Austin, TX Animal Ordinances: Veterinary Clinic Zoning (2026)

Sec. 25-2-4(B)(73) defines VETERINARY SERVICES as the use of a site for the provision of veterinary services and hospitals for animals, and it names pet clinics, dog and cat hospitals, and veterinary hospitals for livestock and large animals as included uses. That last clause is the key difference from the neighboring PET SERVICES classification (Sec. 25-2-4(B)(54)): PET SERVICES covers small-animal clinics and grooming shops but explicitly excludes uses for livestock and large animals, while VETERINARY SERVICES has no such exclusion and reaches large-animal and livestock hospitals as well as small pet clinics.

A veterinary practice is also distinct from the MEDICAL OFFICES use classification (Sec. 25-2-4(B)(44)), which by its own terms covers treatment 'for humans' by doctors, dentists, and similar practitioners licensed by the state and does not extend to animal care. Like every commercial use classification in Article 1 of Chapter 25-2, whether VETERINARY SERVICES may locate on a particular site is a function of the base zoning district's permitted-use list under Sec. 25-2-491 (Permitted, Conditional, and Prohibited Uses), which sets out district by district whether the use is permitted outright, allowed conditionally with Land Use Commission review, or prohibited; that table sits outside the text reviewed here.

If a proposed clinic's activities don't cleanly match this classification, an applicant may request a formal use determination from the director of the Planning and Development Review Department under Sec. 25-2-2, appealable to the Board of Adjustment under Sec. 25-1-197.