Ocala, FL Animal Ordinances: Veterinary Clinic Zoning (2026)

Section 122-3 defines a veterinarian office as 'an establishment in which animals are provided veterinarian services by a trained veterinarian,' expressly noting it 'may include grooming and boarding facilities.' Table 122-287 then assigns that use across the city's zoning districts. It is permitted outright in the A-1 agricultural district, and again by right in the B-2, B-2A, B-3C, B-4, B-5, SC, and M-1 commercial and industrial districts. In the O-1 office district the use carries footnote X32, which ties it to the code's architectural review requirement under section 122-526(2).

In the OP office park district, a veterinarian office is not permitted by right at all; it needs a special exception ('SE') from the zoning board of adjustment under division 3 of article II. The B-1 and B-1A neighborhood commercial districts carry footnote X7, defined in the table's legend as 'Veterinarian office, no overnight boarding,' so a clinic in either district can treat animals during business hours but cannot keep patients overnight, unlike the unrestricted boarding the base definition otherwise allows. The residential districts (R-1, R-2, R-3), RZL, RBH, OH, MH, RO, M-2, M-3, and INST columns are blank in the table, meaning a veterinarian office is prohibited outright in every straight residential zone and in the heavier industrial and institutional districts.

Any dispute over how the building official classifies or locates a proposed veterinarian use can be appealed to the board of adjustment under section 122-6(e), unless a code enforcement case is already pending on the same classification question.