VISTA -- The city has crafted an illustrated guide to describe what type of buildings are likely to win approval and to avoid what council members say are ugly or cookie-cutter projects.

The 30-page manual, which the City Council approved Tuesday, is the first update to Vista's design guidelines since 1988.

"Twenty years is too long," Councilman Frank Lopez said.

City staff spent more than a year fine-tuning the document, which encourages developers to add architectural flourishes to projects and create pedestrian links between adjacent buildings.

When appropriate, the manual states, commercial buildings must be constructed near adjacent streets so that vendors and pedestrians aren't separated by rows and rows of parking. Developers with corner locations are encouraged to build plazas.

The guidelines, which touch on architectural, site planning, lighting and signage issues, apply to commercial and residential projects.

"We felt that the bulk of industrial projects are fine the way they are," a principal planner, Vicki Parker, said.

It's unclear whether developers, who are already dealing with a slumping economy, will chafe at the new restrictions, though nobody opposed the changes at Tuesday's meeting.

Parker assured the council that the guidelines "are, in most cases, not out of line with what other jurisdictions are requiring."

Plus, she said, "better designed buildings will do better business."

As an added benefit, having a detailed design manual should save city staff time because developers will know the city's expectations before they submit their projects, Community Development Director John Conley said.

"What we typically get are applications that are less than acceptable," Conley said.

Council members unanimously approved the guidelines with little debate.

Councilman Steve Gronke asked city staffers if they had considered including requirements for energy efficiency. Parker suggested waiting for a future update, possibly in 2010, to address that topic, because the state building code is in flux regarding "green building" standards.

Contact staff writer Craig TenBroeck at (760) 901-4062 or ctenbroeck@nctimes.com.