I don't know much about the US, but many places don't have any of that zoning stuff. Ecuador seems to be famous for the lack of zoning regulations, but I imagine that any tropical rainforest country would probably be similar.
In the US, I remember hearing that some people in Arkansas were able to get away with starting up an intentional community and doing all sorts of permaculture things due to the lax zoning regulations. You might research how Arkansas does things.