Paramount updates Central Business District guidelines, adopting commercial design standards and introducing implementing ordinance

The council approved an update to long‑standing design guidance for the Central Business District, replacing architectural guidelines adopted in 1984 with new commercial design guidelines intended to guide building design, landscaping, screening, lighting and streetscape elements.

Planning Director John King said the updated package reflects community outreach including the community aesthetics and landscape committees, an open house and market outreach. The guidelines aim to clarify private‑property landscaping expectations, address details such as trash enclosures, screening and lighting, and integrate recent municipal code changes about vacant lots and abandoned properties. The council adopted Resolution 25041 to replace the older guidelines and introduced ordinance 12‑13 to integrate the new commercial design guidelines into the zoning code; both actions passed on roll call and the ordinance is set for adoption on Jan. 13, 2026.