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

Santee Municipal Code § 13.21.030, "Use regulations," governs the Residential Business (R-B) district, a zone created under § 13.21.020 to let single-family residences convert to low-intensity commercial or office uses in transitional neighborhoods next to more intensive commercial areas. Table 13.21.030A lists item 9, "Pet grooming services," marked "P," meaning it is permitted outright in the R-B district alongside comparable neighborhood-serving uses such as bike repair, tailor or seamstress shops, shoe repair, and locksmith shops; no conditional use permit or minor conditional use permit is required.

Because R-B allows every use permitted in the R-2 base district under Table 13.10.030A on top of the specialized list in Table 13.21.030A, a groomer can also operate inside a residential structure that keeps its residential character. Santee Municipal Code § 13.04.140 separately defines "animal care facility" to include grooming, and Table 13.12.030A elsewhere permits a combined "animal hospital, veterinarian, commercial kennel, grooming" use in the Neighborhood Commercial and General Commercial districts, so a standalone grooming shop has at least three zoning pathways into the City depending on the district.

Development Services (Planning Division) reviews building permits and any tenant improvement for the site, and Code Compliance enforces against grooming operations sited outside these permitted districts, such as in the Office/Professional (OP) or Park/Open Space districts where the use is not listed. An unpermitted use is treated like any other municipal code violation, subject to misdemeanor or infraction prosecution under §§ 1.04.050 through 1.04.070, with each day counted separately under § 1.04.030, or an administrative fine of up to $5,000.00 per violation under §§ 1.04.080 and 1.08.020.