Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Town of Hubbardton, Vermont

Town of Hubbardton’s own rules

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  Land inside Hubbardton town's limits, under the town's adopted Hubbardton Zoning Regulations (2002 text, amended through July 2003)

  • The copy opened is the 2002 regulations with amendments through July 2003, as posted in the Vermont ACCD bylaw archive. A 2017 proposed-amendments draft is also posted there; no page opened confirms it was adopted, so the current version must be confirmed with the town.
  • Zoning permits are issued by the administrative officer and conditional uses go to the board of adjustment.

  “the town of hubbardton hereby establishes the following zoning districts: conservation, commercial, rural residential, shoreland, and flood hazard.”

• Zoning districtsPublished

  Land inside Hubbardton town's limits

  • Districts are conservation, commercial, rural residential, shoreland, and flood hazard (flood hazard is an overlay).
  • The rural residential district is described as: the rural residential district shall be all the land in the town of hubbardton, not included in the commercial, shoreland, or conservation districts.

  “the town of hubbardton hereby establishes the following zoning districts: conservation, commercial, rural residential, shoreland, and flood hazard.”

• Minimum lot sizeSpecified

  Single-family and other residential land use in the Hubbardton town rural residential district (zones a, b and c), inside Hubbardton town

  • Zone a is 25 acres, zone b 10 acres and zone c 5 acres, as stated in Section 201; the zone assignment map was not opened.
  • The rural residential district is all land not in the commercial, shoreland, or conservation districts.

  minimum lot size, zone a: 25 acres · minimum lot size, zone b: 10 acres · minimum lot size, zone c: 5 acres

  “minimum lot size: zone a twenty-five (25) acres, zone b ten (10) acres, zone c five (5) acres”

  2 more reviewed findings on this topic

  • Specified — Land in the Hubbardton town commercial district

    “minimum lot size: one (1) acre purpose: to provide opportunities for a variety of locally oriented commercial services in suitable locations.”

  • Specified — Land within 500 feet of listed rivers, streams and lakes in the Hubbardton town shoreland district

    “d. sl - shoreland – minimum lot size: two (2) acres”

• SetbacksSpecified

  Rural residential district (zones a, b and c) inside Hubbardton town

  • Article V table is in a scrambled text layer; zone labels appear displaced, so the row reading is provisional and should be checked against the scanned PDF.
  • The 2002 text gives 40 ft front, 25 ft side and 25 ft rear setbacks with 100 ft minimum lot frontage for the rows in the table; zone-specific setbacks for zone a are not clearly separable in the text.

  front setback: 40 feet (provisional reading of Article V table) · side setback: 25 feet (provisional reading of Article V table) · rear setback: 25 feet (provisional reading of Article V table)

  “zone c five (5) acres 40' 25' 25' 100' - 10%”

  2 more reviewed findings on this topic

  • Specified — Commercial district inside Hubbardton town

    “commercial one (1) acre 40' 25' 25' 100'”

  • Specified — Shoreland district inside Hubbardton town

    “*shoreland two (2) acres 40' 25' 25' 100' 35' 8%”

• Lot coverageSpecified

  Shoreland district inside Hubbardton town

  • Row reading from the garbled Article V table.

  maximum lot coverage: <= 8 percent

  “*shoreland two (2) acres 40' 25' 25' 100' 35' 8%”

• Building heightSpecified

  Shoreland district inside Hubbardton town

  • Height column from the garbled Article V table; footnote (1) refers to a definition in Article IX.

  maximum building height: <= 35 feet

  “*shoreland two (2) acres 40' 25' 25' 100' 35' 8%”

  One more reviewed finding on this topic

  • Specified — Accessory buildings on residential lots inside Hubbardton town

    “such buildings shall not exceed twenty (20) feet in height, except for agricultural buildings.”

• Living in an RVLimited

  Parking and occupying a travel trailer on private land in the residential and shoreland districts inside Hubbardton town

  • Occupancy longer than one month in any 12-month period is not allowed in residential and shoreland districts.
  • Exception: a mobile home or trailer under 30 feet may be parked if it is not occupied longer than the one-month period.
  • Section 1005 text reads 'one (l) month' in the source; the period is one month.

  maximum occupancy period: <= 1 month per 12-month period (mobile home or trailer under 30 feet may be parked if not occupied longer than the period)

  “a travel trailer shall not be parked and occupied for more than one (l) month, in a 12-month period, in a residential and shorelands district”

• Manufactured homesLimited

  Mobile homes and trailers in the residential and shoreland districts inside Hubbardton town

  • Under 30 ft mobile homes may be parked, but not occupied beyond one month in a 12-month period; the rule applies to mobile homes only in the residential and shoreland districts.

  maximum length exempt from occupancy limit: < 30 feet (occupancy beyond one month still limited)

  “except that a mobile home or trailer of less than thirty (30) feet in length may be parked if not occupied longer than the above-stated time period.”

• Mandatory utility hookupNone

  Land inside Hubbardton town; no municipal water or sewer service exists to connect to

  • Statement is from the 2002 regulations (amended through July 2003); on-site water and wastewater permits from the state program apply instead (see septic_permit and well_permit claims).

  “hubbardton does not have municipal sewer or water service, which necessitates low-density development.”

• Building in a floodplainRequired

  Land in the Hubbardton town flood hazard overlay district

  • Uses in the flood hazard overlay are subject to additional requirements and conditional review; the flood hazard section was not read in full.

  “are subject to additional requirements due to the district’s special”

• Permit processPartial

  Zoning permits for uses and structures in Hubbardton town

  • Permit for conditional uses is issued only after board of adjustment approval; the full zoning permit procedure was not read.
  • Site plan approval by the planning commission is required for most non-residential uses, per Article IX.

  “a zoning permit shall be issued by the administrative officer for any use or structure which requires conditional use approval only after the board of adjustment grants such approval”

Rules another office applies inside Town of Hubbardton

Town of Hubbardton does not set these itself; the county, a health district or the state does, and they apply to every address inside its limits.

• Building permitRequired

  New one- and two-family dwellings inside Hubbardton town (state Division of Fire Safety statement)

  • Statement is from a witness document, not a codified rule; verify against the Division of Fire Safety rule before relying on it.
  • Zoning permits from Hubbardton town are a separate local requirement and were not fully researched.

  “we do require construction permit applications, electrical/plumbing work notices, structural on floor and roof assemblies and certified technicians for fuel for all 1&2 family and they are inspected.”

• Building code adoptedNot adopted

  One- and two-family dwellings inside Hubbardton town

  • The Division says it adopts the International Building Code for new residential construction of three units or more, not for one- and two-family dwellings.
  • Statement comes from a witness document to a legislative working group, not a codified rule.

  “we do not adopt the international residential building code (irc) which applies only to 1&2 family dwellings.”

• InspectionsRequired

  New one- and two-family dwellings inside Hubbardton town (state Division of Fire Safety statement)

  • Same witness-document basis as the permit claim; verify against the rule.
  • Inspection timing and scope not stated in the excerpt.

  “[...] for all 1&2 family and they are inspected.”

• Who permits septicState (with conditions)

  On-site septic systems on land inside Hubbardton town

  • Vermont ANR/DEC Wastewater System and Potable Water Supply program issues permits; Hubbardton's zoning bylaws do not set septic rules in the text reviewed.

  “issues water/wastewater permits (ww permits) for; soil-based wastewater systems with flows of less than 6,500 gallons per day”

Still unanswered

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

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder permit exemption inside Hubbardton town
• Certificate of occupancy — Certificate of occupancy inside Hubbardton town
• Minimum dwelling size — Minimum dwelling size inside Hubbardton town
• Camping on your land — Temporary camping on private land inside Hubbardton town
• Tiny homes — Tiny home occupancy inside Hubbardton town

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 Hubbardton 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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