Best Jurisdictions for Yurt/Off Grid Living

[Richie]

Forgive me if I'm missing something blatantly obvious, but is there a resource somewhere which lists the most Yurt/off-grid friendly jurisdictions? I'm running into a problem where I'm finding land that I like, but either the zoning just doesn't work out or the zoning office takes so long to get back to me that the property is purchased. Granted, I'm on the east coast in Baltimore and my search has been limited to Virginia, West Virginia, and Ohio. Does anybody have tips for where to expand my search where I can be less concerned about zoning/building codes? I'd prefer to limit this within a hard driving distance of Maryland, but I'm also open to changing my mind on this.

[HawaiiYurts]

I'd probably check with some of the yurt companies on the East Coast. Maybe the ladies at

Blue Ridge Yurts

?

Many counties just don't know what a yurt IS or they've heard a bunch of misinformation. Sometimes people have to educate them and not take no for an answer unless they show a code that can't be met or is broken by the yurt structure. I had to fight for it here in Hawaii and I've been fighting ever since to hold the line through every set of code changes. So far so good! Best of luck. If you talk to Sharon or Kathy at Blue Ridge, tell them Melissa in Hawaii says Aloha!

Melissa

[Wintergreen282]

You will probably have to work backwards. Find the areas that don’t have zoning and then look for land. And - unfortunately - even if you see a yurt in an area, you can’t assume yurts are okay there. It may be grandfathered in - and even the reason for a newer, more restrictive zoning regulation now in that town. Or there is some other reason that yurt or is allowed and yours won’t be. In NH, yurts and tiny homes on their own land are not welcomed by the majority of towns. Though many do allow them if there is a regular (normal amount of property tax producing) house on the property.

[Bob Rowlands]

Though many do allow them if there is a regular (normal amount of property tax producing) house on the property.

Well stated.