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Edmonton city council received an earful Monday when they ignored a five-year-old downtown plan to approve a trio of 40-storey-plus towers.

“We thought the zoning bylaw had some teeth in it,” said architect Gene Dub, frustrated the additional height will shade the $400,000 solar panels he bought for a site northwest of the project, reducing their energy output by 40 per cent.

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The downtown plan approved in 2010called for buildings of up to 20 stories in the Warehouse District. Instead, towers at the old Massey Ferguson building that housed the Healy Ford dealership on 106th Street between 104th and 103rd avenues will soar to 48, 42 and 45 stories.

“I’m beginning to struggle with why we even do plans,” said Coun. Ben Henderson, the only one to vote against rezoning.

He said council spent a lot of money on a 35-year market forecast before it set maximum heights for each zone. Planners wanted to make sure they didn’t concentrate all the development on just a couple of lots and get stuck with vacant properties elsewhere. On Monday, council supported a rezoning that dramatically changes those numbers without any updated market estimates.