Fresno County, CA Animal Ordinances: Veterinary Clinic Zoning (2026)

350 of the Fresno County Zoning Ordinance sets standards for any "completely enclosed structure designed, arranged, and intended to be used for the medical treatment and care incidental to small animals," meaning dogs, cats and similar household pets. The section expressly excludes facilities treating bovine animals, horses, sheep, goats, or swine from its small-animal standards; those are handled instead as commercial stables or large-animal veterinary/animal hospital uses under the county's separate use tables. Two operative standards apply to every qualifying facility. First, the structure must be designed and constructed so that sound emitted through exterior walls or roofs enclosing areas where animals are kenneled or treated does not exceed 65 decibels, a fixed acoustic ceiling rather than a discretionary noise-nuisance test.

Second, no incineration is allowed on-site, meaning animal remains or medical waste cannot be burned at the facility. 350, with the tables showing the use permitted outright in some zones, subject to Director's Review and Approval in others, and requiring a discretionary Conditional Use Permit in others depending on the underlying zone district. Large-animal veterinary clinics and animal hospitals are tracked in a separate table entry, "Veterinary Clinics and Animal Hospitals," which likewise varies by zone. The ordinance's glossary defines "Veterinary clinics and animal hospitals" broadly to include grooming and temporary boarding of animals for up to 30 days when incidental to the hospital use, folding short-stay boarding into the veterinary use classification rather than treating it as a separate kennel use.