Tustin / Central Orange County
Pet services in Tustin follow the three retail anchors: PetSmart with PetsHotel, Doggie Day Camp and a Banfield hospital on the Tustin side of The Market Place, a second PetSmart and Banfield at The District at Tustin Legacy, and Petco beside Trader Joe's on Irvine Boulevard. VCA's hospital on East First Street shows a vet clinic can also work in older freestanding space off the main centers. Grooming is the simplest use to entitle here, because pet grooming is permitted by right in C1 and is parked at only 1 space per 500 sq ft. A vet clinic needs a conditional use permit, and a stand-alone boarding or daycare business is listed only in the industrial district, so budget the entitlement time before choosing a site.
Population
78,981
Median HHI
$112,503
Median age
37.5
Homeownership
48.8%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Primary retail corridors
Jamboree Road · Barranca Parkway · Newport Avenue · Red Hill Avenue · El Camino Real · Irvine Boulevard
Specific shopping centers in Tustin that already carry credible co-tenancy for this use. Listed in approximate order of fit.
2201–2895 Park Avenue
Anchors / key tenants: Whole Foods Market, Costco, Target, Lowe's
Size: 1,000,000 SF
Vestar's million-SF lifestyle center at Barranca/Jamboree — pulls from Tustin, Irvine, and the OC Great Park edge. Recent leasing: Jini Mini, Café 86, Activate Games, and Le Macaron. The mix also includes Nothing Bundt Cakes and Pinot's Palette.
El Camino Real, Tustin, at I-5 and Jamboree Road
Anchors / key tenants: Target, The Home Depot, Nordstrom Rack, REI
Size: 1,406,215 SF
Irvine Company's open-air regional center at I-5 and Jamboree Road, once called Tustin Market Place. It straddles Tustin and Irvine: El Camino Real addresses are in Tustin and Jamboree Road addresses are in Irvine, so confirm which city's code applies to a suite.
Existing operators are the most honest comp for whether a use can support Tustin rents. These are publicly visible pet service space businesses currently trading in the market.
PetSmart Tustin Market Place
2741 El Camino Real, Tustin, CA 92782
PetSmart's own store page shows grooming, training, PetsHotel boarding and Doggie Day Camp at this store, plus a Banfield hospital inside. Irvine Company's Market Place directory lists PetSmart at the same address.
Banfield Pet Hospital Tustin Market Place (inside PetSmart)
2741 El Camino Real, Tustin, CA 92782
Banfield's page lists wellness exams, vaccinations, general surgery, spay and neuter, digital radiology, dental X-ray and in-house lab work.
PetSmart Tustin (The District) with Banfield Pet Hospital
2237 Park Avenue, Tustin, CA 92782
PetSmart's store page shows grooming, training and veterinary care, and Banfield's page for its Tustin hospital gives the same address with surgery, digital radiology and medical grooming. PetSmart is on The District at Tustin Legacy's directory.
Petco Tustin
1192 Irvine Boulevard, Tustin, CA 92780
The only Petco in Tustin on Petco's own list. The store page shows dog grooming, dog training and a vaccination clinic. It is two address numbers from the Trader Joe's at 1198 Irvine Boulevard.
VCA Tustin Animal Hospital
631 E. 1st Street, Tustin, CA 92780
Freestanding general practice on First Street per VCA's own hospital page, the only VCA listed in Tustin or Santa Ana on VCA's directory.
01
Grooming: Tustin City Code Section 9232(a)(2)(l) lists pet grooming as a permitted service use in C1 when conducted inside a building, and Sections 9233(a)(1), 9234(a)(1) and 9235(b)(1) carry it into C2, C3 and CG. Section 9263 Table 1 parks pet grooming at 1 space per 500 sq ft, half the retail rate, which helps in a tight strip center.
02
Vet clinics: animal hospitals or clinics for small animals are a conditional use in C1 (Section 9232(b)(3)) and so in C2, C3 and CG. Section 9271(h) requires all animals to be kept in an enclosed, air-conditioned, soundproof structure and the clinic to be designed so no odors are noticeable beyond the property line, and allows one caretaker apartment. Table 1 parks veterinary clinics at 1 space per 250 sq ft for the first 4,000 sq ft of medical space in the building or center and 6 per 1,000 sq ft above that, so ask how much medical or vet space the center already has.
03
Boarding and daycare: the code defines a kennel as any premises where more than three dogs, cats or similar small animals over three months old are kept, boarded or trained, and lists indoor kennels and animal boarding facilities only as a conditional use in the M Industrial District (Section 9242(b)(7)). Table 1 parks kennels and animal boarding at 1 per 500 sq ft. PetSmart's Market Place store does run PetsHotel and Doggie Day Camp, so ask the Community Development Department how that was approved before you assume a retail site is off the table.
04
Pet supply retail: Section 9233(b)(13) makes pet shops a conditional use in C2, and the C1 retail list does not name them. Ask Planning whether a supply store that sells no live animals is treated as general retail, which would be permitted.
05
State premises registration: California Business and Professions Code Section 4853 requires every veterinary premises, including a building or kennel where veterinary medicine is practiced, to be registered with the Veterinary Medical Board, naming the owners and a responsible licensee manager, and the Board takes applications online through BreEZe. Clinics with X-ray must also register the equipment under 17 CCR 30108, and both Tustin Banfield hospitals list digital radiology.
06
Specific plans: the City lists The District among its Tustin Legacy developments and has nine specific plans that govern land use in their areas, so check the Tustin Legacy, East Tustin or Red Hill Avenue plan, as applicable, for animal use rules before relying on the C1 and CG sections above.
Zoning, licensing, and demographic figures on this page come from the public records below. Codes and licenses change, so confirm with the city and the licensing agency before you sign.