Brookhaven, NY Animal Ordinances: Veterinary Clinic Zoning (2026)

Brookhaven Code § 85-1 defines VETERINARY HOSPITAL as any facility maintained by or for the use of a licensed veterinarian in the diagnosis, treatment, or prevention of animal diseases wherein the animals are limited to dogs, cats, or other comparable household pets and wherein the overnight care of said animals is prohibited except when necessary in the medical treatment of said animals. That definition itself acts as a zoning limit: a facility that boards animals overnight for reasons other than treatment falls outside the definition and cannot rely on the permitted-use listing.

Where the use is allowed, § 85-407T lists "veterinary hospital, provided that all activities take place within the building" among the by-right permitted uses in the J Business District (Transitional Business), and the same all-activities-indoors condition is repeated for the J Business 4 District (Professional and Business Offices) under § 85-446 and for the L Industrial 1 District (Light Industry) under § 85-560S. Because the use does not appear in the permitted-use lists for the town's residential districts, a veterinary hospital cannot locate in a residential zone; it is confined to the business and light-industrial districts where the Town Board has expressly listed it, and every listing repeats the same indoor-activity condition, meaning outdoor kenneling, exercise yards, or exterior treatment areas take the use outside the permitted classification and would require Building Division sign-off or Zoning Board of Appeals relief.