Owensboro, KY Animal Ordinances: Veterinary Clinic Zoning (2026)

Veterinary offices in Owensboro fall under Use Group I, Animal Related, in Appendix F Section 8.2's Zones and Uses Table, alongside animal hospitals and clinics, commercial and non-commercial kennels, and pet grooming and training. Appendix F Section 8.4, Note 35 applies a single 100-foot separation to three of those uses together: a kennel, an animal hospital, or an office of a veterinarian must sit at least 100 feet from any Residential Zone, and the ordinance measures that distance from the structure or use itself, not from any accessory parking area attached to it. The 100-foot buffer distinguishes a full veterinary practice, which can board and treat animals overnight, from a stand-alone pet grooming business, which Note 51 permits only "without boarding facilities" and without the 100-foot residential setback.

Parking is set separately in Appendix F Section 13.8's Table of Minimum Off-Street Parking Requirements: an animal hospital or clinic and a veterinarian office each require one off-street parking space for every 200 square feet of "parking floor area," a tighter ratio than the 1-per-300-square-feet standard set for pet grooming and the 5-plus-1-per-employee standard set for a commercial kennel in the same table. A veterinary office seeking a building permit submits a site plan to the Zoning Administrator under Article V, showing the 100-foot residential setback and the required parking count before construction can begin, and the Board of Adjustment reviews any use proposed in a zone where veterinary offices are only conditionally permitted.