Decades on, the guidance has dissolved and the city’s skyline has changed beyond recognition as more and more high-rise developments spring up.
The rule was originally intended to maintain the town's "city in the trees" character, emphasizing green spaces and natural light.
But planners, including the asset-owning Milton Keynes Partnership, which is the business arm of the City Council, determined that MK needed "landmark buildings" and more housing – much of it in very tall blocks in and around the city centre.
Here we look at eight towering developments that have taken place recently or are in the pipeline.
1. Love them or loathe them - these are the tallest buildings in Milton Keynes
The iconic Jaipur restaurant at Grafton Gate in Central Milton Keynes was built in 2002 and designed to look like an eastern temple. Developers Galliford Try have just won a planning appeal to demolish it and build a 33-storey tall tower block of 300 flats on the site. MK City Council had originally refused their application, saying it was out of character for the area. Photo: Other third party
2. Love them or loathe them - these are the tallest buildings in Milton Keynes
This 27-storey tower block of flats is planned for Saxon Court, the council's old housing office at CMK. The scheme will produce 288 apartments. Developers Urban Splash and Glenbrook were granted planning permission four years ago but so far no start has been made on the project. Photo: Other third party
3. Love them or loathe them - these are the tallest buildings in Milton Keynes
Bank House, a modern city centre office block that was once the home of leading banks, has recently been demolished to be replaced with more than 350 new apartments in a high rise block. The site occupies one of the most central positions in Midsummer Boulevard, near the old Santander building. Photo: Other third party
4. Love them or loathe them - these are the tallest buildings in Milton Keynes
One of the the first departures from the 'no taller than the tallest tree' ethos was The Hub development, which set a precedent for future high rise blocks in Milton Keynes when it was built in 2007. As part of a redevelopment of the Central Business Exchange, the project comprised five mixed-use blocks of ten to 14 storeys, containing a total of more than 400 flats. Photo: Other third party