Owensboro, KY Animal Ordinances: Pet Groomer Rules (2026)

Owensboro regulates pet grooming through the joint Owensboro-Daviess County Zoning Ordinance, Appendix F, rather than through a separate business license chapter. Section 8.2's Zones and Uses Table lists "Pet grooming" under Use Group I, Animal Related, and cross-references Note 51 in Section 8.4, which limits the use to grooming "without boarding facilities." Once an operator keeps animals overnight, the business shifts into the "Kennel, commercial" category, which carries its own siting condition: Note 35 requires any kennel, animal hospital, or veterinarian's office to sit at least 100 feet from a Residential Zone. A stand-alone groomer that boards no animals avoids that separation requirement and can locate in zones where grooming is principally permitted or allowed as an accessory use to a related retail or veterinary business.

Before opening, an operator applies to the Zoning Administrator for a building permit and, where required, a certificate of occupancy under Article V of the ordinance; the Administrator cannot issue either unless the proposed use conforms to the ordinance's literal terms. Parking is calculated separately: Appendix F Section 13.8's Table of Minimum Off-Street Parking Requirements sets pet grooming at one space for every 300 square feet of "parking floor area," a higher parking ratio than the 1-per-200-square-feet standard applied to a full-service animal hospital or veterinary office in the same table. Any change of use, such as adding boarding kennels or grooming vans that operate off-site, requires a fresh review by the Zoning Administrator, since a permit issued in conflict with the ordinance's use and parking standards is void under Section 5.12.