Bernalillo County, NM Animal Ordinances: Veterinary Clinic Zoning (2026)

Bernalillo County Code, Appendix A (Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance) § 14 governs the C-1 Neighborhood Commercial Zone, created to provide office, service, institutional and limited commercial uses for nearby residential areas while minimizing adverse effects on those neighborhoods. Under § 14.B.2.a, C-1 carries forward every permissive use already allowed in the O-1 Office and Institutional Zone, then adds its own list. Item (4) on that list is "Commercial animal establishments and nonprofit animal facility," and item (16) is "Small animal clinic," both listed with no extra conditions, meaning an owner does not need a conditional use permit or Planning Commission hearing to open one in a C-1 zone; a standard zoning certificate from the Zoning Administrator under § 24.A is enough.

The ordinance's definitions section draws the lines between these uses: an Animal Clinic is "an establishment where animals are admitted for examination and treatment and may be kept overnight"; a Commercial Animal Establishment is any for-profit premises "where six or more dogs and/or cats or aggregate thereof, over four months of age are boarded, kept, or maintained," which "includes kennels, grooming parlors, pet shops, animal hospitals and breeders"; and a Nonprofit Animal Facility is the same six-animal threshold run without profit, expressly excluding "state inspected veterinary hospitals, federally inspected laboratory facilities and zoos." Because § 14.B.1.a makes any use not designated permissive or conditional a prohibited use, a veterinary or animal-boarding business is not allowed by right in the county's residential zones (A-1, A-2, R-1, R-2, M-H); it must locate in C-1 or a higher commercial/industrial zone, or seek a rezoning or special use permit under § 18. The Zoning Administrator inspects buildings and land use to confirm compliance under § 24.A.2.c.