Building minidorms in Jefferson Park in the UA area got harder Tuesday after the City Council voted 5-2 to adopt new building standards in the neighborhood.

The council passed restrictions that were proposed by residents, which are more restrictive than those recommended by the city’s staff. CouncilwomanKarin Uhlich pushed the hardest for the new standards for the neighborhood, just north of the University of Arizona, while Councilman Steve Kozachik and Mayor Bob Walkup voted no.

The neighborhood restrictions make it much harder to build a large second floor on houses, while the restriction recommended by the city staff would allow for most minidorms but would require they meet design and aesthetic standards.

The neighborhood rules also do not allow for more intensive developments on the large streets that surround or cross the neighborhood, including East Grant Road, North Euclid Avenue, North Park Avenue, North Campbell Avenue and North Mountain Avenue. Walkup and Kozachik voted no because of this.

City Attorney Mike Rankin said the passage of the more restrictive standards gives the city more exposure to a lawsuit under Proposition 207, a state ballot initiative passed in 2006 requiring governments to compensate landowners if land-use rules lower their property values.

Jefferson Park is the second neighborhood to come forward with the new design standards. A claim — a precursor to a lawsuit — has already been filed against the first design standards approved in late 2009 for Feldman’s Neighborhood, also near the UA. The claim was filed in January by the Goldwater Institute.

The council took no action on holding a potential city bond election this November, although some council members said they supported such an election at a later date.