Lee County, NC Animal Ordinances: Veterinary Clinic Zoning (2026)

Section 5.3 of the Lee County Unified Development Ordinance applies to any facility offering on-site services for animals, including the commercial boarding or storage of live animals such as veterinarian hospitals, kennels and animal shelters. Under 5.3.2.1, every building, structure and facility connected with the use must sit at least 500 feet from any residential structure. Section 5.3.2.2 requires that animal waste be stored no closer than 50 feet from any property line or surface water, and that it be removed every day, addressing odor and runoff before it becomes a nuisance complaint.

Any outdoor area used for grazing, exercising or training the animals must be securely fenced under 5.3.2.3, or the operator must provide a suitable restraint to keep animals from straying onto neighboring land. Section 5.3.2.4 requires that any kennel not fully enclosed within a building be surrounded by a security fence at least six feet high. The ordinance carves out a lighter track for veterinarian outpatient clinics in section 5.3.3: a clinic that only treats and cares for animals during the course of medical or surgical treatment, with no outside facilities or accessory animal structures, no boarding or grooming beyond what treatment requires, and construction that minimizes sound escaping through exterior walls and roofs, can substitute those three standards for the 500-foot, waste-storage and fencing rules in 5.3.2. Lee County Community Development reviews these standards as part of the zoning clearance and site plan process before a facility opens.