Vancouver city council has shot down a proposal, which was years in the making, aimed at making it faster and easier to build non-profit housing in many neighbourhoods around the city.

Members of ABC Vancouver, council’s majority party, voted Tuesday to reject the social-housing initiative created by city staff, arguing that allowing towers of up to 20 storeys in some areas, without the need for public hearings, went “too far.”

But the decision was met with dismay by non-profit housing leaders and ABC’s political rivals.

“It’s incredibly disappointing,” B.C. Non-Profit Housing Association CEO Jill Atkey said of Tuesday’s decision. “It’s hard to believe that these councillors, those who voted in opposition, are really serious about affordable housing.”

The proposal stemmed from a unanim

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