Kenosha County, WI Animal Ordinances: Pet Groomer Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- BP-1 exclusion
- Animal grooming salons barred from professional-office use
- Also excluded
- Veterinarians, veterinary hospitals, dog kennels, funeral homes
- By-right path
- Personal service establishments principal use in B-2
- Vet-attached grooming
- Falls under animal-hospital conditional-use standards instead
- Applies in
- Unincorporated towns adopting county zoning only
- Penalty
- $10-$500 forfeiture per day of violation
Summary
Kenosha County's BP-1 Business Park District won't let a grooming shop operate under the 'Professional offices' principal use. Section 12.33.070(b)(20) lists accountants, attorneys, physicians and similar occupations as professional offices but 'specifically excludes veterinarians, veterinary hospitals, animal grooming salons, dog kennels, and funeral homes,' pushing groomers toward the Personal Service Establishments use permitted instead in the B-2 Community Business District.
20. Professional offices which include the following professional and semiprofessional occupations: accountants, architects, attorneys, dentists, engineers, insurance agents, medical clinics, real estate agents, personal or family counselors, chiropractors, physical therapists, physicians, public secretaries, surgeons, or any other offices or professions which are of the same general character as the foregoing, but specifically excludes veterinarians, veterinary hospitals, animal grooming salons, dog kennels, and funeral homes. ... 32. Personal service establishments
Full Breakdown
070(c)(3) caps support services such as office supply stores, copy centers, travel agencies and day care centers at 25 percent of building or tenant area, none of which reaches a grooming operation. 020(b)(32) for the B-2 Community Business District, alongside 'Pet shops' at item 33 of the same list, both permitted principal uses there rather than conditional uses. 080(b)(6), which requires enclosed, noise-deadened construction set back 100 feet from any property line. 030(a) confines all of this to unincorporated areas of townships that adopted county zoning; grooming shops inside the City of Kenosha or the county's villages answer to those municipalities' own codes.
Violations & Fines
Operating an animal grooming salon under a use category the district doesn't authorize, such as claiming it as a BP-1 professional office, draws a compliance order from the Department of Planning and Development. General penalties under section 12.53.010 apply chapter-wide: forfeitures of $10 to $500 per violation plus court costs and attorney fees, with up to 30 days in the county jail for nonpayment, and each day of continued noncompliance charged as a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a pet grooming salon locate in Kenosha County's Business Park District?
Where does county zoning allow a stand-alone grooming business?
Does a different rule apply if the groomer works inside a vet clinic?
Does this section govern a grooming shop inside the City of Kenosha?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Kenosha County
Compare Kenosha County to another location·View the Wisconsin animal ordinances overview
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