Lakewood, CA Animal Ordinances: Pet Groomer Rules (2026)

Section 9340, Uses Permitted, item 32 of the C-1 (Neighborhood Commercial) Zone regulations, groups pet grooming and training together with pet shops, veterinarian offices, and animal hospitals under a single category the code calls Pet Care Services. The provision allows these businesses to operate with 24-hour daily care, which matters for boarding-adjacent grooming operations that keep animals overnight for early pickup, but it conditions that flexibility on two performance standards that apply to the whole category. , a rule aimed squarely at nighttime barking and disturbance in a commercial strip that sits close to residential lots.

Second, the animal and operational noise the business generates cannot exceed 65 dBA measured at any adjoining property line, a single objective decibel ceiling rather than a case-by-case nuisance standard, which gives Code Enforcement a bright-line test rather than a subjective one. The same item 32 draws a zoning line that matters for anyone planning a larger operation: Domestic Animal Boarding, meaning dog and cat daycare, is not included as a C-1 use at all and is only allowed in the C-3 (Intermediate Commercial) Zone, so a groomer that wants to add all-day daycare needs a C-3 location rather than a C-1 storefront.

Because grooming is listed as a permitted use rather than one requiring a conditional use permit, a qualifying groomer does not need discretionary Planning and Environment Commission approval, only compliance with these operating conditions and Lakewood's standard business license process.