Meaning, once again, you get what you put in.
If people want taller and/or more attractive buildings, they have to let council know there's support for them. That's why the efforts of the people that wrote in on this project paid off. While Councillors Affleck and Carr expressed dismay that the West End Plan "snuck these heights in at the last minute" (rough quote).
Others, likes Councillors Stevenson and Bremner, came out in support of the added heights. Councillor Bremner even went as far as to state that "we must shift the priority of our planning and our acceptance of projects towards, are we creating the homes for the people that need them, or are we protecting a conceptional umbrella.. the idea of the dome Downtown" (exact quote).
Furthermore, I highly suggest people take a look at this exchange between a city councilor and a member of the planning department at the 1:18:00 - 1:19:00 mark of the video.
http://civic.neulion.com/cityofvancouver/index.php?clipid=3496078,000
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