Kent, WA Animal Ordinances: Veterinary Clinic Zoning (2026)

Kent's zoning code splits veterinary uses into two defined terms. KCC 15.02.545 defines a "veterinary clinic" as any premises to which animals are brought, or where they are temporarily kept, solely for diagnosis or treatment of illness or injury, and which does not have outdoor runs. KCC 15.02.550 defines a "veterinary hospital" the same way except that it may have outdoor runs. Both fall under the single line item "Veterinary clinics and veterinary hospitals" in the service land use table at KCC 15.04.090, where the use is marked Conditional (C) in the A-10 agricultural district and Principally Permitted (P), subject to development condition 8, across Kent's other service, commercial and industrial zoning districts.

Condition 8, codified at KCC 15.04.100(8), is the operative standard: the clinic or hospital must be located no closer than 150 feet to any residential use, the animals must be housed indoors with no outside runs, and the building itself must be soundproofed, with the soundproofing designed by competent acoustical engineers. A site plan or building permit application that does not meet the 150-foot separation, that proposes outdoor animal runs, or that lacks an engineered soundproofing plan does not satisfy the service land use table entry and cannot be approved as submitted.

Zoning compliance in Kent is mandatory rather than advisory: KCC 15.03.040(A) provides that no land, building, or premises may be used for any purpose other than one included among the uses listed as permitted in the district where the property sits. The city's Economic and Community Development Department reviews veterinary use applications against both the 15.04.090 table entry and the 15.04.100(8) condition before issuing land use or building permits.