Wells. State DEC rules again: you can replace an existing well without a permit for a single-family home, but you must file the new location in the town land records. Minor repairs to wells or wastewater components generally don't need a permit.

Off-grid utilities generally. I didn't find any Wilmington requirement forcing hookup to municipal water, sewer, or electric. Living disconnected looks permitted, as long as whatever wastewater or water system you install still satisfies the state rules above.

Bottom line: zoning and building permits are a town matter, water and waste are a state matter, and several off-grid-specific questions (tiny homes, RVs, rainwater) just aren't answered in the documents I could find, so those need a phone call.