Dorchester County, SC Animal Ordinances: Veterinary Clinic Zoning (2026)

Article VI, Use Group 15, Medical, defines the use as "Establishments engaged in the science and art of preventing, curing, or alleviating disease, including medical, surgical, psychiatric and dental hospitals, clinics and offices, and veterinary clinics." The county's own amendment history confirms County Council adopted an amendment on November 17, 2025 that "amended Article VI to allow veterinary clinics in Use Group 15(b)," so the veterinary-clinic language in the current definition reflects that 2025 change rather than the original 2004 ordinance text.

Placement in the district use tables is limited. Section 7.4.3, the R-3 Single-Family Residential district's conditional-use table, lists "15(a),(b),(c),(e) Professional Offices" among the uses the district may permit subject to Section 10.4. Section 10.4.12, Professional Offices In Residential Districts, sets the specific conditions: parking "shall be provided to the side or rear of the principal structure," a commercial entrance "meeting SCDOT or county standards" is required, and the Zoning Administrator "may" require additional buffering and screening "prior to issuance of a zoning permit." Section 9.2.3 separately lists "15(a),(b) Business, Professional Services" as a conditional use in the CV, Conservation District.

Because the use sits inside the general Use Group 15 rather than a veterinary-only category, an applicant filing for a veterinary clinic works through the same conditional-use review as any professional office: demonstrate to the Department of Planning and Zoning that the applicable Section 10.4 siting standards are met before a zoning permit issues.