Harford County, MD Animal Ordinances: Veterinary Clinic Zoning (2026)

Veterinary practices for large animals are one of the special exception uses listed in § 267-88H, 'Specific standards,' of the Harford County Zoning Code, meaning they are not permitted by right and require Board of Appeals approval plus whatever conditions the Board attaches. Under § 267-88H(10), the AG District is the only district where the use may be granted, and the parcel must be at least 3 acres, the same floor set for funeral homes in the same section but smaller than the 5-acre minimum required for kennels or overnight animal shelters.

Access must come directly from an arterial or collector road rather than a local residential street, and a Type 'A' buffer under § 267-30 must separate the parking area from any adjoining residential lot. Outdoor holding areas and animal runs (printed in the Code as 'runways') must sit at least 200 feet back from every lot line, the same 200-foot setback the Code applies to kennels and other overnight-animal-shelter buildings elsewhere in § 267-88H. A veterinary use that does not fall under 'veterinary practice, large animals' is a different use category evaluated under whatever standard applies to it; this record covers only the large-animal veterinary use expressly named in § 267-88H(10).

Applicants bring their request to the Harford County Board of Appeals, which grants special exceptions under this section, while the Director of Planning and Zoning administers the underlying code. Once approved, a clinic stays subject to the buffer and setback conditions attached to the grant, and altering the operation in a way that breaches those conditions exposes the owner to zoning enforcement.