Monterey Park, CA Animal Ordinances: Veterinary Clinic Zoning (2026)

Monterey Park's zoning code defines domestic veterinary services at Section 21.04.921 as a place where animals or pets commonly kept in a residential area are given medical or surgical treatment, where boarding is limited to short-term care incidental to the hospital use; the code folds animal hospital into the same definition. Table 21.10(A), the permitted-use matrix for the city's commercial zones adopted under Section 21.10.030, lists Veterinary Services, Domestic with the letter code X, expressly prohibited, in the N-S (Neighborhood Shopping), C-B (Central Business), R-S, and C-P (Commercial-Professional) zones.

The use is permitted outright, marked P, only in the C-S (Commercial Services) zone. In the S-C (Shopping Center) zone it carries a C, meaning it is permitted subject to approval of a conditional use permit. A veterinary clinic operator looking at a Garvey Avenue or Atlantic Boulevard storefront has to check the underlying commercial zoning designation before signing a lease: a C-S parcel needs no discretionary approval, an S-C parcel needs a CUP application, and the remaining four commercial zones will not accept the use at all regardless of permit sought.

The table's legend defines X as expressly prohibited and C as requiring conditional use permit approval, so there is no administrative variance path around a zone marked X; only a zone change or a use the City Planner separately finds comparable under Section 21.02.120 could open the door.