Twin Falls County, ID Animal Ordinances: Veterinary Clinic Zoning (2026)

Twin Falls County's zoning ordinance places veterinary clinics and dog kennels among the principal designated (by-right) uses of the Commercial Zone (C), item 15 on the list at County Code section 8-6E-2, alongside pet stores, medical offices and pharmacies. The Commercial Zone exists, under section 8-6E-1, to serve travel-related services, retail sales, professional offices and neighborhood commercial needs, and to group light industrial uses so they stay unobtrusive to surrounding property owners. Because a veterinary clinic is a principal permitted use rather than a conditional use, an operator does not need a public hearing before the Planning and Zoning Commission; the applicable process is the building/zoning permit under section 8-3-4, which requires an application to the Planning and Zoning Department accompanied by a plat showing the size and location of existing and proposed buildings, the zone the parcel sits in, and proof of property ownership.

The Board of County Commissioners may set processing fees under section 8-3-5, payable when the application is filed. Section 8-2-2 separately defines an 'animal clinic or veterinary office' as any building used for the care or treatment of cats, dogs or other small animals and domestic pets, including clipping, bathing and boarding, and distinguishes a veterinary hospital from a clinic only by whether a licensed veterinarian is on site. The current use list took effect August 26, 2026, when Ordinance 295 repealed and replaced the prior Commercial Zone use table, originally adopted by Ordinance 21 in 1998, but kept dog kennels and veterinary clinics as item 15 among the permitted uses.