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

Section 230-11 defines 'veterinary care facility' as a business providing care, medical treatment and incidental boarding of dogs, cats, similar domestic animals, and farm animals. Where a clinic can locate, and how much discretion the Town exercises, depends entirely on the district. In the O-1 Neighborhood Office District, § 230-15 lists a veterinary care facility under Planning Board special permit approval, but only if it is under 5,000 square feet, an item the Town Board added by Local Law No. 5-2022 on December 19, 2022.

In the RA-100 Residential Agricultural District, § 230-13 places veterinary care facility on the Town Board special permit list, alongside animal care/training and animal boarding/breeding facilities, with an optional advisory referral to the Planning Board. The HC-1 Highway Commercial District likewise requires a Town Board special permit under § 230-16. The RC-1 Regional Commercial District treats it as a less restrictive, permitted use requiring only Planning Board site plan approval, grouped with uses like retail, restaurants and medical offices. That range, from a size-capped Planning Board special permit in an office zone to full Town Board review in an agricultural or highway-commercial zone, to ordinary site plan review in the regional commercial district, means an applicant's path depends on picking the right zone before applying.