San Luis Obispo County, CA Animal Ordinances: Veterinary Clinic Zoning (2026)

Sec. 100 regulates specialized animal facilities separately from general animal keeping under Sec. 090, and Subsection B addresses animal hospitals and veterinary medical facilities specifically. The minimum site area is 6,000 square feet in the Office, Commercial, Industrial and Public Facilities land use categories, and one acre in any other category where the use is allowed. Where a veterinary facility sits in the Agriculture, Rural Lands or Recreation categories, any animal enclosure must be set back 100 feet from a dwelling other than those on the same site; in other categories, the standard Sec.

140 setbacks apply instead. Access must come from a paved, publicly maintained road, and when the facility is in an Office and Professional or Commercial category, all veterinary activities must be conducted entirely inside a building rather than in outdoor pens. Operationally, care and boarding are limited to small animals; cattle, horses and swine cannot be boarded except in the Agriculture, Rural Lands, Commercial Service or Industrial categories. Every specialized animal facility, including veterinary hospitals, must include rodent and vector control measures approved by the Agricultural Commissioner and Health Department as part of the permit application, and the premises must be kept clean through daily waste removal and use of disinfectants; waste incineration is prohibited outright.