Jefferson Parish, LA Animal Ordinances: Veterinary Clinic Zoning (2026)
Key Facts
- Outdoor animal areas
- Prohibited, Sec. 33-5.3.5.2(b)
- Boarding cap
- 25% of floor area
- Building size cap
- 25,000 sq ft
- Odor control
- Filtered venting above roofline
- Oversized-site option
- Special permitted use, Sec. 33-2.23
Summary
Jefferson Parish requires every veterinary clinic and animal hospital to keep animals indoors: Sec. 33-5.3.5.2 bans exterior runs, yards, or pens, caps boarding at 25% of floor area, and limits the whole structure to 25,000 square feet, with soundproofing and odor-control systems required to protect neighboring residential property.
(a)All areas where animals are housed shall be totally contained within an interior space.(b)There shall be no exercise runs, yards, pens or other facilities for the care or housing of animals in any exterior space.(c)The structure where animals are kept or housed shall be insulated or soundproofed, including windows and doors, in order to minimize or reduce sounds emanating from within the structure and shall comply with section 20-102, noise...(f)Overnight boarding of animals is permitted for veterinary care and as an accessory use for non-veterinary purposes, provided that in no case shall the area used for boarding exceed twenty-five (25) percent of the floor area of the primary structure.(g)The maximum area of the structure or structures in which the animal hospital or veterinary clinic is located shall be twenty-five thousand (25,000) square feet.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 20 Update 2).
Full Breakdown
Sec. 2 folds veterinary clinics and animal hospitals into the parish's general sales-or-services use standards and treats the use as inherently noise- and odor-sensitive. Subsection (a) requires that all areas where animals are housed be totally contained within an interior space, and subsection (b) is categorical: there shall be no exercise runs, yards, pens, or other facilities for the care or housing of animals in any exterior space. The building has to be built to contain sound: subsection (c) requires the structure to be insulated or soundproofed, including windows and doors, so noise stays under Sec.
20-102's parish noise limits, and subsection (d) bars any window or door opening toward adjacent residentially zoned property other than the main entrance. Odor gets the same treatment: subsection (e) mandates an air ventilation system that filters objectionable odors and vents them above the roofline or parapet. Overnight boarding is allowed, whether for veterinary care or as an accessory boarding business, but subsection (f) caps it at 25 percent of the floor area of the primary structure, and subsection (g) caps the whole hospital or clinic building at 25,000 square feet.
Landscaping has to meet the Commercial Parkway Overlay Zone buffer standard in Sec. 40-476 where it's stricter than the base district. A clinic that can't meet one of these thresholds because of a site constraint isn't automatically barred: subsection (i) lets it apply as a special permitted use under Sec. 23 instead.
Violations & Fines
A veterinary clinic that keeps animals in an outdoor run, exceeds the 25,000-square-foot cap, or lets noise or odor escape the building is out of compliance with Sec. 33-5.3.5.2 and can have its permit withheld or revoked under the UDC's general enforcement powers in Sec. 33-1.13, including a stop-work order or district-court injunction for a use that keeps operating after notice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a Jefferson Parish veterinary clinic have an outdoor dog run?
How big can a Jefferson Parish animal hospital be?
What happens if a clinic site can't meet these standards?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Jefferson Parish
Compare Jefferson Parish to another location·View the Louisiana animal ordinances overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.