Clay, NY Animal Ordinances: Pet Groomer Rules (2026)

Section 230-11 defines 'animal care/training facility' as a primary or accessory use where dogs and cats are temporarily present for nonmedical care such as grooming, or for training programs like obedience, companion or seeing-eye instruction, or competitive activities such as hunting or retrieving. The use may include retail product sales or space for shows, but the definition specifically excludes any facility that boards or breeds animals, which falls instead under the separate 'animal boarding/breeding facility' category. Clay does not allow a grooming or training business by right in any district.

In the RA-100 Residential Agricultural District, § 230-13 places it on the list requiring Town Board special permit approval, with an optional advisory referral to the Planning Board, alongside uses like an animal boarding/breeding facility or a veterinary care facility. The Regional Commercial (RC-1) district lists it under the same Town Board special permit tier under § 230-16. In the I-1 Industrial 1 District, § 230-17 added animal care/training facility to its Town Board special permit list by Local Law No. 7-2016, effective September 7, 2016, alongside uses like motor vehicle storage and hospitals/clinics.

Because the approval sits with the Town Board rather than the Planning Board or a building permit clerk, an applicant faces a public hearing and board discretion over site plan, hours, noise and traffic before a grooming business can lawfully operate in any of these districts.