Chino Hills, CA Animal Ordinances: Veterinary Clinic Zoning (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- 16.56.035(A)(13)
- Home occupation status
- Prohibited
- Includes
- Boarding, not just treatment
- Where allowed
- Zoned commercial/institutional districts only
- Permit path
- Zoning approval, not a Home Occupation Permit
Summary
Chino Hills bars veterinary practices from operating as a home occupation. Development Code section 16.56.035 lists veterinary uses, including boarding, among the businesses the City finds incompatible with residential neighborhoods, so a resident cannot run a veterinary clinic or animal boarding operation out of a house even under the City's otherwise permissive home occupation permit program; a veterinary hospital must instead locate in a zoning district that allows it.
A.The following businesses are not incidental to, or compatible with, residential activities, and are therefore prohibited from operating as a home occupation use:1.Adult-oriented businesses as defined by the Municipal Code;2.Ambulance service; ... 13.Veterinary uses (including boarding), unless otherwise permitted by the Municipal Code; and14.Welding or metalsmithing services on-site.B.Any business or home occupation not compliant with Section 16.56.020 Performance Standards and Section 16.56.030 Permitted Home Occupation Uses or subsequently authorized by the Community Development Director or Planning Commission shall be prohibited.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 61).
Full Breakdown
020, which cap the business to 20 percent of the dwelling's floor area or 400 square feet, bar exterior storage or display, and limit visitors to three people a day. 030 lists examples of compatible home occupations, from architectural and drafting services to tutoring and personal training. 035 draws the opposite line: it identifies fourteen categories of business the City has found not incidental to, or compatible with, residential activities, and therefore prohibited as home occupations, and veterinary uses, including boarding, is one of them, alongside ambulance service, tow truck service, and welding or metalsmithing on-site.
The prohibition applies unless otherwise permitted by the Municipal Code, meaning a veterinary hospital in Chino Hills has to locate somewhere the Development Code's zoning framework separately allows a veterinary use, rather than operating out of a residence under a Home Occupation Permit. That framework treats large-animal and small-animal veterinary hospitals differently by zoning district, generally allowing them, subject to either a conditional use permit or by-right approval depending on the district, in the City's commercial and mixed-use zones rather than in purely residential areas.
A veterinarian who wants to see patients or board animals in Chino Hills therefore needs a location zoned for that commercial or institutional use, not a home-based permit.
Violations & Fines
Operating a veterinary practice or animal boarding business from a residence without the zoning approval the use requires is enforced the same as any other unauthorized land use: a Development Code violation under section 16.02.110, treated as a misdemeanor under section 1.36.010, up to $1,000 or six months in jail, unless designated an infraction, and subject to a compliance order under section 1.18.060 before the City issues an administrative citation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I run a small at-home veterinary practice in Chino Hills?
Does the home-occupation ban include boarding animals overnight, not just treating them?
Where can a veterinary hospital legally operate in Chino Hills?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Chino Hills
California rules heatmap·Compare Chino Hills to another location·View the California animal ordinances overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.
Veterinary Clinic Zoning in Nearby Cities
How other cities in San Bernardino County handle veterinary clinic zoning.