Guidelines are only suggestions, with the strong implication of being optional. Hence, developers often opt to ignore them. City authorities can ignore them, too, depending on how they feel, or to whom they are wired politically. Guidelines leave the city open to lawsuits by disgruntled developers who claim that the rules are arbitrary and legally unenforceable. Ordinances clearly state community standards and require compliance without ambiguity.
Ordinances eliminate confusion on the part of city authorities.
Doofus developers with non-compliant proposals would be weeded out at square one, with no threat of lawsuits. The proposed CVS building is just the sort of architectural abortion that should never get past square one. It is inconsistent with the traditional fabric of Saratoga's downtown. The CVS drive-thru feature comes with an entire ensemble of superfluous curbing and stupid landscape buffers that are typically employed in suburbia to conceal the fact the paving is excessive and buildings are ugly. Okay, here's what's up.