Yolo County, CA Animal Ordinances: Veterinary Clinic Zoning (2026)

304(c), the county's permit table for agricultural commercial and rural recreational land uses, lists animal hospitals and veterinary medical facilities as a use requiring a Minor Use Permit in the A-N (Agricultural Intensive), A-X (Agricultural Extensive), and A-C zones, a Site Plan Review in the A-I zone, and marks the use not allowed in the A-R (Agricultural Residential) zone. Sec. 306(f), the performance standard cross-referenced from that table, layers on a second, unconditional restriction: an animal hospital or veterinary medical facility is not allowed on any land under an active Williamson Act contract, regardless of the zone or the permit tier the parcel would otherwise qualify for.

The Williamson Act is the state program under which landowners contract with the county to keep land in agricultural use in exchange for a reduced property tax assessment, and Yolo County has enrolled a substantial share of its agricultural land in these contracts, so Sec. 306(f) keeps veterinary uses off a large portion of the county's ag-zoned parcels even where the zone itself would otherwise allow the use with a Minor Use Permit. The same Williamson Act restriction, using nearly identical language, applies to kennels and animal shelters under the adjoining Sec.

306(h), and non-profit rescue facilities housing more than ten household pets are separately subject to a Minor Use Permit and applicable kennel permit under Sec. 306(g), so the Williamson Act carve-out functions as a blanket rule across the animal-care use category in Sec. 306, not a one-off restriction on veterinary clinics alone.