One-story, two-story, and three-story buildings on Fayette Street. Regulating height in stories, or stories plus maximum feet, gives a more varied roofline than providing only a maximum height in feet. This picture shows how two stories can be as high as three stories. Generous stories help make for well-proportioned buildings.
The problem with regulating only with an overall height limit without story standards is that developers may try to cram an extra story and more units in, which makes density unpredictable and the apartments cramped. This can affect the proportion of the outside, too. Example: If height limit is 35 feet, you don't know whether the building will have two generous stories or three squat stories.