Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Town of Groton, New Hampshire

Town of Groton’s own rules

• Building permitRequired

  Construction of a tiny house on a buildable lot inside Groton town limits.

  • Applies to tiny house construction only; a general building permit requirement for ordinary residences was not confirmed in the text read.
  • A seasonal camp built on a buildable lot, or converted to a single-family dwelling, also requires a building permit (seasonal camp provisions, not separately cited).

  “c. construction of a tiny house on a buildable lot shall require a building permit.”

• Zoning districtsPublished

  Land inside Groton town limits: the three zoning districts (district a, district b rural residential/forestry/agricultural, district c renewable energy/other businesses, forestry/agricultural, conservation cluster and recreation).

  • District a's heading name was not captured in the excerpts read; the 2023 ordinance's district section and Appendix A zoning map should be checked for names and boundaries.

  “the ordinance creates three districts. this will allow growth”

• Minimum lot sizeDistrict specific (with conditions)

  Land inside Groton town limits in zoning district a (main single-family residential district; single-family dwelling and one ADU permitted).

  • Frontage on state and town roads and private roads must be at least 150 feet.
  • Undersized lots and lots with insufficient road frontage existing before enactment of the ordinance are protected (Article 5 a.1-2).

  minimum lot size: >= 2 acres (undersized pre-enactment lots protected under Article 5 a.1-2) · minimum road frontage: >= 150 feet (undersized pre-enactment lots protected under Article 5 a.1-2)

  “a. minimum lot size: 2 acres b. frontage on state & town roads, and private roads is a minimum of 150 feet”

  2 more reviewed findings on this topic

  • District specific (with conditions) — Land inside Groton town limits in zoning district b (rural residential, forestry/agricultural).

    “a. minimum lot size: 25 acres b. frontage on state & town roads, and private roads is a minimum of 200 feet”

  • District specific (with conditions) — Land inside Groton town limits in zoning district c (renewable energy/other businesses, forestry/agricultural, conservation cluster and recreation).

    “a. minimum lot size, road frontage and cluster density and design will be adjusted on a case-by-case basis, guided by principles contained in groton’s subdivision regulations and site plan review regulations.”

• Living in an RVTemporary only (with conditions)

  Recreational vehicles used for living inside Groton town limits in zoning district c only.

  • Recreational vehicle is defined as 400 square feet or less on a single chassis, designed for temporary living quarters (less than 180 days annually).
  • A recreational vehicle may never be used as a permanent dwelling for year-round use.
  • Any tiny house that does not meet the tiny house definition is treated as a recreational vehicle.

  “a recreational vehicle shall be permitted only in district c and shall never be used as a permanent dwelling for year-round use.”

• Camping on your landLimited

  Recreational camping parks inside Groton town limits, in zoning district c.

  • A recreational vehicle park must be at least five acres and hold no more than ten recreational vehicles.
  • Recreational vehicles in a park may never be used as permanent year-round dwellings.
  • Recreational campgrounds and camping parks are listed as permitted uses in the district c conservation cluster.

  minimum RV park size: >= 5 acres · maximum RVs in RV park: <= 10 recreational vehicles

  “recreational vehicle park: a parcel of land of at least five (5) acres intended for occupancy by no more than ten (10) recreational vehicles”

• Tiny homesAllowed (with conditions)

  Tiny houses (400 square feet or less, used as a single-family dwelling) inside Groton town limits, where tiny house is a listed permitted use in districts a, b and c.

  • The tiny house must be off wheels, or have its wheels disabled, and attached to a permanent foundation.
  • It must have water and sewage disposal systems complying with state and local law.
  • Construction on a buildable lot requires a building permit.
  • A tiny house may not be used as a long-term or short-term rental.
  • If a single-family dwelling is later built on the same lot, the tiny house may remain as the one accessory dwelling unit per lot.

  maximum floor area: <= 400 square feet

  “accessory structures home occupation and home business forestry agriculture conservation recreational vehicle storage tiny house seasonal camp storage structure long-term rental short-term rental”

Still unanswered

We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask Town of Groton or Grafton County directly.

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder construction inside Groton town limits.
• Building code adopted — Construction inside Groton town limits.
• Inspections — Construction inside Groton town limits.
• Certificate of occupancy — Occupancy of new construction inside Groton town limits.
• Minimum dwelling size — Single-family dwellings inside Groton town limits.

Each answer was extracted from an official source and independently re-checked against that source by a second reviewer. That is an evidence check, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the authority before you buy or build.

Off-grid gear

Going off-grid in Town of Groton means bringing your own water and power. The kit we’d start with:

• Water Crystal Quest Filter any source — well, rain, or creek — to drinking-clean.
• Power Bluetti Solar generators and home battery backup for living off the grid.
• Septic Soil percolation test kit Run your own perc test before paying an engineer — the first thing a septic office asks about.
• Water Well water test kit Bacteria, nitrates, hardness — know what the well on a parcel is really pumping.

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