Washington County, UT Animal Ordinances: Veterinary Clinic Zoning (2026)
Key Facts
- Permitted zones
- C-2, C-3, PDC
- Not permitted
- C-1 Convenience Commercial
- Use condition
- Completely enclosed building
- Animal crematorium
- PS use, needs vet clinic license
- Civil penalty
- $250/day after cure period
Summary
Washington County's commercial use chart permits animal hospitals and veterinary clinics, including overnight small-animal care, as a matter of right in the C-2, C-3 and PDC zones, but not in the C-1 Convenience Commercial zone.
COMMERCIAL USE CHART Uses C-1 C-2 C-3 PDC Animal services, limited to the following: Animal boarding/care for small animals only and boarded for P P P less than 30 days a year in a completely enclosed building Animal hospital and veterinary clinic, including overnight P P P care of small animals in a completely enclosed building Crematorium, animal (if onsite with County business license for a veterinary clinic; comply with permitted with standards provisions in Title 10, Chapter 18B. If the animal crematorium is in a commercial district, the district shall PS PS PS not be adjacent to any residential zoning district (R, FR, RA, RE or SFR) where the minimum lot size is 2.5 acres or less).
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-17: Code current through: Ord. 2026-1329-O, passed 8-18-2026).
Full Breakdown
Code § 10-10-2, the allowed uses provision for the county's commercial zones (C-1, C-2, C-3 and PDC), lists 'Animal hospital and veterinary clinic, including overnight care of small animals in a completely enclosed building' as a permitted (P) use, but the P marks fall only under the C-2 Highway Commercial, C-3 General Commercial and PDC Planned Development Commercial columns; the C-1 Convenience Commercial column is blank, so a veterinary clinic is not an allowed use in C-1. The section's coding key states that a P use is allowed outright while a PS use must additionally comply with standards and evaluation criteria in the title; veterinary clinics carry no PS conditions beyond the enclosed-building requirement written into the use description itself.
5 acres or less. A veterinary clinic operator in the unincorporated county must also hold a county business license under title 3, chapter 1, since operating any business in the unincorporated area without one is unlawful.
Violations & Fines
Operating a veterinary clinic or animal hospital in a zone where it is not a listed permitted use is enforced under Washington County Code § 10-1-22 as a title 10 zoning violation: a $250-per-day civil penalty following a warning letter and 10-business-day cure period, or prosecution as a class B misdemeanor, with each day of continued violation a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a veterinary clinic operate in any commercial zone in unincorporated Washington County?
Does overnight boarding at a Washington County veterinary clinic require special standards?
Can a veterinary clinic in Washington County add an animal crematorium?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Washington County
Compare Washington County to another location·View the Utah animal ordinances overview
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