Pet Service Space in Rancho Santa Margarita

What to diligence before LOI

1. 01

   Classification: Table 9.03.4 (Section 9.03.080) lists Pet stores/pet grooming as P in the Commercial General (CG) and Commercial Neighborhood (CN) districts, but only with no overnight care or boarding; add boarding and the use becomes a kennel under Section 9.04.040. Animal day care (no overnight boarding, with the maximum number of animals set by the CUP), Animal hospitals and clinics, and Kennels are all C in CG and CN, and the mixed use table (Table 9.03.19) follows the same pattern.

2. 02

   Operating standards in Section 9.04.040 for any animal hospital, kennel or animal day care: all animal service and confinement areas and runs must be inside an air-conditioned, sound-attenuated building; treatment and confinement areas must meet County and State public health standards; animal waste must be double-bagged, floors mopped with Chlorhexiderm or a similar cleaner, and no waste or crates washed into storm drains; and the use must meet NPDES rules, including Chapter 5.10 and the City's Local Implementation Plan. Budget for HVAC and acoustic work, and plan wash-down water to go to the sewer rather than the parking lot.

3. 03

   Definitions that set the permit: Chapter 9.01 defines animal day care as a commercial recreation facility giving nonmedical care to animals, typically dogs, for less than 24 hours (including feeding, exercise and grooming), treats an animal hospital as the same thing as a veterinary clinic, and defines a kennel as any place keeping four or more domestic animals four months or older for boarding, breeding, raising or training for a fee. A groomer that keeps dogs overnight falls into the kennel category.

4. 04

   Parking: Section 9.06.070 parks animal day care at 1 space per 200 SF, animal hospitals and clinics and kennels at 1 per 250 SF, and pet stores and pet grooming (convenience services, low intensity) at 1 per 300 SF, against 1 per 200 SF for shopping centers. A 4,000 SF daycare needs 20 spaces, where the same suite as a grooming shop needs about 14.

5. 05

   Business park option: in the Business Park district (Table 9.03.6), animal day care, animal hospitals and kennels are conditional uses, and kennels must be completely contained within a sound-attenuated building. With about 3.8 million SF of light industrial buildings in the city, flex space can suit a daycare that needs large open floors, but it still goes through a CUP and the Section 9.04.040 standards.

6. 06

   Licensing: every veterinary premises must be registered with the California Veterinary Medical Board under Business and Professions Code 4853, naming the owners and a responsible licensee manager, and the registration does not transfer to a new owner. For animal control, the City has contracted with Mission Viejo Animal Services since January 1, 2017, and Rancho Santa Margarita is not on OC Animal Care's city licensing list, so ask Mission Viejo Animal Services whether a boarding or grooming facility needs its own permit.