Okaloosa County, FL Animal Ordinances: Veterinary Clinic Zoning (2026)

General Commercial (C-3) is the Land Development Code district where the county allows animal hospitals, veterinary clinics, commercial kennels, and animal boarding as a matter of right, listed in Section 2.10.04(12) among two dozen permitted commercial uses. The permission comes with one operative condition: no outside cages or runs may be located closer than 100 feet from any residence or residential zoning district. The rule targets exactly the noise and odor concerns a boarding kennel or veterinary hospital raises for neighbors, without banning the use outright.

C-3 also carries a set of optional 'performance criteria' the county can attach to a specific rezoning under Section 2.10.07, including Criteria A, 'low impact commercial,' which layers on a 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. operating window, a ban on outside storage, and a requirement that no continuous light or glare, odor, or dust extend onto adjacent property, on top of the noise limits in Sections 9.01.00 and 9.02.00. A veterinary use approved under one of these performance overlays answers to both the 100-foot outdoor-cage setback and whatever criteria attach to that specific C-3 parcel.

The 100-foot measurement runs to the nearest residence or the boundary of a residential zoning district, not just to a property line, so a clinic building can still be sited close to a lot line if the residential structure or district itself sits farther back.