Grays Harbor County, WA Animal Ordinances: Veterinary Clinic Zoning (2026)

Section 17.40.030 sets out the conditional uses the board of adjustment may approve in the RR Rural Residential District, and the list runs through schools, churches, mobile home parks, kennels, veterinary clinics, riding stables, cemeteries, government structures, county fairgrounds and recreational-vehicle parks, at subsections A through L. Grouping veterinary clinics with kennels and riding stables at subsections D through F signals the county treats animal-care and animal-boarding uses the same way: none of them is automatic in a residential zone, and each has to clear the general conditional-use review the code applies to every item on that list, meaning the board of adjustment has to find that the provisions and requirements of the zoning ordinance are fulfilled before signing off.

Unlike the district's kennel definition at § 17.08.010, which sets a numeric threshold of four or more dogs or cats kept on a property, the code does not define veterinary clinic separately, so the term carries its plain meaning: a facility for the practice of veterinary medicine. A clinic that also boards animals overnight would likely need to satisfy both the veterinary-clinic and kennel conditional-use listings, since the kennel definition captures any premises housing four or more dogs or cats regardless of the primary business.