Walton County, FL Animal Ordinances: Veterinary Clinic Zoning (2026)

01 marks which zoning districts allow each category as a primary, conditional or special-exception use. Under Agriculture Uses, permitted in rural districts such as Large Scale Agriculture, General Agriculture, Estate Residential, Rural Low Density, Rural Residential and Rural Village, the code lists "veterinary offices and animal hospitals with outside kennels" alongside cropland, feedlots and boarding stables, meaning a rural-zoned clinic can keep animals in open-air runs. The General Commercial and Neighborhood Commercial categories list plain "veterinary offices and animal hospitals" with no kennel-type restriction stated.

But Light Industrial Uses, which layers in manufacturing and trade-shop activity, permits veterinary offices only "with fully enclosed runs, yards, pens, and kennels," so a clinic sited on light-industrial land cannot keep animals outdoors and must contain them within an enclosed structure. A separate Functionally Agricultural Related Uses category, found in the county's rural areas, lists "kennels and veterinary services" among farm-support businesses such as equipment repair and feed sales. Before applying for a site plan or building permit through Planning and Development Services, a veterinary-clinic operator has to confirm both the parcel's zoning category on the Official Zoning Map and whether that category's kennel language matches the intended outdoor or enclosed layout.