Pet Service Space in Aliso Viejo

What to diligence before LOI

1. 01

   Permit path in Table 15.18.020: animal grooming needs an administrative use permit in CT, CC and CN, is permitted by right in BP-1 and BP-2, and is not allowed in PO. Animal hospitals and veterinary clinics, and animal boarding and kennels, need an AUP in CT, CC, CN, BP-1 and BP-2 and are not allowed in PO. The Planning Director decides AUPs (Table 15.70.030) and must notify the property owner at least five days before acting (15.74.040.A.2). A vet or kennel inside a pet supply store needs a full CUP from the City Council.

2. 02

   Use definitions in Chapter 15.94: a 'Kennel' is any property keeping four or more dogs or four or more cats over four months old for a commercial purpose, and the term includes animal boarding, so a dog daycare is treated as a kennel. An 'animal hospital' or 'veterinary clinic' serves mainly outpatients, keeps only short-term critical patients past 24 hours, and does not include boarding. Parking in Table 15.38.040 is 1 space per 500 sq ft for kennels, 1 per 250 for grooming and pet stores, and 1 per 220 for vet clinics.

3. 03

   City animal licensing: AVMC 6.04.460 requires a commercial animal establishment license for grooming parlors (including mobile groomers), kennels and pet shops. The license is issued through the Mission Viejo animal services department, at a fee Mission Viejo sets, lasts one year, and is tied to the licensee and location (6.04.480 to 6.04.540). Dog kennel runs must be concrete with drainage, and the kennel must keep owner, intake date and rabies records for every dog (6.04.550). Veterinary hospitals are exempt for work done under their state license (6.04.570).

4. 04

   Buildout and operations under AVMC 6.02.110: housing must be easy to clean and ventilated to remove odors, sick animals must be isolated, no animal may be left unattended more than 12 consecutive hours, and a contact number must be posted when animals are on site without staff. AVMC 6.02.120 bars any commercial animal establishment from selling dogs or cats, except adoptions through a rescue or shelter.

5. 05

   Noise near homes: AVMC 6.04.030 makes barking or howling that unreasonably disturbs others a nuisance, and 8.12.050 sets 65 dB(A) by day and 60 dB(A) overnight for commercial property against 50 and 45 dB(A) for homes under 10 units per acre, averaging the two where sound reaches both. Check the zoning map for residential districts next to the suite before planning an outdoor play yard. Inside The Commons, SP-2 Table IV-1 prohibits indoor animal boarding and makes animal grooming and veterinarians a City Council CUP.

6. 06

   Vet clinics need state premises registration before opening: Business and Professions Code 4853 requires every veterinary premises to register with the Veterinary Medical Board, naming the owner and a responsible licensee manager, and the registration does not transfer to a new owner. The Board's minimum standards (16 CCR 2030) call for a reception area and office, an exam room separate from other areas, a separate room reserved for aseptic surgery if you do it, compartments with separation of contagious animals if you house patients, and radiology either on site or through an outside provider. Applications are filed online through BreEZe.