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Edmonton’s new council sent the contentious Holyrood Gardens project back to the drawing board Monday, saying the towers just don’t fit beside one- and two-storey homes.

The group voted 8-5 on a referral motion to redesign the project, forcing it to comply with existing city guidelines on the width of the towers and recommended transitions between tall buildings and existing low-density neighbourhoods.

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“I do not want to kill this project,” said area Coun. Ben Henderson.

But this project tells residents what to expect around other new LRT stations embedded into neighbourhoods, he said: “If we stray too far away (from the city guidelines), we end up with a free-for-all that doesn’t serve anybody.”

The project was the first large, contentious zoning decision for the newly elected council.

Councillors Michael Walters, Moe Banga, Jon Dziadyk, Sarah Hamilton and Tony Caterina voted against the referral motion.