Spokane Valley, WA Animal Ordinances: Pet Groomer Rules (2026)

The Spokane Valley Municipal Code defines a 'kennel' as any establishment, other than a licensed animal or veterinary hospital, clinic, or shelter, where six or more dogs or six or more cats, in any combination, are housed, groomed, bred, boarded, trained, or sold, whether commercially or as pets (SVMC Appendix A). A smaller grooming operation, one that handles fewer than six animals at a time in a stand-alone shop, instead falls under the code's 'Animal clinic/veterinary' use, described in Appendix A as 'a facility dedicated to the care of animals, which may include grooming services and short-term boarding,' and classified under the Office use category rather than as a kennel.

020(D) applies. That section limits kennels, doggie day cares, and clinic-associated kennels to commercial and mixed-use zones and imposes four conditions: no outside runs or areas, soundproofing for any structure housing animals built to Chapter 173-60 WAC, one parking space for every 10 animal confinement areas, and compliance with the commercial noise limits set in WAC 173-60-040. These conditions apply on top of the underlying zoning district's permitted-use table and any building or fire code requirements for the structure. 140 SVMC.