Cleveland County, NC Animal Ordinances: Veterinary Clinic Zoning (2026)

The Veterinary Office/Clinic/Practice row in Section 12-124's Table of Permitted Uses, NAICS code 54194, carries an 'S' in the Rural Residential (RU) column, meaning the use needs a special use permit from the Board of Adjustment there, and a 'Z' in Rural Agricultural (RA), General Business (GB), Light Industrial (LI), and Heavy Industrial (HI), meaning it's permitted by right in those four districts. The remaining columns, Restricted Residential, Residential, Manufactured Homes and Parks, Neighborhood Business, and Corridor Protection, are blank, so a veterinary practice can't locate in any of those five districts under the table.

Applying for the RU special use permit means filing with the administrator under Section 12-33: a site plan showing the boundary survey, adjoining property owners, proposed structures and their height, screening, easements, floodplain areas, and traffic and parking plans, followed by a quasi-judicial public hearing before the Board of Adjustment under Article VI. The board can attach conditions or deny the permit even if the application otherwise complies, if it finds the clinic would endanger public health or safety, injure adjoining property values, or clash with the area's character.