@amckenz

I've started on this issue and have some additional questions.

1. Can you please clarify the desired behavior. Is it only the top level items, and no levels of nesting, or only one level of nesting that shows in the screen shot with a limit of 3 items.
2. Is three for the top level of the menu an official number that has been rolled out? Has 3 been enforced by IS&T?
3. Do we need to come up with a plan to see if this will impact any existing sites?
4. I have discovered methods to limit the output and have some initial work on HTC in my sandbox. I have limited the output to only the top level menu and 3 items below that. As stated in point 1 I believe this is not exactly what is requested. However, I can adapt the work I've completed already to the desired goal.
   HTC Menu Screen
   HTC Sandbox
5. I've added a Warning Banner when the Utility menu is selected informing the user of the limits. Unfortunately, there are no hooks or filters to put this information in a different spot.
6. Next on my list to investigate is seeing if I can remove any items beyond the limits when the "Save Menu" button is pressed and notify the users. Additionally, checking into the JavaScript drag and drop interface to see if I can prevent menu items from being placed when the limit is exceeded.

@stonybrookweb

1. Only top level items and no nesting at all, please.
2. There hasn't been an official number rolled out - this is a good catch. A limit through the code is probably premature and may cause confusion. I see you added some text to the UI on your sandbox - can we do something like "The utility menu does not support nested navigation items. More items may display in Menu Structure below, but these items will not display on your site. A maximum of four items in the utility menu is recommended."
3. This behavior wasn't ever intended to be possible, and the (now live) site no longer has this navigation problem: https://sites.bu.edu/ranzani-lab/. I can give Ron a heads up so he knows how to respond to any tickets that come in, but I think it is safe to say that this is very unlikely to affect any live sites, and if it does, we can handle the tickets as they arise. Go ahead and fix in both 2x and 3x.
4. This is awesome! Love the UI text. See 1 for specific requirements.
5. I noticed the banner right away - I think this will work for our purposes.
6. That would be phenomenal!

@ashleykolodziej
I'll update the depth to only allow top level menu items.
I will not limit the amount of items that can be output.
I'll adjust the message to be more specific to the desired outcome.