Salem, OR Animal Ordinances: Pet Groomer Rules (2026)

UDC Sec. 120(e) classifies 'animal services' as veterinary, grooming, and other services for pets, livestock, and other animals, and lists animal grooming, animal day care, veterinary services, and wildlife rehabilitation facilities as examples of the classification; pet stores that merely sell animals or supplies fall under retail sales instead, per the exception written into that same subsection. Where a groomer can actually locate depends on the zone-specific use tables. In the General Commercial (CG) zone, Table 523-1 under Sec. 005 lists animal services as permitted (P), but only for two named activities, small animal veterinary services and grooming of household pets, and only 'when conducted within a completely enclosed building'; the table separately marks 'all other animal services', which would include boarding kennels and larger-animal veterinary work, as prohibited (N) in that zone.

A groomer operating out of a van, an open-air stall, or a partially covered structure does not meet the enclosed-building condition and is not a permitted use in CG. Grooming that takes place inside a resident's own home is instead evaluated as a home occupation under Sec. 020, which caps such businesses to one nonresident employee, forbids on-site sales, and limits accessory structure floor area to five percent of the lot. A groomer that wants to operate as a stand-alone commercial business, rather than a home occupation, needs a site zoned for the animal services use, such as CG, with the building fully enclosed before opening.