Wayne County, IN Animal Ordinances: Pet Groomer Rules (2026)

Wayne County Code § 156.004 defines a DOMESTIC PET GROOMING FACILITY as any lot or premises with a facility to primarily groom domestic pets, distinguishing it from a boarding facility by holding time: animals typically held less than 24 hours are grooming, and a facility that more often than not holds an animal past 24 hours is treated as a boarding operation instead, which triggers different zoning rules. Section 156.076(E), in the A-1 Agricultural District special exceptions list, names 'commercial dog breeder, unlimited kennel and domestic pet grooming facility' together as uses that are not permitted by right.

Under § 156.076(A), those uses require a special exception approved 'in accordance with the provisions of §§ 156.505 through 156.508,' meaning an applicant files with the County Plan Administrator (§ 156.506), gets a public hearing before the Board of Zoning Appeals (§ 156.505), and can only be approved if the Board finds the use will not be unduly detrimental to the surrounding area. The Board may attach conditions on parking, refuse areas, screening and buffering under § 156.507, and § 156.508 lets the Board revisit and potentially withdraw approval if construction or the use does not commence within 12 months.

Because the requirement sits in the A-1 Agricultural District special-exceptions list, a pet grooming facility proposed on land not zoned A-1 in unincorporated Wayne County falls outside this specific pathway and needs a different zoning review.