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The Calgary Drop-In and Rehab Centre says it won’t go down without a fight after the city’s planning commission overwhelmingly rejected its latest proposal to convert a former northeast hotel into an affordable housing complex.

“We have invested significant resources and time to prepare a proposal that we feel meets the land use and reuses an existing structure to provide affordable housing,” Debbie Newman, the centre’s executive director, said in a statement after the ruling.

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“We are confident it is appropriate and meets the planning criteria, so we will appeal the decision.”

The centre had pitched to renovate the seven-storey building on Edmonton Trail N.E. into a mix of 79 assisted living and regular dwelling units for people transitioning out of homelessness.

The development permit application was supported by city administration, but was shot down in a 7-2 vote by the planning commission, largely over concerns the community continued to strongly oppose the project.

The community associations of Thorncliffe-Greenview and Highland Park maintained the Drop-In and Rehab Centre was not being transparent about its intentions and had failed to adequately consult with residents or address their concerns.

It was a sentiment echoed by several members of the commission, including Mayor Naheed Nenshi, who attended Thursday’s meeting — the first time in decades a sitting Calgary mayor has participated in a planning commission meeting.

“This public engagement was the most flawed I’ve ever seen,” said Nenshi, who noted his office received 120 letters from people in the community all opposed to the project, dubbed Centre 4800.

“There can be no accusation that this community is being NIMBY or that they are being unsympathetic to the need for housing in our community or, indeed, for the need for housing for the clientele of the Drop-In Centre,” he added.

The commission had considered a proposal to refer the application for further work and consultation with stakeholders — an overture rebuffed by the Drop-In Centre.

“The outstanding issue is one of relationships, and we understand that. But this application is a planning matter,” Newman said in her statement. “The suggestion that the applications be referred back to administration would further delay a decision.”