Lancaster, CA Animal Ordinances: Veterinary Clinic Zoning (2026)

240 as any facility providing medical or surgical treatment, clipping, bathing and similar services to dogs, cats and other small animals, but the definition specifically excludes boarding or keeping animals on site other than those needing emergency treatment or anesthesia recovery. 040 places 'veterinary offices' inside the broader 'Services - Commercial' category, alongside uses like dry cleaners, mortuaries and answering services. That category is a permitted (P) use in the C and CPD commercial zones, marked with an asterisk because dry cleaning or laundry plants within the same category need a conditional use permit; veterinary offices themselves carry no such extra requirement.

The same category is not allowed (N/A) in the Office Professional (OP) zone, so a vet clinic cannot locate in an OP-zoned building even though other professional office uses can. The matrix draws a sharp line between a veterinary clinic and a boarding kennel: 'Boarding Kennels' is marked not allowed (N/A) across the C, CPD and OP zones, and 'Animal Shelter - Public Agency Operated' is likewise N/A in all three. A veterinary practice that wants to board healthy animals overnight, rather than only animals under emergency or post-anesthesia care, falls outside the small-animal veterinary clinic definition and would need to locate under the separate, more restrictive kennel-use rules instead.