These houses and others were included as examples in the City of Lawrence's Oread Neighborhood Design Guidelines.

Despite complaints from landlords in the affected area, the Lawrence City Commission voted 4-1 at its meeting Tuesday to adopt the Oread Neighborhood Design Guidelines, which lay out how building projects in the neighborhood should look in terms of parking, site design and architecture.

The guidelines cover an approximately 190-acre area between the University of Kansas and downtown that has many rental properties, and they apply to any project in that area that would require a building permit.

“I think it’s a good step forward in protecting that entire area,” Commissioner Lisa Larsen said of the guidelines.

But while supporters of the new rules say they preserve the neighborhood’s historic character, some landlords say they go too far.

The guidelines are not retroactive, but would go into effect for new developments, redevelopments or renovations. Some property owners in the Oread Neighborhood said the additional rules — in particular parking restrictions — would discourage landlords from investing in their properties.

“These houses are incredibly expensive to rehab, and based on that, as an investor, we’re not going to continue to deploy capital out there because it doesn’t pencil out,” property owner Jon Davis told the City Commission at its meeting Tuesday. “…I think that’s unfortunate because that’s a neighborhood that I believe needs investment. There’s a lot of dilapidated houses and I think that’ll come to an end.”

The guidelines create six overlay districts, comprising two historic districts, a commercial district, and separate districts for low, medium and high density residential properties. Only a few pages of the 132-page document specifically address parking, but it was an issue that the commission made sure to discuss.

For duplexes, the guidelines prohibit “stacked” parking in alleyways, in which one car is parked directly in front of another. That restriction, by extension, could limit the number of tenants a property could legally accommodate.

“It seems to me that we’re trying to control the density by changing the rule of parking,” said Mayor Mike Amyx, who voted against the guidelines.

Amyx also said that he shared the concern that the guidelines could discourage people from investing in their properties.

“I just think we can restrict things too many different ways and I have a lot of concern about that,” Amyx said.

But on the whole, the commission and public commenters were in favor of adopting the guidelines. Commissioner Matthew Herbert, who operates a residential rental company, said he thought some of the guidelines amounted to “micromanagement,” but that the overall effect was beneficial.

“Ultimately, we’re not going to attack what’s already there so much as plan for the future if there is a triggered event: pulling a permit, a complete devastation, a demolition,” Herbert said. “At that point it would be triggered, but largely I think people are still going to retain their individual property rights.”

The guidelines have been in the works since 2010, and have been reviewed by the Historic Resources Commission, the Planning Commission and public workshops. Those involved with the drafting of the guidelines said they offer protection to the historically valuable neighborhood.

“I’m not opposed to rentals, but I would like to see the neighborhood be improved,” said Candice Davis, a member of the Oread Residents Association and chair of the Lawrence Association of Neighborhoods. “I don’t want to see it destroyed in some way by not making good decisions, and I think we have an opportunity here to provide some protection that will benefit our community and our neighborhood.”

In other business, the commission:

• Approved revised funding agreements for the Bioscience & Technology Business Center and the Lawrence chamber of commerce. The agreements include a new incentive program and changes to accounting methods that aim to bring more transparency for city funding.

•Approved recommendations from the Historic Resources Commission to designate the following properties as landmarks on the Lawrence Register of Historic Places: 1106 Rhode Island St., 819 Avalon Road, 1028 Rhode Island St. and the Johnson Block Historic District (800 blocks of Missouri and Arkansas streets).

•Approved the hiring of Desman Design Management, which will conduct a comprehensive study of the parking system serving downtown, East Lawrence and neighborhoods surrounding the University of Kansas. The study would cost the city about $80,000.