Warren, MI Animal Ordinances: Veterinary Clinic Zoning (2026)

Warren's zoning ordinance addresses veterinary uses inside Article XIV, the C-2 General Business District. Section 14.01 lists the uses permitted in C-2 without a special land use hearing, and subsection (c) states plainly: 'Veterinary clinic and dog kennels, when all are enclosed within a building.' The clause does the regulatory work in a single sentence: a veterinary practice or kennel is by-right in C-2, but only if the clinic, exam rooms, boarding runs and any kennel space are contained inside a structure with walls and a roof. An outdoor run, tie-out area or open pen attached to the same use falls outside what subsection (c) authorizes.

Because Section 15.01(a) of Article XV, the C-3 Wholesale and Intensive Business District, incorporates 'All uses permitted in a C-2 District,' the same enclosed-building veterinary and kennel use also carries over into C-3 zoning by cross-reference, without a separate C-3 clause spelling it out again. There is no equivalent listing for the C-1 Local Business District, R-zoned residential parcels, or the industrial M-districts, so a veterinary clinic proposed outside a C-2 or C-3 parcel needs either a rezoning or a use variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals rather than relying on Section 14.01(c).

The requirement is enforced as an ordinary zoning compliance matter. The City's zoning administrator, chief zoning inspector or a zoning inspector is authorized under Section 1-11(b)(5)a of the Code of Ordinances to issue municipal civil infraction citations for violations of the zoning ordinance in Appendix A, which covers Section 14.01(c). A site plan showing enclosed construction is reviewed at the building permit stage before a certificate of occupancy issues for the clinic or kennel space.