Tracy, CA Animal Ordinances: Veterinary Clinic Zoning (2026)

The Tracy Municipal Code separately defines two veterinary use types in its zoning definitions article. Section 10.08.895 defines a "veterinary clinic" as an establishment for the general health, welfare, surgery and preventative treatment of household pets, requiring that all uses be conducted within a completely enclosed building. Section 10.08.900 defines the broader "veterinary hospital" as an establishment for the care and treatment of animals, including household pets, livestock and commercial poultry, again requiring the facility to be within a completely enclosed building, with a narrow exception carved out for exercising runs and the parking of automobiles.

The zoning location limit sits in the permitted-use tables at Section 10.08.1080, Article 5 (Use Groups for All Zones). Use Group No. 42 ("Consumer services and retail trade") item (d) restricts veterinary clinics to three zoning districts: NS, CS and GHC. Within the NS zone specifically, a veterinary clinic cannot exceed 3,000 square feet of gross floor area, a size cap that does not appear for the CS or GHC zones. Section 10.08.1050 explains how the use-group table works: the first column lists zones where a use group is permitted outright, the second lists zones where it is only permitted with a conditional use permit issued under Article 34, and where a specific zone's own regulations list a use directly, those specific listings control over the general use-group table. Section 10.08.1070 backstops the whole scheme: any use not authorized in a zone by Article 5, whether as a principal, conditional, special or accessory use, is prohibited in that zone until it is affirmatively authorized through the unlisted-use procedure.