Sussex County, DE Animal Ordinances: Veterinary Clinic Zoning (2026)

Sussex County's Chapter 115 Zoning Code treats veterinary clinics and animal hospitals as an as-of-right permitted use, not a conditional use requiring Board of Adjustment approval, across most of the county's commercial, institutional and mixed-use zoning districts, but the rule attached to the use differs by district. 2(A)(11). 18(A)(11), separates the two uses: commercial kennels still need the 200-foot residential buffer and 50-foot property-line buffer, but an "Animal hospital or veterinary clinic" is listed on its own with no distance requirement attached. 40(A)(30)), and the LI-2 Light Industrial District (§ 115-102(A)(30)) likewise list "Animal hospital and veterinary clinics" or "Animal hospital, or animal pounds" among permitted uses without any accompanying setback, meaning the 200-foot buffer only attaches where open pens or kennel runs are part of the operation.

These district rules govern only the unincorporated county; a clinic inside Georgetown, Rehoboth Beach, Lewes, Milford, Seaford or Bethany Beach falls under that town's own zoning code instead. A veterinary use proposed for a district where it isn't listed, such as the AR-1 Agricultural Residential District, requires either a rezoning or a conditional use application to the Sussex County Planning and Zoning Commission before the Director of Planning and Zoning can issue a permit.