La Mesa, CA Animal Ordinances: Pet Groomer Rules (2026)

La Mesa's commercial zoning table at Section 24.06.020(A) lists pet grooming, item 5.m under Retail Sales and Service, as permitted in all four commercial zones: C (General Commercial), CN (Neighborhood Commercial), CD (Downtown Commercial) and CM (Light Industrial and Commercial Service). That is broader than the table's treatment of animal-related uses generally; item 5.i, 'Services for animals, including kennels,' is confined to the CM zone alone, so a pet grooming business is not automatically treated the same as a boarding kennel for zoning purposes. Every use in the commercial zones, including pet grooming, remains subject to the off-street vehicle parking standards of Chapter 24.04, referenced directly in Section 24.06.010.

A grooming business is also subject to the general commercial development standards of Chapter 24.06, including the requirement that commercial uses be conducted within an enclosed building except where a site development plan approves otherwise. If new construction for the grooming business exceeds two thousand five hundred square feet of gross floor area, the project moves from a by-right use into Table B of Section 24.06.020, which requires a site development plan application reviewed by the planning department for consistency with the city's development objectives before it can proceed.