Alexandria, VA Animal Ordinances: Pet Groomer Rules (2026)

1 folds day-to-day grooming and training into the broader "personal service" use category by naming "animal care facility with no overnight accommodation" as one of the businesses that qualifies. Because personal service is a permitted, by-right use in Alexandria's office and commercial zones, for example Section 4-902(H) lists "personal service" among the uses permitted outright in the OCM(50)/Office Commercial Medium (50) zone, a pet groomer that does not board animals overnight can open in those zones without a special use permit, subject only to the standard building permit and business-license process.

The moment a groomer adds overnight boarding, the classification changes. 1(A) requires that an "animal care facility with overnight accommodation" obtain administrative special use approval and be located within a commercial complex, a pattern repeated across Alexandria's commercial and office zones. This two-tier structure, by-right for grooming and training only, administrative special use for boarding, is consistent citywide, though the exact zones where personal service is permitted differ by district, so an applicant should confirm the use table for the specific parcel with Planning & Zoning staff before signing a lease.