Elk Grove, CA Animal Ordinances: Veterinary Clinic Zoning (2026)

050(V)(3) defines "veterinary facility" as a primarily enclosed facility with only the cage arrangements necessary for domestic and exotic animals needing acute medical or surgical care, allowing accessory outdoor use for long-term care, and permitting grooming or boarding only as an accessory to the veterinary use itself, a narrower carve-out than the standalone "animal sales and/or grooming" classification. 27-1 requires a conditional use permit (CUP) for veterinary facilities in every agricultural district (AG-80, AG-20, AR-5/10, AR-2), in the Village Center Mixed Use and Regional Mixed Use districts, in both office districts (Business Park, Manufacturing Park), and in the Light Industrial/Flex overlay.

The use is not permitted at all in any RD residential district, in AR-1, Auto Commercial, Commercial Office, standard Light Industrial, Heavy Industrial, or any Public/Quasi-Public district. It is permitted by right (P) only in Local Commercial, General Commercial, and Shopping Center zones, subject to Note 3 of the commercial-district footnotes: activities must be entirely enclosed whenever the facility sits within 500 feet of any residential (RD) zone or use. That distance-triggered enclosure rule means a clinic more than 500 feet from residential property can operate with some open-air runs, while one closer must keep every activity indoors.

Because the definition already limits outdoor use to long-term accessory care rather than routine treatment, most day-to-day veterinary operations are enclosed by definition regardless of the 500-foot trigger.