Paramount’s Clearwater Specific Plan Takes Effect
Paramount’s Clearwater Specific Plan took effect June 26 after the City Council completed a two-step approval process in May, creating the city’s long-term framework for redevelopment in a central area near Rosecrans Avenue and the Union Pacific rail corridor.
The plan is a land-use decision, not approval of a particular apartment complex or other construction project. It establishes what types of development may be considered in the area and provides the framework for future project-level decisions.
What the council approved
The City Council certified the Clearwater Specific Plan’s Final Environmental Impact Report on May 19, 2026. One week later, on May 26, the council adopted Ordinance No. 1218, the ordinance associated with the plan.
The plan became effective June 26, 2026. The city’s ordinance record also lists Ordinance No. 1218 as the Clearwater Specific Plan ordinance dated May 26.
The plan area is bounded by Paramount Boulevard, Somerset Boulevard, the Union Pacific Railroad right-of-way and Rosecrans Avenue. Those boundaries place the plan in a central part of Paramount where future land-use changes could affect housing, commercial activity and the relationship between development and the rail corridor.
Housing is now an allowed option
Under the updated plan, housing is an option in an area that had previously focused on swap-meet, institutional, retail, office and light-industrial uses. The change creates a broader framework for possible mixed-use and housing redevelopment.
That does not mean the city has approved a defined number of homes, selected a developer or authorized construction. The accessible city materials do not quantify the number of future housing units or the value of development that the plan could enable.
Individual projects would still require separate decisions. The plan’s implementation schedule and future project approvals remain distinct from the council’s adoption of the overall land-use framework.
Environmental and design revisions
The May 2026 revisions address indoor air and building design issues associated with the plan area. They include provisions concerning MERV 13 filters and seek to minimize or prohibit balconies facing Rosecrans Avenue or the Union Pacific rail corridor.
Those measures are part of the plan’s updated requirements and design direction. They should not be read as eliminating rail, traffic or air-quality risks in the area.
What happens next
With the plan effective, it now serves as the long-term planning framework for the Clearwater area. The next concrete steps would depend on separate proposals and approvals for individual sites or projects.
For residents, property owners and businesses, the immediate change is the adoption of a new set of land-use rules and guidance for the bounded area. The longer-term effects—including whether housing, mixed-use development or other changes occur—will depend on future applications, reviews and city decisions that are not specified in the approved plan materials.
Sources
- Clearwater Specific Plan, City of Paramount
- Ordinance List and Disposition Table, City of Paramount
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