Sterling council to hold Aug. 25 hearing on veterinary zoning proposal
The proposed code change would make veterinary clinics and hospitals a conditional use throughout the city’s Medical Services zoning district.
Sterling City Council is scheduled to hold a public hearing and second reading Aug. 25 on a proposed zoning change that would allow veterinary clinics and hospitals as conditional uses throughout the Medical Services district.
The Aug. 25 council agenda lists the public hearing and second reading of Ordinance No. 8, Series of 2026. The meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at 421 N. Fourth St.
The proposed ordinance would create a district-wide code pathway for veterinary facilities, rather than addressing only Porsche Robison’s previously approved conditional-use request for a clinic at 625 and 627 Holly Drive.
Under the proposed rules, veterinary facilities — including treatment rooms, cages, pens, kennels and exercise runs — would have to operate in a completely enclosed, soundproof building. The ordinance also would require odor controls designed to eliminate offensive emissions and limit sound to 65 decibels at any adjacent property line. Those provisions are proposed and are not yet final code language.
The council approved Robison’s conditional-use request July 14. The council’s proceedings record said the approval was conditioned on related zoning-code amendments and adding a definition for “small animals” if the term was not already defined.
The clinic remains a proposal, not an operating business. A July 20 Journal-Advocate report said the practice was expected to open in the coming months in a former dental office in the 600 block of Holly Drive. The public record reviewed does not provide an opening date or confirm that it has opened.
As of Aug. 23, the hearing and second reading had not occurred. The council could approve, amend, table or reject the ordinance; the packet contains no final vote, adoption date or effective date.