Las Cruces, NM Animal Ordinances: Veterinary Clinic Zoning (2026)

Sec. 38-33 of the Las Cruces Land Development Code sets the citywide land-use table governing where a veterinary facility may operate. Under Sec. 38-33C, Agriculture & Equestrian Land Uses, "Veterinary Facility" is marked an allowed (A) use only in the EE Equestrian Estate & Agriculture district and the REM Residential Estate Mobile district among residential zones, plus the C-3 Commercial High Intensity, M-T Industrial Light, M-1/M-2 Industrial Standard and M-3 Industrial Heavy districts. It carries no marking, meaning it is prohibited outright, in RE Residential Estate, R-1c/R-1a/R-1b and their mobile counterparts, R-2, R-3, R-4, O-1, O-2, C-1 and C-2.

That places a veterinary clinic in the same permitted-use category as agricultural operations like horse boarding and animal raising in the low-density farm districts, but otherwise confines it to the city's most intensive commercial and industrial corridors. The same table row fixes parking at 1 Auto Parking Stall (APS) per 450 square feet of gross floor area and 1 Bicycle Parking Stall (BPS) per 20 employees on the maximum shift, tying capacity directly to building size and staffing rather than to a flat minimum. A separate standard applies inside the University District Overlay created by Sec.

38-44: within the UD-Transition Zone a veterinary facility is allowed only as a conditional use and must "Close 10 PM," while it is not permitted at all in the UD-Convention Zone; it is allowed by right only in the UD-University Avenue Zone. Any applicant proposing a clinic outside these approved zones needs a rezoning or a determination from the Community Development Director under Sec. 38-30 that the use is similar to another allowed use, appealable to the Planning and Zoning Commission. A private kennel or cattery kept as an accessory residential use is regulated separately under Sec. 38-33B by reference to Chapter 7 of the Municipal Code, not under this veterinary facility classification.