Paramount, CA Animal Ordinances: Veterinary Clinic Zoning (2026)

Chapter 17.40 of the Paramount Municipal Code lists uses that the City Council treated as too unusual to fit the ordinary zone classifications. Authority to locate and operate any use on the list is permitted only after first obtaining a conditional use permit in the manner prescribed in Chapter 17.48. Item 8 on the list names animal hospitals, kennels and veterinary offices, and the same item removes them from the R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4 and C-3 zones. No permit application can place a veterinary practice, a boarding kennel or an animal hospital in those districts in the City of Paramount.

The definitions in § 17.04.010 describe a small animal hospital or clinic as an establishment in which veterinary services, clipping, bathing, boarding and other services are rendered to dogs, cats and other small animals and domestic pets. Grooming and boarding sit inside that definition, so a pet groomer that also boards animals is reviewed the same way as a clinic.

Under § 17.48.020 the applicant must substantiate to the Planning Commission or City Council that the use will not adversely affect the health, peace, safety or welfare of people living or working nearby, that the site is adequate in size and shape for yards, walls, fences, parking and loading facilities and landscaping, that the streets serving it are wide enough for the traffic it generates, and that the use is necessary or desirable for the development of the community. The Planning Commission gives public notice under Chapter 17.56 and holds a hearing (§ 17.48.030). Not more than 30 days after the hearing ends it announces its findings by formal resolution, and a copy goes to the applicant within 14 days (§ 17.48.040). Within 10 days after receiving notice of the action, any aggrieved or interested person can appeal in writing to the City Council through the City Clerk, depositing one-half of the filing fee paid on the original application (§ 17.48.050).