Any new construction in downtown Lee&#x2019;s Summit won&#x2019;t have a space-age look.</p><p>Design standards to require new buildings or renovations to be compatible with historic structures got preliminary approval from the City Council Feb. 28.</p><p>The council voted 7-1, with Councilmember Bob Johnson voting no, to draft an ordinance amending the city&#x2019;s Unified Development Ordinance so that it includes rules for materials, size and appearace of new buildings or major renovatons.</p><p>The standards would encourage masonry construction and forbid some materials, such as a faux-brick plastic veneer.</p><p>It would require new buildings to match setbacks of adjacent buildings, and have similar roof lines.</p><p>Christine Bushyhead, a member of the Downtown Lee&#x2019;s Summit Main Street Inc. committee which worked on the standards, said they promote redevelopment because it helps lessen risk for investors.</p><p>Standards would prevent a structure being built next door that doesn&#x2019;t match the area and would hurt property values, she said. </p><p>&#x201C;You want it to be consistent,&#x201D; Bushyhead said. &#x201C;You want to make sure your neighbor is held to the same standard.&#x201D;</p><p>The proposed amendment had several revisions as the committee heard from residents living in the area and also after a public hearing at the Planning Commission. Downtown Lee&#x2019;s Summit Main Street Inc. has been working on the project with the city planners for a couple of years.</p><p>For example, residents in the &#x201C;transition zone,&#x201D; a hodgepodge of residences that are used as residences and residential structures used as businesses, didn&#x2019;t want to apply for an external renovation permit for routine maintenance, so they&#x2019;re exempted.</p><p>Another exception allows those owners to replace existing metal or vinyl siding that needs to be repaired, which is a material that would be forbidden under the new standards.</p><p>The council decided to assign the UDO revisions to a council committee for further tweaking before the final vote. For example, it would work making requirements for &#x201C;quality&#x201D; materials more specific, such as setting a minimum at a 30- or 40-year warranty composition roof, to provide clarity to applicants.</p><p>Johnson questioned several provisions of the amendment, such as restrictions on slopes for a roof or a building being offset farther from the street than others next door.</p><p>&#x201C;Here we go again, interfering with some private sector decisions people should be allowed to make, particularly residential,&#x201D; Johnson said.