DeKalb County, GA Animal Ordinances: Veterinary Clinic Zoning (2026)

Sec. A of the DeKalb County zoning code, "Animal hospitals and veterinary clinics," requires that any building or enclosed structure used as an animal hospital or veterinary clinic, and the activities conducted there, be located at least 100 feet from any single-family residential property zoned or used for residential purposes; the mixed-use MU-1 through MU-5 districts are exempt from that distance rule. No boarding is allowed unless it is connected to medical treatment, and outside runs or kennels are flatly prohibited. Facilities must be managed to minimize objectionable odors.

Where a clinic occupies the ground floor of a mixed-use or multi-tenant building and shares a wall, ceiling or floor with another tenant, sound transmission to the adjoining space cannot exceed 50 decibels. Clinics located within the MU-1 through MU-5 districts carry extra limits: they are capped at 2,500 square feet, must be outpatient-only, and cannot keep any animal overnight unless required for medical treatment. Sidewalks adjacent to the facility must be kept clean, and the owner or operator must provide a doggy-waste disposal station immediately outside the building and empty it daily.

The same standards apply to a veterinary clinic that is accessory to or combined with a pet supply store. A veterinary clinic that operates as a drive-through facility, as defined in Sec. 1. These rules govern unincorporated DeKalb only; a clinic inside Dunwoody, Brookhaven, Tucker, Stonecrest, Decatur or any of the county's other cities follows that city's own zoning code instead.